14 Locations
The name Litfin recalls Günter Litfin, one of the first people to die at the Berlin Wall, and the memorial that now bears his name. Set in a preserved former watchtower, the Litfin memorial tells his story and that of the border's victims. This overview gathers Berlin locations connected to this piece of Wall history.
The Guenter Litfin memorial stands near the Spandauer Schifffahrtskanal in Mitte, one of the last original command towers of the border. Kept in his memory for years by his brother, it offers a personal, moving account of life and death at the Wall. It sits within reach of other Wall sites for a fuller day of remembrance.
Browse the venues below to explore the Litfin memorial and nearby Wall history.
On Bernauer Strasse, the Berlin Wall Memorial stretches over 1.4 kilometers of former border strip. Between two steel walls, 70 meters of the original border installations with a hinterland wall, watchtower, and death strip are preserved. For German-German history in Berlin, this is the place where the division becomes physically comprehensible.
At Friedrichstraße station, the Tränenpalast (Palace of Tears) stands as the former departure hall of the border crossing point, built in 1962 directly after the construction of the Berlin Wall. Spanning 550 square meters, the permanent exhibition showcases over 550 objects, including an original passport control booth. For German-German history in Berlin, this is the ultimate place of farewells.
At the corner of Friedrichstrasse and Zimmerstrasse, there is now a reconstructed checkpoint booth, the sector sign, and the illuminated display with the two soldier portraits, along with an open-air exhibition. Around four million people visit each year, and from 2030 onwards, the square is to be redesigned with a pavilion and an observation deck.
The Mauermuseum (Wall Museum) at Checkpoint Charlie stands directly at the former Allied control point on Friedrichstraße and has been collecting stories of escape from the GDR since 1963. On display are real escape vehicles, including a BMW Isetta, a mini-submarine, and a hot air balloon. 45 exhibition areas, including its own cinema, are spread across three levels.
Between Ostbahnhof and Oberbaumbrücke, the East Side Gallery stands as the longest preserved section of the Berlin Wall: 1.3 kilometers painted by 118 artists from 21 countries in the spring of 1990. Berlin has included the gallery in its list of monuments since November 1991. Among the Berlin Wall sites, it is the most colorful.
The Berlin Wall Trail is Berlin's most famous cycling tour: 160 kilometers on the former border strip, divided into 14 stages, all starting and ending at train stations. Over 40 information stations along the way tell the story of the division. It is not a fully developed cycle path; the surface alternates between asphalt, cobblestones, and forest floor.
The large Panorama wall of the artist Yadegar Asisi visualizes the daily life next to the Berlin wall on a fictitious autumn day in the 1980s.
The Wall Museum East Side Gallery is located directly in the Mühlenspeicher (mill warehouse) on the Spree and offers a deep insight into the history of German division. With over 100 screens and exciting interviews, this exhibition tells the events from 1961 until the fall of the Berlin Wall in a modern way.
Where the death strip ran until 1989, today lie almost 15 hectares of Mauerpark between Prenzlauer Berg and Wedding. Behind the Jahn Sport Park, there are still around 300 meters of the inner wall, officially approved for graffiti, plus the Sunday flea market and the Bearpit Karaoke in the amphitheater. Among Berlin's parks, this is the loudest and most vibrant.
On approximately 2,850 square meters in the government district, Ben Wagin established the Parliament of Trees on the former border strip in 1990. A square of 16 trees was planted by the state premiers, and the names of 258 victims of the border regime are inscribed on granite slabs. Among the Berlin Wall sites, this is the greenest.
Eleven days after the Berlin Wall was built, Günter Litfin was shot dead on August 24, 1961, in Humboldthafen, becoming the first victim to die by gunfire at the Berlin Wall. The Günter Litfin Memorial is located in the former border tower at Kieler Eck, one of only three remaining towers in the city. His brother Jürgen saved it from demolition.
On Zimmerstrasse in Kreuzberg, about 200 meters from the former Checkpoint Charlie, stands a 2.60-meter-high steel stele by Karl Biedermann. It marks the spot where 18-year-old Peter Fechter bled to death on August 17, 1962, after an escape attempt. No other Berlin Wall site makes the border regime so immediately tangible.
Where the death strip once ran between Prenzlauer Berg and Wedding, there are now almost 15 hectares of park. Behind the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, about 300 meters of the original inner wall still stand, protected as a historic monument since 2001 and long covered in street art. Among Berlin Wall sites, Mauerpark is the most vibrant.
Pictures, films, original quotes, interviews and games make history and histories of the Berlin Wall come alive with the multimedia WallGuide.