Berlin Wall Sites Near Wollankstraße Tunnel
In January 1962, a group of students led by brothers Boris and Eduard Franzke began digging a tunnel beneath the S-Bahnhof Wollankstraße, aiming to reach Schulzestraße in East Berlin. After three weeks and approximately 30 metres of digging, the tunnel collapsed under the station platform on 26 January 1962, revealing the escape attempt before anyone could use it. GDR Transport Minister Erwin Kramer held a press conference at the station, presenting the tunnel as an "agent conduit." The station itself was unique: located in East Berlin but accessible to West Berliners without border checks.
15 Berlin Wall Sites Within Walking Distance
Wollankstraße Tunnel
In January 1962, a group of students led by brothers Boris and Eduard Franzke began digging a tunnel beneath the S-Bahnhof Wollankstraße, aiming to reach...
S-Bahnhof Bornholmer Straße
The only above-ground ghost station. West and East S-Bahn tracks ran parallel through the station but were separated by a tall fence. Western trains did...
Bornholmer Straße
The northmost checkpoint within the city stretched from Bösebrücke bridge to Malmöer Straße. This border crossing was the first to be breached after the fall...
Berliner Unterwelten
The Berliner Unterwelten association offers guided tours through underground bunkers, tunnels, and infrastructure connected to Berlin's Cold War history. Their 'Escape Tunnels' tour follows the...
Gleim-Tunnel
130-metre long, 23-metre wide street tunnel built in 1905 beneath the railway tracks. The Berlin Wall ran through the middle during the division. Sealed in...
Mauerpark
Now famous for its flea market and bearpit karaoke every Sunday, Mauerpark was once home to part of the death strip and Berlin Wall. A...
Schönholzer Mauerreste
80-metre early-era wall triangle preserved in its original form. Built from World War II house rubble in the early 1960s. Concealed and forgotten for 30...
Tunnel 29
In September 1962, 29 people escaped through a 135-metre tunnel dug from a disused factory on Bernauer Straße to a building on Schönholzer Straße in...
Tunnel 57
On 3-4 October 1964, 57 people crawled through a 12-metre-deep tunnel from a disused bakery cellar on Bernauer Straße to Strelitzer Straße in the East....
U-Bahnhof Bernauer Straße
This U8 station sat directly beneath the Berlin Wall boundary on Bernauer Straße. Sealed from 1961, it reopened on 12 April 1990. The Berlin Wall...
Tunnel 37 – Brunnenstraße
A memorial plaque marks the site of an escape tunnel through which 37 people reached freedom from East to West Berlin. The tunnel was one...
Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer
The "Berlin Wall Memorial", was built in 1998 to commemorate the division the wall created, and the deaths that occurred because of it. It includes...
Chausseestraße
A lesser-known border crossing at the intersection of Chausseestraße and Liesenstraße, used primarily for West Berlin residents visiting relatives in the East. On 8 April...
U-Bahnhof Schwartzkopffstraße
This U6 ghost station was renamed twice while sealed. In 1951 it became "Walter-Ulbricht-Stadion" and in 1973 "Stadion der Weltjugend". These changes were visible only...
Nordbahnhof – Geisterbahnhof
This S-Bahn station was sealed from 1961 to 1989 while Western trains passed through East Berlin territory without stopping. Today the station houses "Grenzübergänge" (Border...
