In his documentary film ‘Berlin – Symphony of a Metropolis’ Walther Ruttmann (1887-1944) experiments with the perception of the city in motion in terms of a musical form: The symphony. With its montage technique and the dramaturgical structure this 60 minutes long silent movie is not only the most popular work of the avantgarde artist, but also a prototype of the ‘city symphony film’ as a specific genre.