Mauerpark Berlin:
The Surprising History: From Death Strip to Public Park
What was the Mauerpark site used for before it became a park?
The site of today's Mauerpark was once home to a freight railway station, with a Prussian military parade ground right next to it. Between 1961 and 1989, the border between East and West Berlin ran through this area. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the former border zone was gradually transformed into a public park.
THE BERLIN LOCALS RECOMMEND
Why is Mauerpark in Berlin called Mauerpark?
Mauerpark gets its name from the Berlin Wall, which ran through this area during Germany's division. It separated Prenzlauer Berg in East Berlin from Wedding in West Berlin. The first section of the park opened on November 9, 1994, exactly five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Key Facts at a Glance
- Location: Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg, on the border with Gesundbrunnen
- Former use: Freight railway station and adjacent military parade ground
- Berlin Wall: Border fortifications from 1961 to 1989
- Notable fact: The border was shifted by around 50 metres in 1988
- Opening date: November 9, 1994
- Expansions: 2005 and 2020
- Known for: Flea market, karaoke, graffiti and street music
- Admission: Free
Alright, friends,
I've lost count of how many times I've been to the flea market or karaoke at Mauerpark. Especially back in the 2000s, the park was just part of my life. After training at Max-Schmeling-Halle, I'd regularly head over here with the guys and we'd hang out for a while.
Back then, the crowd felt much more down-to-earth to me, shaped by long-time Berliners and people from the neighbourhood. Today, you'll find international visitors, hipsters and plenty of new residents. Which is quite a change for a district where hardly anyone wanted to live back then.
These days, I don't visit Mauerpark nearly as often, even though it's only about a 30-minute walk from where I live. Times have changed, and so have the people and the atmosphere. But that transformation is part of the park's history too.
The History of Mauerpark Begins with a Military Parade Ground
Long before Mauerpark Berlin existed, this area was farmland outside the city's former boundaries. In the 18th century, it was part of Berlin's northern agricultural land. Its significance only began to change as the city grew.
In 1823, businessman Wilhelm Griebenow bought large plots of land with the intention of selling them later at a profit. Two years later, the Prussian military purchased part of the site and established a parade ground for the Kaiser-Alexander-Regiment.
Berliners called it the Exerzierplatz zur einsamen Pappel.
The unusual name came from a lone poplar tree that stood on the grounds and could be seen from far away.
But soldiers weren't the only people who gathered here. During the March Revolution of 1848, around 20,000 people assembled on the parade ground for a workers' demonstration. Their demands included better working conditions, higher wages and universal education.
So long before the Berlin Wall existed, this site had already been a place of social and political struggle.
From Military Parade Ground to Freight Station: How Did the Site Change?
With industrialisation, the area west of the military parade ground developed into an important railway hub.
From 1871 onwards, the terminus of the Berliner Nordbahn was built here. On October 1, 1877, the station opened as a freight railway station. Its tracks stretched between Bernauer Straße and the Ringbahn railway line.
For decades, goods were loaded, unloaded, stored and transported onwards here. The site had been raised with rubble during construction, which is why parts of today's park still sit higher than the surrounding streets.
Between 1892 and 1898, there was even a small passenger station on Bernauer Straße. After that, the site returned to focusing on freight transport.
In 1950, the station was renamed Berlin Eberswalder Straße. Freight operations later declined until the Deutsche Reichsbahn closed the station in 1985.
So a large part of today's Mauerpark wasn't originally green space at all, but a former railway site. Much like the RAW-Gelände.
The historic Gleimtunnel is another reminder of this period.
Why Did Hertha BSC Play at Today's Mauerpark?
What many visitors don't know is that the history of Hertha BSC is closely connected to the former military parade ground.
Towards the end of the 19th century, more and more schools and sports clubs began using the large open space. Suitable places to play football were hard to find in Berlin's densely built-up residential neighbourhoods.
On April 18, 1892, a match between teams representing Berlin and Dresden took place here. Berlin lost 3–0.
Just a few months later, in July 1892, Hertha BSC was founded. The young club used the Exerzierplatz Einsame Pappel as its home ground for many years. Hertha BSC has played at the Olympiastadion since 1963.
