Mauerpark

n 1950 the Stettiner Bahnhof took the name Nordbahnhof because of its role in Berlin's public transportation system, and the Old Nordbahnhof became known as Güterbahnhof Eberswalder Straße. It was finally closed after the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961. In 1946, through the division of Berlin into four occupation zones, the land of the Old Nordbahnhof stretching from Bernauer Straße to Kopenhagener Straße was split between the French and Soviet sectors. After the building of the Berlin Wall, the land was included into the heavily guarded Death Strip with walls on either side.

One of the viewing platforms, from which West Berlin residents could look over the wall into East Berlin, stood at this location. Yet in 1988, the East Berlin authorities concluded an agreement with the West to acquire a strip of land at the bottom of the hill to set up a more efficient border.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the former death strip was designated as a public space and one of several green spaces in the city by local residents. Several attempts to attach the western part to the green space have so far failed. Today the park is one of the most popular places for young residents of Berlin, especially from the fashionable district of Prenzlauer Berg, and attracts basketball players, jugglers, musicians, and many other types of people. There are two stadiums next to the park, including Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark and Max Schmeling Halle, home to several of Berlin's local sports teams.

An 800 m strip of the Berlin Wall still stands in the park today as a monument, and is a popular place for graffiti artists to paint and display their work.

Read More