Literally translated as ‘the devil’s mountain’, Teufelsberg is a man-made hill located in the north of Grünewald forest in Berlin. It is a cold-war relic built upon a halfway-constructed former Nazi military school designed by Hitler’s chief architect, Albert Speer. Partially destroyed by the Allies after the second World War, it was covered up by war-rubble – nearly 7,000 cubic meters of it. After, the Americans and British built a listening- and intelligence-gathering station right on top of it to spy on the Soviet and East German communication. It was, and still is today, one the highest points in Berlin and a perfect location to get good signals. It was a great location to listen to the Soviets which were just a few kilometers away in East Berlin.
After the Berlin Wall fell there was not much purpose to the station anymore. It was eventually abandoned in 1992 and there were several plans of turning it either into a hotel, apartments, museum or college. None of these plans were ever realized. You could enter the area through broken fences before but it is now in private hands and you have to pay an admission to get inside. The owner invited various street artists to decorate the abandoned walls and turn the entire place into an art gallery (discover more of Berlin street art). There are also plans of opening a café or beer garden.
We decided to visit this interesting site on a sunny day and put together a few pictures to get you inspired to visit this place as well. It is not a very famous touristic site and a definite secret tip when visiting the city of Berlin. The area around is quite nice as there is a large forest. The views are very nice as you can see the surrounding forest and parts of Berlin from here. You can even access one fo the main domes, quite a spooky atmosphere in there. Have a look at our short video inside the dome right here. You can also visit the nearby hill called Drachenberg, a great place for kite flying. You can also take part of guided tours on Teufelsberg which start on the weekends at 1 in the afternoon. You can book your tour here. **
We also included the trip to Teufelsberg on our list of top day trips from Berlin post, check it out as well!
** Due to governmental regulations and safety concerns the area is or will be partially closed. Tours still happen but who knows until when! Make sure to book your tour and visit this place as it might be closed to the public forever.
Where is it located?
Teufelsbergchaussee, 14193, Berlin. Find a map of Teufelsberg here.
How to get there?
You can take the S-Bahn, S9 or S75 to Heerstraße, or S1 to Grunewald and walk/cycle from there. If you come with a car you can drive down Teufelsbergchaussee and find a parking lot close to the Drachenberg from where you can walk up to Teufelsberg.
Hey guys, Im going to be visiting Berlin amongst other countries in Europe next month. I have futbol tickets for the Hertha club team on a saturday and wanted to do the hike Teufelsberg before the game since they’re so close. Are the public allowed entry or is it only by booking a tour that you’re able to get in? Thanks!
Hi John. Yes, I believe you can still visit the place. They closed the main tower because of safety issues but you can still visit or book a tour. You can check the details on their website at https://teufelsberg-berlin.de/. Enjoy it, its quite interesting!