Berlin is a city of development at the moment, but it is still marked by it’s emptiness. Whilst new builds and projects aim to fill some of the voids left by the last century and cater to the growing number of residents, the idiosyncratic nature of the city can be found in the buildings that stubbornly persist, dormant and abandoned.
It is in these spaces that visitors and residents, throwing caution to the wind and the “Betreten Verboten” (Forbidden Entry) signs, often tread. Whether it’s a glimpse at the unknown, the uncanny or the unattainable past, you’ll find plenty of spaces, and those keen to view and experience abandoned Berlin. Managing to find your way into these spaces is not something you’d overtly recommend – but understanding the stories behind the ruins is nevertheless, a fascinating way of discovering Berlin’s recent, chaotic history.
With Buzzfeed articles and blogs a plenty dedicated to this unique “urban exploration”, you won’t be hard pressed to get your kicks via the internet. Whilst there are three glimpses below, we’d also point you in the direction of Abandoned Berlin, which, by any means possible, has managed to document Berlin’s empty spaces (and their entry points) unlike any other.
A fire in summer 2014 managed to take with it swathes of this former GDR amusement park, which in recent years manage to straddle the bar between forbidden playground and concert venue. Located in Planterwald, near to Treptow Park, Spreepark attracted 1.7 annual million visitors in it’s heyday, before succumbing to decline following the fall of the Wall in 1989, and eventual disarray after it’s closure in 2001. From old teacup rides to plastic dinosaurs, Spreepark has been at the top of most urban explorers lists for quite sometime.
A former US listening station located in the West of the city and in the Grunwald, Teufelsberg (a hill built from the rubble of WW2 and on allegedly top of an indestructible Nazi-military training school), is an incredible reminder of the enduring effects of war, and the paranoia that characterised the latter half of Berlin’s 20th Century. Tours are available of the site, which is still protected whilst negotiations continue over future development.
Beelitz Heilstätten
Beelitz Heilstätten was originally built as a tuberculosis hospital and nursing home, opened in 1902. When WW1 started, the centre was taken over by the Red Cross to care for injured German soldiers – including notably, Hitler himself. After returning back to it’s original guise in the 20’s and 30’s, in WW2, Beelitz Heilstätten was commandeered again for the war effort, before turning over to Russian hands afterwards for what would be the next 50 years, catering again for another German leader, this time, the former GDR president Erich Honecker. A site heavy with harrowing history, Beelitz is not for the faint hearted, despite the deceptively open grounds.
