Cab to Kreuzberg

Viewing platform as a tourist attraction

But locals also often came here to take a wistful look at the other half of the city.

Memory photo

Bernauer Straße 48

A 90° pan to the right shows the entire bleakness of the Berlin Wall in the first years after its construction on 13 August 1961. Initially, only the ground floor flats were walled up, which led to dramatic escape attempts by the residents of the upper floors in the weeks that followed.

Escape from the first floor

With the help of residents on the northern side of the street, West Berlin police officers and fire brigades, some people managed to escape until all the flats were evacuated in autumn 1961.

Sad facades

In the years after 1963, the buildings were finally demolished down to the street facades of the ground floors in order to achieve military "clear" conditions directly on the border. Until the end of the 1970s, the remains of the ruins concealed the concrete wall built a few steps behind them and reinforced with barbed wire. (Source: Wikipedia)

Escape jump

Michael and Willy Finder's escape was particularly spectacular on 7 October 1961, when they jumped one after the other from the 4th floor of their apartment building into a West Berlin fire brigade's safety net.

Versöhnungskirche (Church of Reconciliation)

The last remaining building in the so-called death strip was the  Versöhnungskirche  (Church of Reconciliation), built in 1892, whose entrances were partially walled into the border fortifications.

Aerial view of the Versöhnungskirche

The construction of the Wall on 13 August 1961 drastically worsened the border situation of the Reconciliation Parish, as the main portal of the church wall - about ten metres in front of the building - was bricked up three metres high on 21 August. From then on, it was no longer possible for West Berlin parishioners to visit the church, as the church and the parish hall were located in the eastern part of Berlin. From 23 October 1961, East Berlin churchgoers were also no longer allowed to visit the church. It was located in the death strip and was initially closed. (Source: Wikipedia)

Blasting of the Versöhnungskirche

The church tower was later used by GDR border troops as a watchtower with a machine gun emplacement. On 22 January 1985, the GDR government ordered the church to be blown up and six days later the tower as well. The demolition order was signed by the State Secretary for Church Affairs, Klaus Gysi. (Source: Wikipedia)

Bernauer Straße/corner of Gartenstraße

As we continue on our way to Kreuzberg, we now have to take a sharp right turn into Gartenstraße, as the wall makes a right-angled bend here. The advertising poster with a wistful sunset is mounted on the wall that blocks the entrance to the underground Nordbahnhof S-Bahn station.

Stettiner Tunnel

On the left-hand side of Gartenstraße is the former site of the  Stettiner Bahnhof railway station , easily recognisable by the typical enclosing wall made of yellowish clinker bricks, which formed part of the border fortifications.

Opposite Gartenplatz at the level of Feldstraße, the clinker brick wall of Gartenstraße is interrupted by the entrance portal of the  Stettiner Tunnel . Opened in 1896, the approximately 150 metre long pedestrian tunnel passed under the mainline railway tracks and provided the connection between Gartenstraße and Schwartzkopffstraße in the Oranienburger Vorstadt district. It was Berlin's first pedestrian tunnel and became necessary because the construction of the Stettiner Bahn railway at the time meant that Schwartzkopffstraße could no longer pass through to Gartenstraße. The tunnel was walled up by the GDR authorities in 1952 and has not been open to the public since. (Source: Wikipedia)

Liesenbrücken

Einige Meter weiter erreichen wir die sogenannten  Liesenbrücken , die wir in einem Kreisverkehr unterqueren müssen.

A few metres further on we reach the so-called  Liesenbrücken  bridges, which we have to cross under at a roundabout.

The listed bridge structure was built between 1890 and 1886 and is considered one of the "outstanding engineering constructions of the 19th century". The bridges served the long-distance trains departing from the former Szczecin railway station and, since 1936, also the S-Bahn. The long-distance lines have been closed since 1952. The two western bridges used by the S-Bahn were renovated in 1956/1957. (Source: Wikipedia)

Gustav Wunderwald

As early as 1927, the mighty steel skeleton inspired the painter  Gustav Wunderwald  (1882-1945) to create one of his main works "Bridge over Ackerstraße". Despite the changes made in the post-war years, the remaining bridge structure, as the Berlin Monument Database states, "still has a monumental appearance. The towering lattice girders, which extend into the surrounding streets", are an expression of the highly developed art of engineering in Wilhelmine Germany. (Source: Wikipedia)

Remains of the wall on Liesenstraße

The continuing Liesenstraße also runs parallel to the Wall.

