Heinrich-Heine-Straße

Border Crossing Heinrich-Heine-Straße 46, 10179 Berlin

A former border crossing between the Russian and US sectors. There isn’t much to see here today. The route of the Berlin Wall is marked clearly down the center of nearby Sebastianstraße. The nearby Heinrich-Heine-Straße U-Bahn station was closed and skipped by trains during the wall years.

The crossing here served primarily as a transit point between the Soviet and American sectors. East German border facilities occupied a heavily fortified compound, and the crossing was used mainly by West Berliners with day permits to visit East Berlin. The route of the Berlin Wall is marked clearly down the centre of nearby Sebastianstraße by a double row of cobblestones.

Corner of Heinrich-Heine-Straße and Köpenicker Straße (Photo: A.Savin)

The nearby Heinrich-Heine-Straße U-Bahn station on the U8 line was one of the sealed “ghost stations” during the wall years. Western trains passed through without stopping, and passengers could glimpse the dimly lit platform patrolled by armed guards. The station reopened on 22 December 1989 and today bears no visible trace of its years of closure.

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