Ringbahn series · Part 5
Ringbahn, part 5: from Gesundbrunnen to Frankfurter Allee
In the north and east the Ringbahn runs through the history of divided Berlin: a wartime bunker, a church from the autumn of 1989, a planetarium from the last years of the GDR and the Stasi headquarters. After that the circle closes at Ostkreuz.
Section Gesundbrunnen to Frankfurter Allee, 7 stations
Direction Clockwise on the S41
Good for Recent history, views, rainy days
Walking times Measured on OpenStreetMap footpaths
The Ringbahn series
- Part 1: all 27 stations
- Part 2: Ostkreuz to Tempelhof
- Part 3: Südkreuz to Halensee
- Part 4: Westkreuz to Wedding
- Part 5: Gesundbrunnen to Frankfurter Allee
15 Gesundbrunnen · Worth getting off
A big station, and right next to it a park with a bunker and a view.
about 4 minutes on foot from the station
Berliner Unterwelten
From Brunnenstraße 105 the association leads tours through bunkers and tunnels beneath the city. Book tickets online in advance.
about 8 minutes on foot from the station
Humboldthain and the flak tower
Work on the park began on 14 September 1869, Alexander von Humboldt's 100th birthday. During the war a flak tower was built here in 1941/42, and its rubble became the Humboldthöhe hill. On top there is a viewing platform, inside the tours by Berliner Unterwelten. The park's rose garden holds a bronze Diana.
about 26 minutes on foot from the station
Berlin Wall Memorial
On Bernauer Straße the memorial shows a preserved section of the border strip. A longer walk on foot, but along Brunnenstraße.
16 Schönhauser Allee · Worth getting off
Prenzlauer Berg starts here, with a place that made history in 1989.
about 3 minutes on foot from the station
Gethsemane Church
Built in 1893, the church became a center of protest in the autumn of 1989. From 2 October people held a vigil here for political prisoners, hundreds came to the services every evening, and thousands of candles covered the square in front.
about 20 minutes on foot from the station
Mauerpark
On Sundays there is a flea market, and in the warmer months there is often karaoke in the amphitheater, though you should not count on it. During the week the park is much quieter.
The classic
The Mauerpark on a Sunday
Flea market, karaoke, thousands of people.
Kieznah tip
The Humboldthöhe in the morning
Climb the steps up the old flak tower, almost alone at the top, with all of Berlin spread out before you. Then a coffee in the Brunnenviertel.
17 Prenzlauer Allee · Worth getting off
One destination, right by the station.
about 4 minutes on foot from the station
Zeiss Major Planetarium
The planetarium opened in October 1987 for the city's 750th anniversary, as one of the last showpiece buildings of the GDR. Since its modernization from 2014 to 2016 a new star projector has cast the sky onto the dome, 23 meters across inside. Ideal for rainy days.
18 Greifswalder Straße · Worth getting off
A GDR monument and a fairy-tale park.
about 8 minutes on foot from the station
Ernst Thälmann monument
The Soviet sculptor Lev Kerbel created the bronze head, around 14 meters high, unveiled in 1986 for Thälmann's 100th birthday and cast from about 50 tonnes of bronze. Today it is a listed monument, and the district has added a historical and critical commentary.
about 26 minutes on foot from the station
Fairy Tale Fountain
In the Volkspark Friedrichshain, figures from Grimms' fairy tales sit by the water. On the way you pass through the Bötzowviertel.
19 Landsberger Allee · For changing trains
Get off here for sport and concerts.
about 6 minutes on foot from the station
Velodrome and swimming hall
The French architect Dominique Perrault designed both halls for Berlin's bid for the 2000 Olympics. They are sunk almost entirely into a mound, with only the flat roofs rising about a meter above a meadow of apple trees. The velodrome was completed in 1997, the pool in 1999.
20 Storkower Straße · Just ride through
Apartment blocks and businesses. Ride on.
21 Frankfurter Allee · Worth getting off
The last stop before Ostkreuz, with a place that gets under your skin.
about 10 minutes on foot from the station
Samariterkiez
Quiet streets of old buildings around the Samariterkirche with small cafés, a good spot for a break.
about 14 minutes on foot from the station
Stasi Museum
In Building 1 of the former Ministry for State Security headquarters, minister Erich Mielke's offices are preserved as they were when they were sealed on 15 January 1990, after citizens stormed the site. Today the grounds are a Campus for Democracy. Times and prices at stasimuseum.de.