Viktoriapark

Viktoriapark: Waterfall and National Monument on Kreuzberg Hill

The centerpiece of the 12.8-hectare landscape park is Kreuzberg hill, which, at 66 meters, is Berlin’s highest inner-city elevation and gives its name to the entire district. The park was laid out between 1888 and 1894 under City Garden Director Hermann Mächtig, and between 1913 and 1916, Garden Director Albert Brodersen extended it to the west. Since 1980, the entire complex has been a protected monument, the first green space in West Berlin to be so. At the summit, Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s cast-iron National Monument has stood since 1821, commemorating the Wars of Liberation against Napoleon: twelve figures, their form modeled after the Iron Cross, later placed on an eight-meter-high pedestal. Winding paths lead up, offering extensive views over the city center from the top.

Waterfall, Vineyard, and the Golgatha Beer Garden at Viktoriapark

The second landmark plunges down the north side of the slope. The artificially created waterfall was put into operation in 1893, is 24 meters high, and moves 13,000 liters of water per minute, which is pumped upwards beforehand. The Hainfall in the Giant Mountains served as its model, and at its base stands the sculpture „Der seltene Fang“ (The Rare Catch) by Ernst Herter. Nearby, a detour to the Wolfsschlucht (Wolf’s Gorge) with its pond, fed by three springs, and to the animal enclosure, which has housed goats, rabbits, and guinea pigs since 1925, is worthwhile. Wine also grows on the north slope, its grapes pressed into Kreuz-Neroberger, which is not sold. Those needing a break after the climb will find it at Golgatha on Dudenstraße, a beer garden and restaurant since 1977, with a charcoal grill and a rooftop terrace where dancing takes place in the evenings. Payment there is exclusively by card.