Marienfelde Refugee Center Museum Closes for Renovation Until 2028

The Marienfelde Refugee Center Museum will close on 21 December 2026 for an extensive renovation, and is not due to reopen until mid-2028.

The museum is one of the sites run by the Berlin Wall Foundation. It stands on the grounds of the former emergency reception centre on Marienfelder Allee in southern Berlin, where more than 1.35 million people who fled East Germany and East Berlin were registered between 1953 and 1990. For most of them it was the first stop in the West, which makes it one of the few places where the arrival, rather than the crossing, is what you see on the ground.

During the closure the Foundation is remodelling the historic building to create new space for education and history, and is developing a new permanent exhibition on flight and migration to replace the current one.

There is still time to see it

The museum stays open until 21 December 2026, so several months remain to visit the current exhibition. It also takes part in the 65th anniversary programme this month, with a Language Café on 14 August and a tour, “Escape across a divided Germany”, on 16 August.

The Foundation has not yet said whether the grounds, guided tours or the archive will stay accessible while the building is shut. We will update this page once that is confirmed.

Event details last checked 6 Aug 2026