The Mauerpark is located between Bernauer and Gleimstraße, with the Berlin Wall running right through it. Previously there was a freight yard on the western side of the area, a parade ground on the other side and then a sports facility. The striking wall, which runs through the grounds in a north-south direction and forms the back of the stadium, was heaped up from war ruins. The former train station was in the western part, the slightly rising area to the stadium in the eastern part.
In 1988 the West Berlin Senate exchanged the eastern part of the station area for another area. This shifted the border to the west over a distance of one kilometer by about 50 meters. There have been such forms of area swapping on several occasions, and some of the properties that officially belong to West Berlin were like islands in the GDR area and were difficult to reach.
On the slope of the Mauerpark, the so-called hinterland wall has been preserved over a length of about 300 meters, which today serves as a practice area for graffiti sprayers.
The free areas between the border wall and the hinterland wall were called “death strips” in the population. Anyone wishing to cross this strip had to expect to be shot by the GDR border troops on duty on the watchtowers or on the border strip. Not only was that possible, it actually happened many times.
After the fall of the wall, the Berliners quickly took possession of the site and used it for their leisure activities. In 1992 it was decided to maintain the entire site as a park. Today the Mauerpark is a popular meeting place for visitors from all over the world.
Tip:
There is a flea market in the Mauerpark on Sundays, and for years also a privately organized karaoke singing in a kind of amphitheater on Sundays.
Sun from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.