Lichtenberg: Stasi, Tierpark and Karlshorst, the guide to east Berlin

Lichtenberg is the district of east Berlin you visit for two reasons: to understand the GDR and to get away from the tourist neighbourhoods. It was home to the headquarters of the Stasi, the East German secret police, and to the prison where it locked up its opponents. It is also where the Tierpark, the big landscaped zoo, stretches out, and where the museum of the 1945 surrender stands in Karlshorst. This guide presents what to see, how to get there and how to plan one or two days. Opening hours and prices are those checked in October 2026.

Lichtenberg at a glance

Lichtenberg is a large residential district far from the centre: allow 20 to 30 minutes by metro or S-Bahn from Alexanderplatz. It is not a neighbourhood for aimless strolling: it is a set of very different areas, with GDR housing estates, Karlshorst's villas, parks and memorial sites. You come with a precise plan, often with two or three stops in the day.

The sights fall into three areas: Normannenstraße and Frankfurter Allee for the Stasi Museum, Hohenschönhausen in the north for the former prison, and Friedrichsfelde and Karlshorst in the south-east for the Tierpark and the surrender museum.

The places to see

Place	What you see	Hours	Price	Access
Stasi Museum	The offices of the former headquarters, including that of minister Erich Mielke	Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat-Sun 11am-6pm	€12 (reduced €9)	U5 Magdalenenstraße
Hohenschönhausen memorial	The former Stasi prison, visit with former prisoners or guides	Daily 10am-6pm	Exhibitions free, guided tour by reservation	Tram M5 (Freienwalder Straße)
Tierpark Berlin	A 160-hectare zoo	9am to 4:30pm-6:30pm depending on the season	From €14.50 online	U5 Tierpark
Karlshorst museum	The 1945 surrender room	Tue-Sun 10am-6pm	Free	S3 Karlshorst then bus 296

Hours and prices checked in October 2026 on each site's official website.

The former Stasi headquarters and the Hohenschönhausen prison

The Stasi Museum occupies "House 1" of the Ministry for State Security headquarters, between Ruschestraße and Normannenstraße. You visit the offices left as they were, including those of Erich Mielke, minister for over thirty years, and an exhibition on surveillance methods. The panels are in German and English; take the audio guide if you speak French.

In the north, the Hohenschönhausen memorial is the Stasi's former remand prison. The guided tours, sometimes led by former prisoners, give a very concrete idea of the repression. Book ahead and allow about two hours; the visit is recommended from age 14. The two sites can be combined in one day, with a tram or bus ride between them.

Tierpark Berlin

The Tierpark in Friedrichsfelde, opened in 1955, is one of the largest landscaped zoos in Europe. Much more spacious than the zoo in the centre-west, it covers about 160 hectares and is mainly explored on foot. Choose it for a family outing: see also our guide Berlin with children. The online ticket is cheaper than at the ticket office.

Karlshorst and the 1945 surrender

The historic surrender room at the Karlshorst museum

In Karlshorst, the Museum Berlin-Karlshorst is housed in the former officers' mess of the Wehrmacht engineers' school. It was here that Nazi Germany's instrument of surrender was signed in the night of 8 to 9 May 1945. The room is preserved in its original state. Admission is free, and the museum is closed on Mondays. It pairs well with the Soviet memorial in Treptower Park and the guide Berlin and World War II.

Other places in the district

Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde: this cemetery holds the Socialists' Memorial, with the graves of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, murdered in January 1919. Access is free during the cemetery's opening hours.
Dong Xuan Center: a large Vietnamese wholesale and retail market on Herzbergstraße, with restaurants as well. Hours vary from shop to shop.
Housing estates: the Fennpfuhl district and the GDR's prefabricated blocks, to understand socialist urban planning, with no organised visit.

Itineraries for one or two days

A day of remembrance: in the morning, the Stasi Museum (U5 Magdalenenstraße), then the Hohenschönhausen memorial in the afternoon, with a guided tour booked.
A family day: the Tierpark all day, with a picnic and tickets bought online.
A 1945 history day: the Karlshorst museum in the morning, then the Tierpark, which is close by bus, or the Treptower Park memorial.

Getting there and where to stay

The U5 links Alexanderplatz with Frankfurter Allee, Magdalenenstraße, Friedrichsfelde and Tierpark. For Karlshorst, take the S3 and then bus 296. Our guide to transport in Berlin explains tickets. Few hotels are in the district: most travellers stay in the centre; see where to stay in Berlin.

Going further

For more on the history of the Wall and the division, see on the trail of the Berlin Wall. The neighbouring district of Friedrichshain offers a very different face of east Berlin.