Berlin/East Central

East Central is a trendy, bohemian, artsy area that consists of Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain and Prenzlauer Berg (sometimes called Prenzlberg). The western district Kreuzberg was merged with the eastern district Friedrichshain in 2001. They skew towards to a young and alternative, often politically left-oriented crowd. Both districts feature a very heterogeneous architecture, from whole quarters of 19th century apartment houses to functional and not very pleasant 60s and 70s residential building blocks. You also notice the differences as the districts were separated by the wall. The remaining part of the wall between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg is the longest part still existing in Berlin. Prenzlauer Berg is to the northeast of Friedrichshain and has changed considerably since reunification. It has gentrified similarly to Brooklyn/Williamsburg from deserted apartment houses into a lively area for students, artists and young people – if they or their parents can afford it. Rents have risen sharply in the last few years, and many empty apartments in this area are no longer rented out but sold, refurbished into luxurious lofts or hostel rooms.

Understand

The former districts of Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain had few things in common (one thing is nowadays for sure the attraction to students, politically left and young creative people), due to their history on each side of the wall. Since the political decision to merge, these two districts work politically together. The name was made by flipping a coin to decide what name to appear first.

Kreuzberg is one of Berlin's most eclectic districts, home to an unusual mix of left-wing punks, anarchists, gays, creative artists and Turkish immigrants, the last of which make up a third of the population and have earned the area its occasional nickname Little Istanbul. The district has gentrified to a considerable extent in recent years, with dot-coms, marketing agencies, designers, German and international kids from wealthy backgrounds moving into renovated lofts and spacy apartments, but there are still plenty of kebab joints, funky nightclubs, and pictures of Abdullah Öcalan gazing down from Communist Party of Kurdistan propaganda posters.

Get in

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Map of Berlin/East Central

The main entry point for Kreuzberg 36 is Kottbusser Tor, the U-Bahn station on line U1 and U8. The U-Bahn line U1 is the backbone crossing the borough from east to west.

The main entry point for Kreuzberg 61 is Mehringdamm, the U-Bahn station on line U6 and U7.

The main gateways for Friedrichshain are the S-Bahn stations Ostkreuz and Warschauer Straße. There are frequent U- and S-Bahn to the main tourist central in Friedrichshain, e.g. the Berlin Wall East Side Gallery close to the "Warschauer Straße" station.

The best and fastest way to get into Prenzlauer Berg is either the U-Bahn (U2) Eberswalder Straße or the S-Bahn Schönhauser Allee (S41, S42, S8, S9, U2).

See

There are several monuments and museums in this district as it stretches across the former borders of East and West Berlin, something that was only done in Mitte, too.

Kreuzberg

52.5028713.413281 Oranienstraße (K36) (U1, U8 „Kottbusser Tor“ or U1 „Görlitzer Bahnhof“). A street full of shops, cafes and restaurants
52.4894213.391132 Bergmannstraße (K61) (U6, U7 „Mehringdamm“). Like Oranienstraße a street full of shops, cafes and restaurants, but in the other, more middle-class part of Kreuzberg
52.4965513.43753 Görlitzer Park (K36). 150-200m along the Wiener Straße (bypassing the fire house and the public swimming pool) from U-Bahn Görlitzer Bahnhof, the park is famous for the Turkish families barbecuing on summer weekends, failed contemporary art and relaxed atmosphere of students. It does have a reputation of being full of pickpockets and drug dealers though and the police makes regular visits to this place to check on the situation.
52.4981513.387274 Landwehrkanal. Take a stroll for a few kilometers along this canal which runs right through the heart of Kreuzberg. It's peaceful and mostly traffic-free, but full of life in summer. Some parts are lined with bars and restaurants with terraces. Sit on a bench or terrace and watch the world go by on a summer evening
52.4876313.381565 Viktoriapark. with the Kreuzberg (Cross Mountain), a hill in the Kreuzberg 61 with a Prussian National Monument and a waterfall
52.5062613.377256 Meistersaal (Hansa-Studios by the wall), Köthener Str. 38 (near Potsdamer Platz). Though the area has changed a lot, the building with the Meistersaal, an old music hall from the 1900s, has persisted. Later converted into sound studios, music history was written here with Bowie ("heroes"), Iggy Pop, and U2 amongst the groups who recorded here at the "Studio by the wall". Guided tours available occasionally.

Museums and Memorials

52.5018413.396057 Jüdisches Museum Berlin (Berlin Jewish Museum), Lindenstraße 9-14 (U-Bahn U1, U6 Hallesches Tor, U6 Kochstraße, Bus M29, M41, 248), ☏ +49 30 2599-3300. Mon 10AM–10PM, Tue - Sun 10AM–8PM. – Designed by Daniel Libeskind with an excellent exposition on the Jewish life in Berlin and the impact of the Holocaust. €5, reduced charge: €2.5.