Cemeteries on Liesenstraße

A border strip was created on the three cemeteries to the south of the road and the plots adjoining it up to Chausseestraße and was extended further and further over the following decades. On the former cemetery grounds, this border strip was 40 metres deep, in some places even up to 120 metres.

Border fortifications on Liesenstraße

Access to the cemeteries south of Liesenstraße was only possible via a small, shared entrance in Wöhlertstraße and was only permitted to direct relatives of the people buried here under strict conditions. There were even plans to remove the cemeteries completely, but these were not realised. Nevertheless, the burial sites were severely damaged by the clearing of the border area, by destruction during border operations and, last but not least, by vandalism and souvenir hunters after the opening of the Berlin Wall. (Source: Wikipedia)

Chausseestraße border crossing

Here at the Chaussestraße border crossing we have to turn right, as transit through Berlin-Mitte was not permitted for West Berliners.

Boyenstraße

Before we turn left into Sellerstraße at the next junction, the course of the wall already bends to the south-west at Boyenstraße.

Heidestraße

After crossing the Nordhafenbrücke bridge, which was built in 1970 to relieve traffic, we turn left once again into the boring Heidestraße, which runs between the freight stations of the  Hamburger and Lehrter Bahn railways  and now head south towards our destination in Kreuzberg for the first time. The traffic density has already increased considerably, as all the car traffic from Wedding and Reinickendorf heading for Kreuzberg/Schöneberg is already concentrated here.

Lehrter Stadtbahnhof

 Lehrter Stadtbahnhof  was a passenger station in the centre of Berlin from 1882 to 2002. It lost much of its importance after 1951, as the transfer to the old Lehrter station was cancelled. After the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the S-Bahn station was the last in the western part of Berlin on the light rail line to the east; the next station, Berlin Friedrichstraße, was already in the Soviet sector and lost even more of its importance due to its location in the immediate vicinity of the Wall.

The listed Lehrter Stadtbahnhof, largely preserved in its original state, was renovated in 1987 for Berlin's 750th anniversary celebrations at a cost of around ten million marks, but was then demolished in summer 2002 as part of the construction work for the new Berlin Central Station. (Source: Wikipedia)

We cross under the S-Bahn station on Friedrich-List-Ufer, follow the road across Washingtonplatz and Moltkebrücke and pass the only building in the Alsen Quarter that survived the war and reconstruction.

Swiss Embassy

The embassy was the only building in the Spreebogen to survive the demolition work for the world capital Germania and the Second World War without serious damage. After the bombing raids began, the embassy was housed in Rauschendorf Castle near Sonnenberg. In the final phase of the Battle of Berlin, the embassy building served as a base for the Red Army during the capture of the Reichstag at the end of April 1945. (Source: Wikipedia)

Entlastungsstraße (Relief Road)

After the construction of the Berlin Wall in August 1961, a new north-south connection in West Berlin became necessary, as the closure of the border meant that it was no longer possible to cross East Berlin, traffic flows shifted and parts of the existing road network around the Großer Stern were overloaded. In order to remedy the situation quickly, a  1.2 kilometre long aisle  was cut through the parks of the Großer Tiergarten and a road was built in just 44 days. It began near the then Swiss delegation in the Spreebogen not far from the Reichstag building, passed the Platz der Republik and then crossed the Straße des 17. Juni before continuing to Lennéstraße on the southern edge of the park and merging into Potsdamer Straße. (Source: Wikipedia)

Traffic aisle through the Tiergarten

As the Entlastungsstraße cut through an important park, it was widely regarded as an eyesore. However, it was considered indispensable for road traffic in West Berlin. It was also essential for public transport, as the A83 bus route of the Berlin transport company provided a direct and fast connection between the districts of Wedding and Schöneberg via the relief road. For decades, there was therefore no question of dismantling the road. In the late 1970s, there were even plans to significantly expand the relief road into an urban motorway as a section of the A 103 west tangent.

Up to this point, the (historical) route to Kreuzberg can still be easily followed, even by car. However, as the rest of the former Entlastungsstraße runs underground as the Tiergarten Tunnel and the construction work in the Potsdamer Platz Arkaden area fundamentally changed the road layout at the time, the route to Kreuzberg from here to Bernburger Straße has to be reconstructed.

