Sönneken - Lieblingssachen für Kinder

Toy Store at Lausitzer Platz in Kreuzberg

Lausitzer Platz is one of the quieter corners of Kreuzberg. The street is traffic-calmed, with a large playground in the middle, Markthalle Neun just around the corner, and the Görlitzer Bahnhof U-Bahn station with U1 and U3 right next door. Here, Kirsten Opdenplatz runs her shop, which she herself calls a ‘little shop’. The political scientist came to Kreuzberg in 1989, took over the traditional children’s second-hand shop Schaukelpferd in Friesenstraße in 2003, and three years later opened today’s toy store at Lausitzer Platz. Sönneken doesn’t sell everything that can be sold, but rather selects: what comes in should last a long time, be produced without harmful substances, and have traveled the shortest possible distances. Several manufacturers are located in Berlin and Brandenburg, including Juttchen, from whom the crocheted animals and baby rattles originate. Diversity also plays a role in the selection, for example, with dolls and picture books, and the prices remain at the level of a normal toy store.

Gifts for Children from Baby Rattles to Board Games

The shop’s assortment ranges from the first year of life up to elementary school and beyond. For the little ones, there are rattle guitars, squeaky ducks, and cloud music boxes; for older children, wooden building blocks, board and card games, craft kits, and role-playing toys like the doctor’s kit. A dedicated book corner invites browsing, with classics as well as titles not found in any chain bookstore. Additionally, there are plush and crocheted animals, handmade doll clothes, and for outdoors, kites, balls, and sand toys from German manufacturing. Brands like Grimms, djeco, moulin roty, Erzi, Goki, Sigikid, and Spielstabil appear on the shelves, and the toys comply with European standards EN 71-1 to EN 71-3, as well as EN 71-12. Those planning larger gifts for children can use Sönneken’s gift box: family and friends fill it together with the child’s wishes, and the child then chooses from it themselves. This way, nothing is duplicated under the tree, and the child gets to decide. Advice is given at leisure, and because the shop is small, the team knows its assortment down to the last shelf.