Is Berlin Wall Memorial worth visiting?

The Berlin Wall Memorial is a very famous landmark in Berlin, and is known for showcasing the remnants of the wall along with educational and historical exhibits. As one of the most popular tourist attractions in Berlin, you should make time to visit .

How long does it take to visit Berlin Wall Memorial?

Public Guided Tours The tours last around 1 hour and are conducted with audio guides.

What is so special about the Berlin Wall?

The Berlin Wall was important physically, as well as psychologically, because Berlin was the only city that was divided by the Cold War between the Soviet Union and its allies in the Eastern Bloc and the West .

How much does it cost to see the Berlin Wall Memorial?

How much is admission? Admission to all exhibitions on Bernauer Strasse is free .

Do you need tickets for Berlin Wall?

Entry to the Berlin Wall Memorial The Berlin Wall Memorial is a significant site that commemorates the history of the Berlin Wall and its impact on the city and its people. The Memorial is open to the public and offers free admission , making it an accessible destination for all visitors.

Is it free to visit the Berlin Wall Memorial?

Worth a visit and it's free ! - Review of Memorial of the Berlin Wall, Berlin, Germany - Tripadvisor.

What is the death strip Berlin Wall Memorial?

The third longest remaining piece of the Berlin Wall can be found on Bernauer Strasse, with its preserved 'Death Strip' – the only section of its kind left in the city – and memorial park of information boards and displays .

Is it worth seeing the Berlin Wall?

Reflect on History Visiting the Berlin Wall gives you the opportunity to reflect on history and gain a greater appreciation for the struggles faced by those living in East Germany . Walking along the path of the Wall can evoke powerful emotions as you imagine the daunting challenges faced by Berliners during this time.

Is it worth going inside Berlin Cathedral?

Visitors can explore the cathedral's lavish chapels, crypts, and climb to the dome's observation deck for panoramic views of the city. It should absolutely be on your must-see list. Families with children will sometimes enjoy it, but it really depends on their level of interest .

Is Berlin museum Pass worth it?

Even if you only wish to visit a few of the city's most renowned museums, the Museum Pass Card is normally worthwhile . A 3-day Museum Pass Berlin is less expensive than visiting the Pergamon Museum and the Neues Museum separately.

Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial (2024)

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A visit to Hohenschönhausen Memorial, the former Stasi prison, is a chilling reminder of the fate of the thousands who fell victim to political persecution in the former East Germany.

The former Stasi prison known since 1994 as the Hohenschönhausen Memorial, and run as an independent public foundation since 2000. It is situated in the former Ministry for State Security’s “Untersuchungshaftanstalt” which used to be the main remand prison for citizens under investigation. The reality of life under the Stasi – GDR’s secret police – was brought to the world with the film and 2007 Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film “The Life of Others”, by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. A visit to the former Stasi prison, located in the former East Berlin district of Lichtenberg-Hohenschönhausen is a chilling reminder of the fate of the thousands who fell victim, as prisoners of conscience, to political persecution in the former East Germany although many amongst the incarcerated had committed no crime.

During the Soviet occupation after the end of WWII German prisoners were sent to the Gulag from here and many more died of starvation and exhaustion until 1946. The guided tours available today include the underground cells, the descriptions of the interrogations and beatings carried out here in order to extort confessions. The STASI inherited the facility from the Soviet administration in 1951 and soon after imprisoned here members of the democratic workers uprising of 1953, known as 17 July. It was the location of the Espionage Data Processing Centre (HVA) and until 1974 Labout Camp X was located next to the prison for prisoners sentenced to forced labour.

Tours are possible by arrangement and are usually conducted by former inmates who provide excellent eyewitness accounts on prison conditions and interrogation methods employed by the former GDR’s Ministry of State Security (MfS).

Gallery

Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial

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View into a cell wing of the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial on the grounds of the former remand prison of the Ministry of State Security.
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The entrance to the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial on the grounds of the former remand prison of the Ministry of State Security.
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View into a cell wing of the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial on the grounds of the former remand prison of the Ministry of State Security on Genslerstraße.
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A cameraman films through the open hatch of a cell door at the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial on the grounds of the former remand prison of the Ministry of State Security.
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The former Stasi prison in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen.
See Also
So, you're going to jail... What are Berlin prisons really like? - The Berliner
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View through a hatch into a detention room of the former prison hospital of the GDR's State Security, photographed on May 13, 2011.
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A yellowed book cover with the inscription "Handbuch der Inneren Medizin" (Manual of Internal Medicine) lies in the room of the director of the former prison hospital of the GDR's State Security Service.
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Washing stations of an operating room in the prison hospital of the GDR's State Security Service, photographed on May 13, 2011.
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View through a cell corridor of the former prison hospital of the GDR State Security Service,photographed on May 13, 2011.
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The Federal Government Commissioner for Stasi Records of the former GDR, Roland Jahn (right) and the director of the Hohenschönhausen Memorial, Hubertus Knabe. In the background are pictures from the photo exhibition "Faces of the Peaceful Revolution".
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Former Stasi prisoner Gilbert Furian looks through the door hatch of a cell in the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial. Furian, who was arrested in 1985 and detained seven months in the Hohenschönhausen Stasi prison, now guides visitors through the memorial and reports on his everyday life in prison. In this way, he tries to come to terms with the psychological consequences of his time in prison. (photographed on February 28, 2011)
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Former Stasi prisoner Carl-Wolfgang Holzapfel walks into his old cell at the GDR State Security remand center in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen on Oct. 29, 2009.
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Former Stasi prisoner Carl-Wolfgang Holzapfel sits in his old cell at the GDR State Security remand center in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen on Oct. 29, 2009. As part of the Internet art action "24/7 Stasi-Live-Haft", Holzapfel spent a week in cell 207 and was filmed 24/7 by a webcam. Holzapfel and artist Franziska Vu wanted to draw attention to the fate of Stasi victims and their oppression. Holzapfel was detained in the cell for nine months after being arrested during a demonstration in 1965.
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Cable and telephone sockets in the former interrogation rooms of the former Stasi prison in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen

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Address: Genslerstr. 66
13055 Berlin

City map
Phone: +49 30 98 60 82 30
Internet: www.stiftung-hsh.de
Opening Hours: Exhibition "Imprisoned in Hohenschönhausen" from Monday to Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm; Exhibition "In Forced Community" from Monday to Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm; Guided tour of the prison only.
Admission Fee: Permanent exhibition free
Guided tours: Regular 8 Euro, reduced 4 Euro, pupils 1,50 Euro
Guided Tours: Monday - Friday 11:30 am, 2:30 pm
Saturday and Sunday 10:30 am, 12:30 pm, 2:30 pm

Public transportation

Bus
- Große-Leege-Str./Freienwalder Str.
  0.3km
  - 256
  - N56
- Große-Leege-Str./Bahnhofstr.
  0.4km
  - 256
  - N56
- Liebenwalder Str.
  0.4km
  - 256
  - N56
- Werneuchener Str./Große-Leege-Str.
  0.4km
  - 256
  - N56

Last edited: 8 June 2023

Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial (2024)

Gallery

Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial

Map view

Public transportation

Bus

FAQs

Is Berlin Wall Memorial worth visiting? ›