The Berlin Wall Memorial (Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer) stretches for about 1.4 km along Bernauer Strasse, on the border between the Mitte and Wedding districts. The Wall ran exactly here: the façades on one side of the street belonged to East Berlin, the pavement to West Berlin. A section of the border strip survives as it was, with the Wall, the "death strip" and an original watchtower. The site, run by the Berlin Wall Foundation (Stiftung Berliner Mauer), is entirely free: the outdoor area is open every day from 8am to 10pm, and the Visitor Center and Documentation Center from Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm.
Highlights
The outdoor exhibition
Spread over four areas (A to D) along the street, it tells the story of how the Wall was built, how the border houses were destroyed and how daily life went on on both sides. Corten steel rods trace the line of the vanished Wall, markers in the ground show where escape tunnels and demolished buildings stood, and "archaeological windows" reveal the successive layers of the fortifications.
The Documentation Center and its viewing tower
At Bernauer Strasse 111, the exhibition "1961 | 1989. The Berlin Wall" (420 m²) explains why the Wall was built, how people lived with it and why it fell, through objects, biographies and eyewitness accounts. The viewing platform looks down on the memorial by Kohlhoff & Kohlhoff, inaugurated on 13 August 1998: a preserved stretch of border strip with its watchtower, at the corner of Ackerstrasse.
The Chapel of Reconciliation
This oval chapel of wood and rammed earth was consecrated in 2000 on the former border strip, on the site of the Church of Reconciliation, which was left in no man's land and then demolished by the GDR in 1985. From Tuesday to Friday, from 12:00 to 12:15, a short service open to all recalls the life of one of the Wall's victims.
The Window of Remembrance
In area A, this wall of rusted steel niches gathers the names, dates and photos of the Wall's victims. According to the Foundation, at least 140 people were killed or died at the Berlin border between 1961 and 1989.
The Visitor Center
At no. 119, on the corner of Gartenstrasse, it is the starting point for the visit and for guided tours. An introductory film on the history of the Wall is shown on the first floor. In the nearby Nordbahnhof S-Bahn station, an exhibition on the mezzanine presents the "ghost stations" that West Berlin trains passed through without stopping under East Berlin.
Infos pratiques
Tips
Start at the Visitor Center, near Nordbahnhof station, then walk east along Bernauer Strasse: the visit then follows areas A to D in order and ends near the U8 Bernauer Strasse station, a few minutes from the [Mauerpark](/fr/attractions/marche-aux-puces-mauerpark). Allow at least two hours for the outdoor area, the viewing tower and the exhibition. The Foundation runs public guided tours (€5, reduced €3; €7, reduced €4 for tours over 90 minutes; prices as of October 2026) on fixed dates listed in its online calendar, in German and sometimes in English or other languages. A cloakroom and lockers are available, and both centers are wheelchair accessible.
How to get there
Visitor Center: Bernauer Strasse 119, 13355 Berlin; Documentation Center: Bernauer Strasse 111. S-Bahn S1, S2, S25 and S26, Nordbahnhof station; tram M10, Nordbahnhof stop; bus 247, S Nordbahnhof/Gartenstrasse stop; U8, Bernauer Strasse station, at the other end of the site; U6, Naturkundemuseum station.
Opening hours
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