Potsdamer Platz around 1986

The route to Bernburger Straße can now only be travelled on foot, as it runs through pedestrian zones along the Potsdamer-Platz-Arcades, the Tilla-Durieux-Park and via the Bernburger stairs.

Aerial photo of Potsdamer Platz around 1992

Thirty years ago, this was still a barren area before the largest construction site in Europe was built here.

Bellevue Tower

Preparations for the future redevelopment also included the demolition of the Bellevue Tower on Eichhornstrasse in October 1993. The 14-storey tower block clad in exposed aggregate concrete had been built in 1971 as one of the few new buildings in the Potsdamer Platz neighbourhood. Originally used as a hotel, the Bellevue Tower later became a dormitory for students and asylum seekers, and most recently showed clear signs of neglect. (Source: Wikipedia)

M-Bahn

We pass under the  M-Bahn  test track between Gleisdreieck and Kemperplatz at Bernburger Straße station.

The trial operation was opened for free passenger transport on 28 August 1989, but was discontinued on 31 July 1991 to free up the route for the reconstruction of the section of the U2 underground line interrupted by the construction of the Wall, which was made possible by the fall of the Wall on 9 November 1989. (Source: Wikipedia)

Askanischer Platz

The route continues along Bernburger Straße past the old St Luke's Church to Askanischer Platz with the remaining fragment of the portico of the former  Anhalter Bahnhof  station.

Kochstraße/corner of Friedrichstraße

We cross Anhalter Straße, then turn left into Wilhelmstraße, then right into Kochstraße. At the corner of Friedrichstraße, it's not far to the border crossing there, known worldwide as  Checkpoint Charlie .

Axel Springer Tower

We pass the striking  Axel Springer Tower  with its 19 storeys and a height of 78 metres, which the conservative publisher had built in the immediate vicinity of the sector border as his "cry against the wind" despite numerous critics.

Just two years later, not far away on Leipziger Straße, a  complex of the same name  was built with eight 23- to 25-storey residential tower blocks staggered in pairs.

It is sometimes rumoured that the aim was also to reduce the dominant urban impact of the Axel Springer Tower and to reduce the visibility of the illuminated news lettering on the GSW Tower opposite and the billboards for the Springer newspapers Bild, Berliner Morgenpost and B.Z. (Source: Wikipedia)

Moritzplatz

We continue along Oranienstraße to Moritzplatz. The Heinrich-Heine-Straße border crossing was located here until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Sebastianstraße / corner of Luckauer Straße

After a few metres, we turn left into Luckauer Straße, which leads us to  Sebastianstraße .

The street was divided when the Berlin Wall was built in 1961: The houses with house numbers 1-3 belonged to East Berlin, while houses 81-87 on the opposite side belonged to West Berlin. However, the residents of the latter were allowed to use the pavement, which already belonged to the Soviet sector. (Source: Wikipedia)

Waldemarstraße 1973

Along Waldemarstraße, the route continues along the former  Luisenstädtischer Kanal  canal to Mariannenplatz.

Mariannenplatz

„Mariannenplatz, rot verschrien - ich fühl' mich gut, ich steh' auf Berlin“

"Mariannenplatz, red reviled - I feel good, I'm into Berlin"

 Video worth seeing: Ideal, Berlin 1980 

Mariannenplatz is home to the former Bethanien Hospital, now known as Künstlerhaus Bethanien, and the district's cultural office. It is also home to the formerly occupied  Georg-von-Rauch-Haus , named after Georg von Rauch, a member of the Central Council of Roving Hash Rebels, who was shot dead by a policeman. The left-wing German rock musician Rio Reiser lived here for a time, and his band  Ton Steine Scherben  immortalised Mariannenplatz in the squatters' anthem Rauch-Haus-Song from the album "Keine Macht für Niemand" (No power to nobody) (1972). (Source: Wikipedia)

Bethaniendamm

The wall on Bethaniendamm was so close to the houses that it was not permitted to drive motor vehicles along it, so we had to take another diversions via Manteuffelstraße.

Köpenicker Straße

After an awkward 13 kilometre drive, we finally arrive at the dead end of Köpenicker Straße. The taximeter reads 35 Deutschmarks, the driver is happy.

But even after the Wall came down, when it was still an adventure for West Berlin taxi drivers to find their way from the West via the East back to the West (the local knowledge test was only demanded for the Western part), some passengers had considerable reservations about taking the "shortcut" (only 5 kilometres!) via Alexanderplatz:

"Nah, nah, drive as usual, relief road and all that!"