Berlin Wall Sites to Visit — Central

On 4 November 1989, between 200,000 and 500,000 people filled this square in the largest non-state demonstration in East German history and the first legally permitted protest organised by private citizens. Twenty-six speakers addressed the crowd from a flatbed truck, among them Christa Wolf, Stefan Heym and Jens Reich, while East German television broadcast it live. The demands were free elections, press freedom, an end to Stasi surveillance and a new constitution. Five days later the Berlin Wall fell. No monument marks the event, but the square where half a million people found their voice is unmistakable.

This exhibition at Potsdamer Platz is made up of displays hung between original segments of the Berlin Wall. Created in 2005 as a temporary exhibition, it was made permanent due to very positive public response.

As an important travel hub between the West Berlin sectors, despite it being located entirely in the Soviet occupied West Berlin, its underground U and S-Bahn facilities were only open to West Berlin travelers, for transferring, or to access the border crossing on the ground floor. Nearby: Tränenpalast (Reichstagufer 17), a permanent exhibition of daily […]

The Berliner Unterwelten association offers guided tours through underground bunkers and escape tunnels near Bernauer Straße, revealing the hidden infrastructure of Cold War Berlin.

The Brandenburg Gate became the main symbol of Berlin’s division. From 1961 to 1989, it stood inaccessible in the death strip, visible but unreachable from both sides. On 22 December 1989, the gate was reopened as over 100,000 people gathered to celebrate. Today it is the main site for reunification events.

A low-profile border crossing, at the intersection of Chausseestraße and Liesenstraße, it was the location of an escape attempt on 8 April 1989, during which shots were fired. Nearby: Berlin Wall History Mile, “Kaninchenfeld” (Rabbit Field), Memorial: “Wiedervereinigung”

At Friedrichstraße, and featured in many cold-war era spy movies and books, this was the most famous of the border crossings. It was the only designated crossing for foreigners and Allied Forces. Many notable historical incidents took place here, including the intense standoff of Soviet and US tanks in 1961, and the fatal escape attempt […]

An interactive museum dedicated to everyday life in East Germany. Visitors can sit in a Trabant, explore a reconstructed East German apartment, and learn about the state surveillance, education system, and culture of the GDR. One of Berlin’s most popular museums, offering a vivid picture of life behind the wall.

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 a Chapel of Reconciliation, a visitor center and a 60m section of the border and wall.

A former watchtower, named after Günter Litfin, a tailor from Weissensee, who was the first person to be shot dead by border guards while trying to flee East Berlin. His brother Jürgen Litfin saved the tower from demolition and opened it as a memorial in 2003, guiding visitors himself for years; the Berlin Wall Foundation […]

The Gleim-Tunnel is a 130-metre street tunnel built in 1905 beneath the railway tracks between Prenzlauer Berg and Wedding. During the Cold War, the Berlin Wall ran directly through its centre, sealing it shut for 29 years.

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 GDR’s official press centre for foreign correspondents, where Günter Schabowski held his historic press conference on 9 November 1989. Asked when new travel regulations would take effect, he replied “sofort, unverzüglich” (immediately, without delay) — triggering the rush to the border crossings that brought down the Berlin Wall. The building on Mohrenstraße (renamed Anton-Wilhelm-Amo-Straße in 2025) now belongs to the Federal Ministry of Justice; the original press room no longer exists, but an art installation marks the event.

One of Berlin’s oldest military cemeteries, the Invalidenfriedhof was bisected by the Berlin Wall. Border guards demolished graves to create clear firing lines across the death strip.

A former border crossing at Sandkrugbrücke bridge over the Berlin-Spandau Shipping Canal (Spandauer Schifffahrtskanal). Numerous escape attempts took place here, including that of Günter Litfin, who was shot dead. A memorial stone was erected to commemorate him. Nearby: Memorial stone for Günter Litfin, “Sinkende Mauer”, Berlin Wall History Mile

Founded in 1962 by human rights activist Rainer Hildebrandt, this museum documents the ingenuity and desperation of escape attempts from East Berlin. Exhibits include a homemade hot air balloon, a modified car with a hidden compartment, and a one-person submarine. Located directly at Checkpoint Charlie, it draws over 850,000 visitors per year.

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 30m stretch of the Berlin Wall still exists and is used by graffiti artists to practice their skills.

A 200-metre preserved section of the Berlin Wall at Niederkirchnerstraße, one of the longest remaining original sections of the inner wall in central Berlin.