| Mauerpark | |
|---|---|
 Mauerpark seen from east to west, on the right floodlight masts of theFriedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark | |
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| Type | Urban park |
| Location | Prenzlauer Berg,Berlin |
| Coordinates | 52°32′37″N13°24′12″E / 52.54361°N 13.40333°E /52.54361; 13.40333 |
| Area | 15hectares (37acres) (planned for 2019)[1] |
| Created | 1922-1924 |
| Status | Open year-round |
Mauerpark is a publiclinear park inBerlin'sPrenzlauer Berg district. The name translates to "Wall Park", referring to its status as a former part of theBerlin Wall and its Death Strip. The park is located at the border of Prenzlauer Berg andGesundbrunnen district of formerWest Berlin.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Mauerpark area served as the location of the Old Nordbahnhof ("Northern Railway Station"), the southern terminus of thePrussian Northern Railway opened in 1877-78, which connected Berlin with the city ofStralsund and theBaltic Sea. Soon after it lost its role as a passenger station to the nearbyStettiner Bahnhof and remained in use as a freight yard. In 1950 theStettiner Bahnhof took the name Nordbahnhof because of its role in Berlin's public transportation system, and the Old Nordbahnhof became known asGüterbahnhof Eberswalder Straße. It was finally closed after the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961.
When viewed from above, one can still see remains of the railroad tracks running towards the former station from theRingbahn.
In 1946, through the division ofBerlin into fouroccupation zones, the land of the Old Nordbahnhof stretching fromBernauer Straße toKopenhagener Straße was split between theFrench andSoviet sectors. After the building of the Berlin Wall, the land was included into the heavily guarded Death Strip with walls on either side. One of the viewing platforms, from whichWest Berlin residents could look over the wall intoEast Berlin, stood at this location. The remaining western part of the station was turned into a storehouse and commercial area.
An interesting aspect and a problem for theEast German guards was that the anterior part of the Wall strip was located on the steep embankment of the former railway tracks at a higher elevation than the adjacent area in the west. Yet in 1988, the East Berlin authorities concluded an agreement with the West to acquire a strip of land at the bottom of the hill to set up a more efficient border.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the former death strip was designated as a public space and one of several green spaces in the city by local residents. With a contribution of DM 4.5 million from theAllianz environmental fund, the park was built on the eastern half of the former train station. However, the western half, which still belonged to theBundeseisenbahnvermögen real estate association, remained a trade area and since 2004 has served as the location for aflea market next to the park. Several attempts to attach the western part to the green space have so far failed.
Today the park is one of the most popular places for young residents of Berlin, especially from the fashionable district ofPrenzlauer Berg, and attracts basketball players, jugglers, musicians, and many other types of people. It is a crowded leisure ground and a site of sustainable improvised nightlife, especially in the summer, and has also become notorious forWalpurgis Night riots in recent years. There are two stadiums next to the park, includingFriedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark andMax-Schmeling-Halle, home to several of Berlin's local sports teams.[2]
An 800 m strip of theBerlin Wall still stands in the park today as a monument, and is a popular place for graffiti artists to paint and display their work.
The park has been expanded in several phases since its establishment; construction is underway to bring the park to a total of 15hectares (37acres), with construction scheduled to be completed in 2019.[1]
A stone circular stage area with surrounding amphitheatre is situated on the hillside directly across from the park's basketball court. In late February 2009 an informal karaoke show took place there for the first time. Weather permitting, the "Bearpit Karaoke Show" at the amphitheatre has continued each year since then to be a regular fixture in the park on Sunday afternoons, with it possible to visit the shows from spring through to late autumn.[3]
Rapidly becoming a Berlin institution, every Sunday afternoon thousands of people make their way to it. If the crowd loves the singer, they will sing and cheer along and make them feel like a star.[4]
Open every Sunday since 2004, Flohmarkt am Mauerpark (German for Mauerpark Flea Market) is popular with both locals and tourists alike. While a newcomer to the Berlin flea market scene, it is becoming a quick favorite. The loose grid stalls populate the western side of the park and offer a collection of new and vintage fashions, vinyl records, CDs, GDR memorabilia and antiques, bicycles and other nicknacks.[5]
Media related toMauerpark at Wikimedia Commons
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| People who died breaching the Wall | |||||||||||
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