BERLIN TRAVEL GUIDE

Berlin Travel Guide
Sights
1
Deutsches Technikmuseum
The history of technology and crafts is the theme
of this fascinating museum, located in the grounds of a
former station. In a new building, visitors can learn about
developments in aviation and admire 40 planes, including
a Junkers Ju 52 and a “raisin bomber”, the type of plane
used for the Berlin airlift. Old ships and steam
locomotives bring back the days of the Industrial
Revolution.
➤ Trebbiner Str. 9 • Map F5 • 9am–5:30pm Tue–Fri,
10am–6pm Sat, Sun • (030) 90 25 40 • Admission charge
2
Jüdisches Museum
The Jewish Museum is not only unique
architecturally, but it is also one of Berlin’s most
fascinating museums. Its collections present an overview
of almost 1,000 years of German-Jewish cultural history;
a special exhibition is devoted to everyday Jewish life in
Berlin from the end of the 19th century (see Museums)
.
➤ Lindenstr. 14 • Map G5 • 10am–10pm Mon,
10am–8pm Tue–Sun • (030) 25 99 33 00 • Admission
charge
3
Checkpoint Charlie
The Haus am Checkpoint Charlie, next to the former
crossing point for the Alllied forces, has an exhibition on
the history of the Berlin Wall and the various means
people used in trying to escape from East to West Berlin,
ranging from a hot-air balloon to a car with a false floor.
Only a replica of the control hut remains of the former
border.
➤ Friedrichstr. 43–45 • Map G4 • 9am–10pm daily •
(030) 253 72 50 • Admission charge
4
Topographie des Terrors
After 1934, three terrifying Nazi institutions had their
headquarters in this area: the security service
(Sicherheitsdienst, SD) was based at Wilhelmstraße 102
in the Prinz-Albrecht-Palais; the school of arts and crafts
at Prinz-Albrecht-Straße 8 was occupied by the Gestapo;
while Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, resided next
door at No. 9, at the Hotel Prinz Albrecht. After World
War II, all the buildings were bulldozed except for the
cellars where, in 1933–45, prisoners had been
interrogated and tortured. An exhibition and a
documentation centre (under construction) chronicle the
history of the area.
➤ Stresemannstr. 110, entrance Niederkirchner Str. •
Map F4 • 10am–8pm daily • (030) 25 48 67 03 • Free
admission
5
Anhalter Bahnhof
Only pitiful fragments remain of the railway station
that was once the largest in Europe. The giant structure
was erected in 1880 by Franz Schwechten as a showcase
station: official visitors to the Empire were meant to be
impressed by the splendour and glory of the German
capital as soon as they reached the railway station. In
1943 the station was badly damaged by bombs and in
1960 it was pulled down. The waste ground behind the
façade was meant to become a park; today the
Tempodrom is based here, hosting concerts and cabaret
shows.
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➤ Askanischer Platz 6–7 • Map F5
6 Oranienstraße
Oranienstraße is the heart of Kreuzberg. It is the
wildest, most colourful and most unusual street of the
district, where alternative shops and pubs jostle for space
with doner kebab take-aways and Turkish greengrocers.
All aspects of life and politics in Kreuzberg are centred
around this road.
➤ Between Lindenstr. and Skalitzer Str. • Map H5
7 Nollendorfplatz
Nollendorfplatz and neighbouring Winterfeldtplatz
are right in the centre of Schöneberg. The former square
has always been a focal point for the gay scene in Berlin,
and a plaque at U-Bahn station Nollendorfplatz
commemorates approximately 5,000 homosexuals killed
in concentration camps by the Nazis. Today, gay life is
concentrated more in the surrounding streets. Before
World War II, Nollendorfplatz was also a centre of
entertainment. The Metropol-Theater, today a
discotheque, then boasted Erwin Piscator as its
innovative director. And next door lived the writer
Christopher Isherwood, whose novel formed the basis
of the famous musical “Cabaret”.
➤ Map E5
8 Viktoriapark
This rambling park was set up as a recreational
space for workers in Kreuzberg in 1888–94 to plans by
Hermann Mächtig. It has an artificial waterfall, and the
Neo-Gothic Schinkel memorial at the top of Kreuzberg,
66 m (216 ft) high, commemorates Prussian victory in
the Wars of Liberation against Napoleon.
➤ Kreuzbergstr. • Map F6
9 Martin-Gropius-Bau
The richly ornamented former museum of arts and
crafts is one of Berlin’s most attractive exhibition centres
(see Museums) .
➤ Niederkirchnerstr. 7 • Map F4 • changing exhibitions
and opening times. 10am–8pm Tue–Fri, Sun; 10am–10pm
Sat • (030) 25 48 60 • Admission charge
10
Riehmers Hofgarten
Over 20 buildings make up this elegant estate, built
as officers’ quarters in the Gründerzeit (after the founding
of the German Empire in 1871). Attractively restored in
recent years, there is also a pleasant hotel with
restaurant.
➤ Yorckstr. 83–86 • Map F6
Festivals & Fairs
1
Berliner Filmfestspiele
The Berlinale is the only top German film festival,
and is attended by Hollywood stars and German starlets
alike. Until 1999, the film festival took place all around
the Zoo-Palast cinema; today the traditional festival draws
thousands of cinema fans to the area around Potsdamer
Platz.
➤ Filmhaus Potsdamer Platz • Map L2 • (030) 25 92 00
• 2nd and 3rd week in February
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