01 Kantstraße women's prison, now Wilmina · Charlottenburg

about 7 minutes on foot from Charlottenburg S-Bahn station

Directions in Google Maps · Official site

From 1896, an ensemble designed by Adolf Bürckner and Eduard Fürstenau was built at Kantstraße 79: a court building at the front and a brick building behind it with room for 100 prisoners. Under the Nazis, most of the women held here were members of the resistance, and some of them waited here for their execution. The prison closed in 1985; after that it held land registry files, and for a long time the site lay forgotten behind locked gates. The architects Almut Grüntuch-Ernst and Armand Grüntuch bought the listed ensemble and, after ten years of conversion, opened it in 2022 as the Hotel Wilmina. Window bars, many historic doors and the stair railing remain. One cell in the rear stairwell was to be kept in its original state, with documents about former inmates. You can get in without staying the night: the Lovis restaurant opens Tuesday to Saturday from 6:30 pm, the bar daily from 6 pm.

02 Lichterfelde women's prison, now The Knast · Lichterfelde

about 16 minutes on foot from Lichterfelde West S-Bahn station

Directions in Google Maps · Official site

At Söhtstraße 7, a prison was built at the start of the 20th century that served as a correctional facility from 1906 to 2010, most recently for women. More than a hundred years of imprisonment ended in 2010; after that the listed building stood empty and was used for art, concerts and events. The new owner, Joachim Köhrich, restored it, and in 2024 the conversion received a heritage award. Today it is called The Knast: a fine-dining restaurant open Tuesday to Saturday from 5 to 11 pm, a bar in the former prison chapel, artists' studios and a small hotel which, according to the trade press, has nine rooms, each made from two to four merged cells. Whether bookings are open yet is on the venue's website. Worth knowing when planning: the venue is explicitly for adults, so children cannot come along.

I was a guest at The Knast, and it is an impressive place. A real cell is still there in its original state, and you can look at it from inside. The corridor wing looks exactly like the prisons you know from films. And the food is really good, upscale quality.
Daniel

03 Moabit cellular prison memorial park · Moabit

Directions in Google Maps · More on berlin.de

Opposite the main station, the park occupies the site of the 1842 to 1849 cellular prison where Albrecht Haushofer wrote the "Moabit Sonnets". It has been public and free since 2006, and its design traces the star-shaped plan. Everything else is in Neighborhoods nobody has on their list yet.

04 Rummelsburg memorial · Lichtenberg

On the site of the 1879 workhouse, later a prison under the Nazis and in the GDR, open-air steles have told the stories of the people locked up here since 2015. More in Ringbahn part 2.

05 Plötzensee Memorial · Charlottenburg-Nord

Directions in Google Maps · Official site

In the former execution site of Plötzensee prison, the Nazi judiciary had members of the resistance and many others put to death. Today the room is a memorial on Hüttigpfad, open daily from 9 am to 5 pm, closed 24 to 26 December, 31 December and 1 January. A quiet, heavy place that shows what resisting the Nazi regime could cost.

06 Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial · Lichtenberg

Directions in Google Maps · Official site

The Stasi's central remand prison is now a memorial. The exhibitions are free and open daily from 10 am to 6 pm; you can only see the prison itself on a guided tour, for 9 euros, 5 euros reduced, 2.50 euros for school pupils. It is best to book tour tickets online in advance.

Good to know

The memorials are not a photo backdrop, and in the hotel and restaurant too, bars and doors are reminders of people who were not here by choice. If you want to combine both, start with the history and eat afterwards. Reservations are worthwhile for Wilmina and The Knast, and times may change.