Oderbruchkippe in Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg

A Double Mountain from the Rubble of Alexanderplatz

Where Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg lies today, there were meadows, fields, and a waste disposal site for Berlin’s market halls around 1900; later, allotments were added. In 1945, the main line of defense for the city ran right through the garden complex. Afterwards, the Oderbruchkippe grew here, named after the nearby Oderbruchstraße: about 15 million cubic meters of rubble, transported by trucks and a rubble railway, largely from the destroyed area around Alexanderplatz. The district office dates the landfilling to the years 1955 to 1977, and the allotments were cleared by 1963. From mid-1967, topsoil was placed on the rubble, and pioneer trees were planted: poplars, ashes, maples, black locusts, and willows, whose leaves formed a humus layer over the decades. Many Berliners helped as part of the National Reconstruction Program. In 1969, the site received its current name. The double mountain lies almost forty meters above the adjacent areas, the Poplar Plateau reaches 90.9 meters, and the park covers around 29 hectares, about 40 percent of which is open meadowland.

Toboggan Run, Vineyard, and an Adventure Playground Halfway Up

Tobogganing on the Oderbruchkippe takes place on the gently sloping hillside, making it one of the more relaxed hills on this list. The district office lists three hills with plateaus at 91, 90, and 69 meters high. Halfway up is a playground, which was expanded into an adventure playground in 1997, along with a wetland biotope and, as early as 1971, a botanical nature trail. Unusual for a rubble mountain is the vineyard: Since 2009, a Berlin association has been cultivating Riesling on a sunny slope, which is not sold but given away in exchange for donations, and guided tours are offered. Foxes, hares, rabbits, and raccoons live around the slopes; 57 bird species and over a hundred wild-growing herbs have been counted. The park is part of a biotope network and serves as a fresh air corridor for the city center. When tobogganing, one should pay attention to the trees: The ground is unstable, trees frequently break off, and during a path renovation, storm-damaged poplars, black locusts, and maples were felled. The slope is not supervised; tobogganing is at your own risk. Tram M5 stops directly at the park edge with the Hohenschönhauser Straße and Oderbruchstraße stations.