Later, the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark was built on the eastern part of the site. The stadium was constructed in 1951 for the World Festival of Youth and Students. Wartime rubble was also used during construction, forming the steep embankment along Schwedter Straße.
So this embankment isn't a natural hill, but another reminder of Berlin's post-war history.
How Did the Berlin Wall Run Through Today's Mauerpark?
With the division of Berlin, Schwedter Straße took on a completely new significance. Prenzlauer Berg lay to the east in the Soviet sector, while the railway site to the west was in the French sector.
On August 13, 1961, the GDR began building the Berlin Wall. Fences, watchtowers, border barriers and, later, massive concrete walls were erected along Schwedter Straße.
Between the border fortifications lay a heavily guarded strip of land designed to prevent people from escaping East Berlin.
Parts of today's Mauerpark were once part of the death strip and completely off-limits to the public.
One particularly striking feature was the difference in elevation between the sports stadium and the former railway grounds. The steep embankment made surveillance more difficult and therefore influenced the layout of the border fortifications.
The Gleimtunnel was closed, and Schwedter Straße was cut off in its northern section. For local residents, the connection between the neighbouring districts had effectively disappeared.
Today, if you explore the history of the Berlin Wall along Bernauer Straße, stroll past the North Side Gallery or visit Checkpoint Charlie, you'll encounter different sections of that same divided city. At Mauerpark, however, you can see particularly clearly how a heavily guarded border was transformed back into an everyday part of city life.
The 1988 Border Shift: Why Were There Three Walls Here at One Point?
One of the most unusual chapters in Mauerpark's history unfolded shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In 1988, West Berlin and the GDR agreed to a land swap. As part of the agreement, the border along the former freight railway station was moved around 50 metres westwards over a stretch of approximately one kilometre.
The reason was the difficulty of securing the border strip along the stadium embankment. The GDR wanted to make its border fortifications easier to monitor.
A new border wall was therefore built further west. Because the older walls initially remained in place, there were temporarily three parallel walls.
What makes this particularly remarkable is the timing:
Construction work to expand the border fortifications was only completed in November 1989, immediately before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
While the GDR was still reinforcing its border with new security measures, the entire border system was already on the verge of collapse.
From Death Strip to Mauerpark: How Was the Park Created After 1989?
After November 9, 1989, the border fortifications lost their purpose. What remained were walls, abandoned land and an area that had been closed to the public for decades.
But the creation of Mauerpark didn't begin with a finished plan from the city authorities. It was local residents who first reclaimed the space.
As early as spring 1990, local initiatives were formed to establish a children's farm and a public green space. On April 1, 1990, residents planted the first trees. Demolition of the border fortifications began that summer.
In 1992, landscape architect Gustav Lange won a competition to design the site. His concept centred on transforming the former border zone into an open public space.
Financial support came from the Allianz Umweltstiftung, which provided several million German marks to help bring the project to life.
On November 9, 1994, the first section of Mauerpark finally opened to the public.
Exactly five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a public space had emerged where people from the two formerly divided neighbourhoods could once again come together.
Why Was Mauerpark's Expansion Only Completed in 2020?
Although the first section of Mauerpark opened in 1994, it took another 26 years for the major western expansion to be completed.
The reason was conflicting interests. The city wanted to create more green space, while landowners and investors wanted to develop parts of the former railway site.
Local citizens' initiatives fought for years to preserve as much of the land as possible as a public park. Plans to build more than 700 apartments north of the Gleimtunnel were particularly controversial.
Eventually, a compromise was reached: a new residential neighbourhood could be built in the north, while the southern expansion areas were secured for the park.
Mauerpark had already expanded northwards in 2005. In 2020, the major western extension finally opened, almost doubling the park's size to around 15 hectares.
The history of Mauerpark also shows just how difficult it can be in Berlin to protect public green spaces against commercial interests.
What Remains of the Berlin Wall Can You Still See in Mauerpark?
If you walk through Mauerpark today, you can still discover parts of the former border fortifications.
Along the slope of the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, a long section of the former inner border wall still stands. The concrete wall is one of Berlin's best-known graffiti spots and, at the same time, a protected historical reminder of Germany's division.
During construction work near the southern entrance to the park, workers also discovered the foundations of a former vehicle barrier. Since November 2020, these historical remains have been displayed in an archaeological viewing window.