52.5066413.38378 Topography of Terror, Niederkirchnerstraße 8 (Bus M41 „Abgeordnetenhaus“, Bus M29 „Wilhelmstr./Kochstr.“, S+U2 „Potsdamer Platz“ or U6 „Kochstraße“). Open daily 10AM–8PM. This museum documents the terror applied by the Nazi regime. Admission free.
52.5066913.381959 Martin-Gropius-Bau, Niederkirchnerstraße 7 (Bus M41 "Abgeordnetenhaus" or S1, S2, S25, U2 "Potsdamer Platz"), ☏ +49 30 254 86 0. We - Mo: 10AM–7PM. Exhibition hall.

52.5038713.398310 Berlinische Galerie, Alte Jakobstraße 124-128. We - Mo: 10AM-6PM, closed on Tuesday.
52.4985913.3776411 Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin (German Museum of Technology). – Huge technical museum, featuring among many other things an exhibit about computer pioneer Konrad Zuse's work, a collection of old locomotives, and the interactive SPECTRUM science center with various hands-on experiments.

Friedrichshain

52.5069213.4364512 East Side Gallery (The gallery is near the Ostbahnhof S-Bahn station on the west side and the Warschauer Straße S-Bahn station on the east side.). The longest stretch of the Berlin Wall still in existence, painted by artists in 1991 and restored in 2009, after years of decay. At Mühlenstraße, next to the river Spree. Note that the murals are painted on the east side of the wall after the fall of Communism; so they are not from the Cold War, during which murals could only be painted on the west side. Make sure not to miss the famous mural of a car seemingly crashing through the wall with Brezhnev and Honecker kissing above it. It is actually on the back side of the gallery (it is facing away from the street.) It is just inside the entrance of the Eastern Comfort Hostel, near the east end of the gallery.

52.5175913.4419313 Computerspielemuseum (Exhibition of digital interactive entertainment culture.), Karl-Marx-Allee 93a, ☏ +49 30 60988577. Wednesday to Monday 10AM-8PM, closed on Tuesday. Near the underground station Weberwiese. €8, reduced €5.

52.5017213.4457914 Oberbaumbrücke. Arguably the most beautiful bridge in Berlin and the only connection between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. As signage on the bridge indicates, it was built twice - once in the 1890s and once in the 1990s. Before reunification the border ran where the bridge now is. (updated Feb 2016)

52.5175813.4365815 Karl-Marx-Allee. The main street of former East Berlin. It is a big avenue, featuring neoclassical DDR buildings, fountains and lakes.

52.5107913.4596716 Boxhagener Kiez. The area around Boxhagener Platz is filled with bars, cafes and small shops. Boxhagener Platz itself is a small park with a playground and a cafe, and the nearby Simon Dach Straße is filled with cheap bars and restaurants. At the weekend you can find many places that serve the famous, cheap Berliner brunch. On Sundays there is a small flea market worth strolling around

52.5279813.4267517 Der Märchenbrunnen. The Fountain of Legends at the Volkspark Friedrichshain.

Prenzlauer Berg

There aren't many museums and only a few minor sights to explore in Prenzlauer Berg, although the recently opened (and free!) Kulturbrauerei Museum is well worth a detour for those interested in everyday life in East Germany. Of some interest is the atmosphere in the streets, sitting down in a nice café and watching the hip crowds go by.

52.5404113.4139518 Museum in der Kulturbrauerei, Knaackstraße 97, Building 6.2 (U2 Eberswalder Straße). Tu–Su 10:00–18:00, Th until 20:00, M closed. Find out how it felt to live in East Germany in this modern and well-presented exhibition. The museum is a good starting point if you only have a few minutes to sneak a quick peek inside an East German family's living room, but you can spend hours diving further into the stories behind each exhibit by flicking through the documents on display or listening to contemporary witnesses' accounts (English translations available). The museum opened in November 2013 and is housed inside a beautifully restored former brewery; make sure to take a stroll through the courtyards! Free.
52.5361613.4169919 Kollwitzplatz.
52.5368113.4079320 Kastanienallee.
52.5340913.4186221 Wasserturm (at Rykestraße, corner Knaackstraße.). The first (and one of the biggest) water tower of Berlin (built 1877)
52.5354213.4185122 Synagoge Rykestraße. The Synagogue in the backyard of an apartment house in Rykestraße 53 is one of the biggest in Germany.
52.5350213.4142223 Jüdischer Friedhof Schönhauser Allee, Schönhauser Allee 23-25. Jewish cemetery and lapidarium with old tombstones
52.5476913.4162224 Gethsemanekirche. The meeting point of one of the leading oppositions against the GDR regime and is a great Neogothic church. Also the only ecumenical Lord's supper with Protestants and Catholics together took place in the Gethsemanekirche (2003).
52.5322313.4100625 Museum for Architectural Drawing (Tchoban Foundation), Christinenstraße 18 (former Pfefferberg factory area), ☏ +49 30 437 39 0 90. Mo–Fr: 2 – 7PM, Sa: 1 – 5PM. The museum located in a iconic building opened in June 2013, showcases privately owned collection of architectural drawings from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. €5, €3 (discounted).
52.5431113.4275926 Zeiss-Großplanetarium, Prenzlauer Allee 80, ☏ +49 30 4218 450. Closed for renovation until summer 2016. (updated Feb 2016)