Berlin Wall Ghost Stations

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 Crossings), a free permanent exhibition with photographs of bricked-up entrances and ghost station interiors.

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 not stop here. Located next to the Bornholmer Straße road crossing where the Wall was first breached on the night of 9 November 1989.

Originally named “Unter den Linden” when it opened in 1936, this S-Bahn station sits directly beneath the Brandenburg Gate. During the Cold War, Western trains passed through the sealed platform while East German guards stood watch. Renamed “Brandenburger Tor” in 2009.

The first ghost station on the north-south S-Bahn tunnel to reopen, on 2 July 1990. During the Wall era it lay sealed underground while the neighbourhood above was a quiet, neglected part of East Berlin. Today the area is busy, with galleries, bars, and the Neue Synagoge nearby.

One of the best-known ghost stations. The Wall ran directly through Potsdamer Platz above, turning what was once Europe’s busiest intersection into empty wasteland. Below, the sealed S-Bahn station was untouched for decades. When entered after 1989, 1930s advertising posters were found still on the walls. The last ghost station to reopen, on 3 March […]

East Berlin’s busiest transport hub was simultaneously a ghost station. The U2 and U5 platforms served East Berliners normally, while the physically separate U8 platform was sealed off and patrolled by guards as Western trains passed through without stopping.

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 Memorial stands directly above at street level.

After serving as a U6 ghost station from 1961 to 1990, this station operated normally for 30 years before being permanently closed on 4 December 2020 when the U5 extension opened. The new “Unter den Linden” interchange station 200 metres away replaced it. The platforms remain sealed underground.

The first ghost station to reopen, on 11 November 1989, just two days after the Wall fell. A provisional border checkpoint was hastily set up on the U8 platform. Designed by Alfred Grenander, the station opened in 1928.

This U6 ghost station has had a confusing naming history. During the Wall era it was called “Nordbahnhof” on East German maps, then renamed “Zinnowitzer Straße” after the wall fell to avoid confusion, and finally “Naturkundemuseum” in 2009 for the nearby Natural History Museum.

Named after the historic Oranienburger Tor gate that once stood here, this U6 ghost station is just one stop north of Friedrichstraße, the border crossing station. Western trains passed through the sealed platform without stopping. Today it serves Mitte’s cultural district near the Neue Synagoge.

One of the first ghost stations to reopen after the Wall fell, on 22 December 1989, with a provisional border checkpoint hastily set up on the platform. When workers first entered, they found 1961-era advertisements still on the walls, unchanged for 28 years.

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 to guards and Western passengers looking through train windows. Despite being closed for decades, new signs were installed. The original name was restored after the wall fell.

Like Alexanderplatz, Stadtmitte was a split station. The U2 platform operated normally for East Berliners (as “Otto-Grotewohl-Straße”), while the physically separate U6 platform was sealed as a ghost station. Western U6 passengers could see the closed platform as they passed through.

A ghost station on the U8 line in the Scheunenviertel quarter. One of the last to reopen on 1 July 1990, it retains elements of Alfred Grenander’s original 1930 design. Today it sits in a busy shopping area near Hackescher Markt.