The route of Schwedter Straße and other traces of the border fortifications also serve as reminders of the Berlin Wall era.
The painted inner border wall is particularly interesting: while the East Side Gallery and other Berlin street art locations tell stories of artistic reclamation, here an actual section of the former border fortifications meets a constantly changing graffiti culture.
How Did the Flea Market, Karaoke and Graffiti Become Mauerpark's Trademark?
After opening, Mauerpark didn't simply become an ordinary green space. It increasingly turned into a meeting place for musicians, artists, traders and people from all walks of life.
On July 11, 2004, the Mauerpark flea market opened for the first time.
It quickly became one of Berlin's best-known flea markets. If you're familiar with Boxhagener Platz or Volkspark Friedrichshain, you'll know just how much markets like these can shape life in a Berlin neighbourhood.
In 2009, Gareth Lennon started the Sunday Bearpit Karaoke sessions in the amphitheatre. What began as an unusual idea became an internationally known event, with people singing in front of hundreds or even thousands of spectators.
Graffiti culture also became an established part of the park. Since 2019, spray painting has been officially permitted on the designated section of the wall.
The result was a place where the atmosphere was shaped not just by the original park design, but above all by the people who used it.
Mauerpark Then and Now: How Has the Crowd Changed?
After German reunification, Mauerpark Berlin was initially a public space mainly used by people from the surrounding neighbourhoods. As the park became more popular, the crowd began to change too.
What was once a local meeting place became an international attraction. Today, tourists, new residents, musicians and traders are just as much a part of the scene as long-time Berliners.
I still remember hanging out here with the guys back in the 2000s. For me, Mauerpark was simply somewhere to chill, without needing any particular plans.
Today, everything feels more organised, more crowded, hipper and more touristy. At the same time, those changes are part of how Prenzlauer Berg and its surrounding neighbourhoods have evolved.
But the park's growing popularity has also brought problems. Litter, damaged lawns and complaints about street music have been issues for the city for years. That's why additional green spaces have been created and rules for music in the park have been introduced.
Mauerpark is therefore not just a symbol of freedom, but also an example of the conflicts that come with a growing city.
Visiting Mauerpark Berlin: Admission, Opening Hours and How to Get There
Mauerpark is located between Bernauer Straße, Eberswalder Straße and Schwedter Straße in Prenzlauer Berg. As a public park, it's generally accessible at any time and admission is free.
The easiest way to reach the southern entrance is via Eberswalder Straße U-Bahn station on the U2 line. From there, it's just a short walk. Tram lines M1, M10 and 12 also stop nearby.
The flea market normally takes place on Sundays from 10 am to 6 pm. The famous karaoke sessions in the amphitheatre are mainly held during the warmer months when the weather is good. Different times or restrictions may apply to individual events.
If you want to explore the park's historical traces, make sure to check out the former inner border wall along the stadium embankment and the archaeological remains near the southern entrance.
Mauerpark Berlin: A Place That Never Stops Changing
From a military parade ground to a freight railway station, then a death strip and finally a public park: few green spaces in Berlin bring together so many different chapters of the city's history in one place.
What I find particularly impressive is that Mauerpark didn't simply appear after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Local residents fought to turn the former border zone into a shared public space. And even after that, it took decades for the park to reach its current size.
For me, it's also a piece of my youth. I think of graffiti, 1UP, countless visits to the flea market and karaoke. These days, I don't come here as often. Maybe that's partly because I've changed myself.
Mauerpark is no longer the same place it was 20 years ago. But cities don't stand still either.
Feel free to check out our blogs about Planetarium, Plattenbau, Charlottenburg Palace, Tiergarten or Hackesche Höfe.
Berlin isn't a tourist attraction. Berlin is a city.
See you in the real Berlin – or right here in the next blog.
Take care 🖤
Book "Mauerpark: Ost- und Westseite Berlins an einem Ort" by Torsten Schulz (contributor), Rolf Zöllner (photographer) | Book "Mauer Park" by David Wagner | Website "https://www.mauerpark.info" | Website "https://www.berlin.de/tourismus/parks-und-gaerten/3561684-1740419-mauerpark.html" | MANY OF THE IMAGES IN THIS ARTICLE ARE FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY AND DO NOT SHOW THE ACTUAL LOCATION.
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