Who shaped Berlin · Part 3
Turkish Berlin: from the 1961 recruitment agreement to the market on Maybachufer
From 1961 workers came from Turkey to Berlin, many stayed, and they shape Berlin today in the third and fourth generation. The traces are older, though: a cemetery in Neukölln dates back to 1866. Here are the places where you can experience this story, from the weekly market to the theatre.
Recruitment agreement 30 October 1961, signed in Bonn
Since 1866 the cemetery on Columbiadamm has existed, according to berlin.de the oldest Islamic cemetery in Germany
108,707 people with Turkish citizenship in Berlin (30 June 2025), the largest group without a German passport
Tuesday and Friday market on Maybachufer, 11 am to 6:30 pm
How the story began
The connection is older than recruitment: in 1866 King Wilhelm I gave the Turkish community in Berlin a plot by Tempelhofer Feld as a burial ground, according to berlin.de the oldest Islamic cemetery in Germany. The big story, however, begins on 30 October 1961, when West Germany and Turkey signed a labour recruitment agreement in Bonn. According to the Federal Foreign Office, around 876,000 workers came from Turkey to Germany until recruitment stopped in 1973. Their stay was first limited to two years, that limit was dropped as early as 1964, and many stayed, brought their families and became Berliners.
Today Turkish Berlin is not a world apart from the city; it is part of it, in the third and fourth generation. According to the Statistical Office for Berlin-Brandenburg, 108,707 people with Turkish citizenship lived in Berlin on 30 June 2025, and 4,099 of them became German citizens in 2025. The figure does not show how many Berliners have Turkish roots, because many have long held a German passport.
Where to experience it today
01 Market on Maybachufer · Neukölln
about 3 minutes on foot from Schönleinstraße U-Bahn station, about 7 minutes from Kottbusser Tor
On the Landwehrkanal, right by Kottbusser Damm, the stalls of the weekly market, still called the Turkish market by many Berliners, open on Tuesdays and Fridays from 11 am to 6:30 pm. There is fruit and vegetables, fabric and much more, and trading happens in German, Turkish and many other languages. Shortly before closing, fruit and vegetables often get cheaper, and cash is the safe choice at many stalls. On Saturdays a different market with fabrics sets up here.
02 Şehitlik Mosque and cemetery on Columbiadamm · Neukölln
about 16 minutes on foot from Südstern U-Bahn station; bus M43 stops closer (Friedhöfe Columbiadamm)
Since 2005 the Şehitlik Mosque with its two minarets has stood on the grounds of the historic cemetery, run by the DITIB association. Şehitlik means cemetery here. After the First World War, fallen Turkish soldiers were also buried here. The mosque is a place of prayer, not a sight in the usual sense: if you would like to see the inside, it is best to ask the congregation about a guided tour in advance. On 3 October it opens for the Open Mosque Day.
03 FHXB Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Museum · Kreuzberg
about 3 minutes on foot from Kottbusser Tor U-Bahn station
Directions in Google Maps · Official site
The district museum at Adalbertstraße 95A tells the story of Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain, and migration runs through it. In the permanent exhibition, people from the district speak for themselves, old and new Berliners alike. According to the Berlin museum portal it is open Tuesday to Thursday from noon to 6 pm and Friday to Sunday from 10 am to 8 pm, and entry is free.
04 Ballhaus Naunynstraße · Kreuzberg
about 7 minutes on foot from Kottbusser Tor U-Bahn station
Directions in Google Maps · Official site
The dance hall at Naunynstraße 27 opened in 1863 and was long used only as a storeroom after 1961. In 2008 Shermin Langhoff reopened it as a theatre for post-migrant stories, meaning stories of the children and grandchildren of immigrants, told by themselves. Soon after reopening it was celebrated as the theatre miracle of Kreuzberg. Today its focus is post-migrant and post-colonial perspectives, and the programme is on its website.
Good to know
- In the mosque and the cemetery: take your shoes off before the prayer hall, cover shoulders and knees, be considerate during prayer times. People come to the cemetery to mourn, so take photos there only without people in them.
- Market with a plan: Tuesday or Friday from late morning, then along the canal to Kottbusser Tor and into the FHXB Museum makes a half day on foot.
- More Kreuzberg and Neukölln: food nearby is in Where Berliners eat, neighbourhoods in Lesser-known neighbourhoods.