Sonnenallee

Border Crossing Sonnenallee 389-411, 12437 Berlin

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 for Chris Gueffroy

Unlike the more dramatic crossings at Checkpoint Charlie or Bornholmer Straße, Sonnenallee was a relatively calm and bureaucratic border point, used mainly by West Berliners visiting relatives in the East. The checkpoint processed far fewer travellers than the city-centre crossings and had a distinctly suburban character.

Sonnenallee border marked by cobblestones (Photo: Andreas Steinhoff)

The crossing became widely known through Leander Haußmann’s 1999 comedy film “Sonnenallee,” which portrays life on the eastern side of the street with warmth and humour. The film, based on Thomas Brussig’s novel, became a cult classic in Germany and gave the crossing a cultural significance it never had during the Cold War.

Today the former border point is marked with a double line of cobblestones embedded in the road surface, following the standard marking system used throughout Berlin to trace the wall’s route. A Berlin History Mile information board provides historical context, and a memorial plaque commemorates the fall of the wall here in 1989.

Show me on the map