Checkpoint Charlie: what is left to see and the Wall Museum

Updated on October 1, 2026

Checkpoint Charlie was the border crossing on Friedrichstraße between the American sector and East Berlin, reserved during the Cold War for Allied military personnel, diplomats and foreigners. Almost nothing original remains: the guardhouse and sandbags in the middle of the street are a reconstruction, unveiled on 13 August 2000. Yet the crossroads, on the boundary between Mitte and Kreuzberg, is still a must for understanding the divided city, thanks to a free open-air exhibition and the Mauermuseum, the private Wall Museum. Allow 15 minutes for the crossroads and its panels, and at least two hours for the museum, open every day from 10am to 8pm (€18.50 full price).

Highlights

The guardhouse and the light box

The white hut reproduces the first Allied checkpoint of the 1960s; the original was dismantled in 1990. In the middle of the street, photographer Frank Thiel's light box, almost six metres high, has shown since 1998 the portraits of two young soldiers, one American and one Soviet, photographed in 1994 before the Allied troops left.

The Mauermuseum (Haus am Checkpoint Charlie)

Founded by Rainer Hildebrandt, the museum opened on 19 October 1962 and moved into this building, right by the border, on 14 June 1963. It tells the story of the Wall and above all of the escapes to the West, with many objects and period documents, as well as the struggle for human rights around the world.

The open-air exhibition

The BlackBox Kalter Krieg, the Cold War pavilion set up at the crossroads in 2012, closed on 10 January 2026. On the forecourt of Yadegar Asisi's "Die Mauer" panorama, the open-air exhibition "Durch den Eisernen Vorhang" (Through the Iron Curtain) remains freely accessible and traces the history of the site.

The future Forum Checkpoint Charlie

The Berlin Wall Foundation (Stiftung Berliner Mauer) is preparing a new place of learning and remembrance, the Forum Checkpoint Charlie, with input from the public. No opening date has been announced.

Infos pratiques

Tips

Costumed extras may pose in front of the guardhouse and ask for money for a photo: they are neither soldiers nor officials, and you are under no obligation to pay. At the Mauermuseum, full price is €18.50, €14.50 for students, €12.50 for ages 7 to 18 and free up to age 6; the audio guide costs €5 and the photo permit €5 (prices checked in October 2026). Buy your ticket online to skip the queue. To see real sections of the Wall, continue to the [Topography of Terror](/fr/attractions/topographie-de-la-terreur), 10 minutes' walk away, the [Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Straße](/fr/attractions/memorial-du-mur-de-berlin) or the [East Side Gallery](/fr/attractions/east-side-gallery).

How to get there

Friedrichstraße, at the corner of Zimmerstraße, 10969 Berlin; the Mauermuseum is at Friedrichstraße 43-45, 10969 Berlin. U-Bahn U6, Kochstraße/Checkpoint Charlie station, 2 minutes' walk away; U2 and U6, Stadtmitte station, about 5 minutes to the north. The [Jewish Museum Berlin](/fr/attractions/musee-juif-de-berlin) and the [Kreuzberg district](/fr/articles/kreuzberg-berlin) are about ten minutes' walk to the south-east.