Berlin Wall Sites to Visit — Inner City

Site of two of the most daring escapes in Berlin Wall history. In 1983, Holger Bethke fired an arrow trailing a nylon line over the Wall near Treptow Park, pulled a steel cable across, and zipped over the death strip on a homemade wooden pulley. In 1989, his brothers flew two ultralight aircraft into Treptower […]

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 of the wall. It was opened by the border guards after crowds amassed on either side, and they had no choice but to open the border. Nearby: A 200m section […]

A simple cross and information panel mark the spot at the Britzer Zweigkanal where 20-year-old Chris Gueffroy was shot on 5 February 1989 – the last person killed by gunfire while trying to cross the Berlin Wall. His death, just nine months before the wall fell, provoked international outrage and became a symbol of the […]

The airport where the Berlin Airlift (1948-1949) broke the Soviet blockade of West Berlin, with Allied planes landing every 90 seconds to supply the city. American pilot Gail Halvorsen became the “Candy Bomber” by dropping sweets for children. The Airlift Memorial (“Hungerkralle”) stands at the entrance. Now a public park, the former airfield is used […]

In Schlesischer park, a former four storey watchtower still stands. It was a command tower from which 18 other watch towers were supervised. The nearby border security was also supervised from here.

The former central remand prison of the East German Ministry for State Security (Stasi), where political prisoners were interrogated and detained under brutal conditions. Tours are often led by former inmates who describe their experiences of isolation cells, sleep deprivation, and psychological torture. A deeply affecting memorial to the victims of political repression.

Known as the “Straße der Tränen” (Street of Tears), Heidelberger Straße was split down the middle by the Berlin Wall, with the western pavement in Neukölln and the eastern side in Treptow. Multiple escape tunnels were dug here in 1962, helping over 100 people reach the West. Escape helper Heinz Jercha was shot and killed […]

In the early 1960s, several escape tunnels were dug along the Neukölln-Treptow border near Kiefholzstraße, where favourable soil conditions and the configuration of the border aided tunnel construction. An estimated 35 to 59 people escaped through one tunnel here before a Stasi informant betrayed the route, leading to the arrest of 89 people.

Crossing the River Spree, this beautiful double-decker bridge is well-known Berlin landmark. It became a pedestrian border-crossing for West Berliners. The entire width of the river here was in East Berlin, which meant that West Berliners could not intervene to save the life of a 5 boy who fell into the water and drowned. Nearby: […]

Schöneberg Town Hall served as West Berlin’s city hall from 1949 to 1991, after the historic Rotes Rathaus fell within the Soviet sector. It is best known as the site of President Kennedy’s famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech on 26 June 1963, delivered to a crowd of over 120,000 on the square now named John-F.-Kennedy-Platz. The tower houses a replica of the American Liberty Bell, donated by 16 million Americans in 1950 and rung daily at noon. Today the building serves as the Tempelhof-Schöneberg district hall.

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.

The Schönholzer Mauerreste is an 80-metre triangular section of early-era Berlin Wall, built from World War II rubble in the early 1960s. Concealed and forgotten for 30 years, it was rediscovered in 1999 and officially recognized as a heritage site in 2018.

This was one of the quieter border crossings. It became better known after the 1999 comedy movie with the same name. Today it is marked with a double line of cobble stones, and a Berlin History Mile information board. Nearby: Memorial plaque for the fall of the Wall in 1989, Berlin Wall History Mile, Memorial […]

Located in the former headquarters of the Ministry for State Security in Lichtenberg, this museum preserves the office of Stasi chief Erich Mielke exactly as it was. Exhibits document the vast surveillance apparatus that monitored East German citizens, including mail interception equipment, hidden cameras, and the infamous smell samples used to track dissidents.

An artificial hill built from 26 million cubic metres of World War II rubble in the Grunewald forest. The US National Security Agency built a listening station on its summit to intercept Eastern Bloc communications during the Cold War. The abandoned geodesic radomes are now a street art destination and offer panoramic views of Berlin.

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 […]