Strausberger Platz

Strausberger Platz as a Photo Spot on Karl-Marx-Allee

Construction began in 1952 under the direction of a collective led by Hermann Henselmann, who served as chief architect. The groundbreaking for what was then Stalinallee took place on February 3, 1952, construction continued until approximately 1958, and since November 13, 1961, the boulevard has been called Karl-Marx-Allee. It is about two kilometers long and was widened to 90 meters, partly for parades. The square is primarily framed by eight-story buildings with shops on the ground floor, and its four street exits are gate-like in design. To the west, two high-rise buildings, each with 14 floors, conclude the space: Haus Berlin and Haus des Kindes (House of the Child), the latter built between 1952 and 1954 by Henselmann’s architectural collective and precisely aligned with the axis of the avenue, featuring a mural by Bert Heller in the foyer. The style is socialist classicism, oriented towards Soviet models and Schinkel, colloquially known as “wedding cake style.” The model for the high-rises was Henselmann’s building on Weberwiese from 1951.

Photo Spot Strausberger Platz: Visual Axis, High-rises, and Garden Monument

This creates the visual axis that defines the spot for the camera: the wide stretch of the avenue, the symmetrical framing of the square, and the two towers concluding it towards Alexanderplatz. The oval square was elaborately designed in 1967 and is now a garden monument within the protected ensemble of Karl-Marx-Allee, a testament to post-war modernism. One motif is currently missing, however: The “Floating Ring” water feature by Fritz Kühn and Heinz Graffunder has been dismantled since June 2024; the copper plates are being restored and stored, and the basin is empty. The redesign of the square is planned for 2027 to 2029 and depends on the BVG first renovating the U5 subway tunnel beneath the central island. Because the island is surrounded by a roundabout, photos are taken from the sidewalk and the vicinity of the intersection anyway. It was at the construction site on Strausberger Platz in June 1953 that the protest of construction workers against higher norms began, leading to the uprising of June 17th.