Teufelsberg

This is a true story of repurposing a site. What was once a Nazi Military Academy building it was then filled and covered with millions of tonnes of rubble making a man made hill. This site, after the combined effort of the community, was then considered for a sports arena and winter sports centre. Unfortunately what transpired with the splitting of Berlin by the Berlin wall made this site the perfect location for a US base for reconnaissance and intelligence. The structure they built is now seen as a poignant historic monument, with the current owner allowing the area to be opened up for the freedom of artistic interpretation and creativity - reclaimed by the local community.

Amazing place to visit. Reasonably easy walk from local train stations. Lovely walk through the man made mountain made from the debris and rubble from WW2.

If you’re into street art this is a must!!! graffiti, murals, stickers, etc. The entry is €10 and they do take card, am the christmas market they have vegan food but it’s a lil pricey, the museum is excellent! if you have enough time you should entry too

We had an amazing Sunday afternoon here. Usually it’s €10 per adult and €5 for kids but we arrived at some ‘day of the monuments’ so admission was free. Do not miss the drinks at the very top!

A unique blend of history, art, and nature. The panoramic views of Berlin and the surrounding Grunewald Forest are breathtaking. A must-visit for history buffs and art lovers alike.

Really cool abandoned old radio station/secret Cold War eavesdropping station that's been turned into an art installation for graffiti artists. I do wish visitors had access to the tallest tower as well, which also has art on it and a proper railing, but was closed off and therefore we could not enjoy that artwork or the exciting experience of going even higher up. Either way, this was an experience that's worth both the hike and entrance price. The main building also has a small but well done cold war museum with very enthusiastic and lovely staff to tell you facts about the collections. A fair warning for summer visitors: I left the site with about twenty mosquito bites. Wear long sleeves and trousers.

Perhaps some of the best graffiti in Berlin, and that’s saying a lot! An off-the-beaten-track location, which offers a good brisk hike up a small hill (partly possible by car), a good view over the city, a relaxing beer garden and great graffiti!

A wonderful place you can't miss when visiting Berlin. There is a forest path about 20 minutes long. Entrance is from 11.00, tickets can be bought online and on the spot. You can move freely around the place and stay as long as you like. The view from the top of the building is amazing, as is all the street art you can see there. The cafe was not open during our visit.

I definitely think this is a must visit when in Berlin. It was super cool to see the old stomping grounds of this old listening/spy building from the Cold War! It is pretty big and much more magnificent when you see it in person. Cash only to get in- as of 8-8-22, the admission is 8$, but 6$ if you have a CURRENT student ID. Guy at the front said you need your ID to show current date or have some type of evidence for that. So much beautiful artwork here each corner you turn. There is an array of countless photo opportunities here. Going to the rooftop was the most amazing view. I was also fortunate enough to go during sunset, so this was one view you could not miss. This was one of the highlights of my time here.

TL;DR - A unique place, but somewhat overrated. Friends have been telling me for years that I need to come and visit Teufelsberg, so I was pleased to finally make it. I wanted to love this place, I truly did... but I came away feeling a big disappointed. First up though, let's not ignore the obvious - this place is unique. Huge, decaying structures covered in graffiti. This is a setting unlike any other and offers a huge array of photo opportunities. But on the downside, my friends who came here years ago told me it was free... but now you have to pay to get in. And it's not really clear what you're paying for... there was a shirtless hippy collecting money and flirting with girls and I think he was the only member of staff we saw. There are no explanatory signs or anything as you explore the site - you're literally paying to get in and that's it. The other big disappointment was that the main building is now off limits for safety reasons. So much of the most impressive art is inaccessible. Overall, the trip was way less exciting than I had hoped. But despite all that, the uniqueness of the place is probably still worth a visit. The distance from the city centre is a deterrent, but we rolled it in with a trip to the Olympic Stadium and a visit to the Gleis 17 memorial. You can do countryside walks between the three locations and in good weather it's glorious around there.

In July 1961, Mobile Allied listening units began operations on Teufelsberg, having surveyed various other locales throughout West Berlin in search of the best vantage point for listening to Soviet, East German, and other Warsaw Pact nations' radio traffic. They found that operations from atop Teufelsberg offered a marked improvement in listening ability. This discovery led to the construction of this large spy station to be run by the NSA (National Security Agency) atop the hill. After the fall of the Soviet Union the station was abandoned and left to decay as various plans to transform the site into a hotel, apartments, or a museum floundered. Today an anarchist group of artists rules the roost painting graffiti, sculpting, and partying until the City of Berlin can scrounge up the €50 million needed to purchase the station and restore it to the forest of Grunewald. ‍

Unique place with beautiful murals but the entry fee is way too much - 8€!

Teufelsberg is becoming more and more popular since it get more and more noticed by recent movies or tv show. But yet it isn't a usual choice to the tourist,I think, one of the main reason, because of its distance to the center of the city. My suggestion is that if you have time, then this place is one of those cool places in Berlin to check out. I wasn't sure how long to it took exactly to get here by public transport, since I drove my way here. But that also took more then half hour. So I assumed it will probably take an hour to get here. And yes, there is a S-Bahn station around Even by car, the parking lot and the abandoned felicity the top of the still have a some distance. Well, it was great to have a walk in the Grünwald anyway. But remember to wear a pair of trousers instead of shorts. Lots of mosquitos here. I was as bit surprised that it actually need pay admission fee for this place. It cost 8 euro for each person for enter and 8 more for taking pictures. Well, it is a bit expensive, but I think, vistors should get the ticket with photo allowance. This place just a treasure of graffiti! And it is amazing to see and feel this historical felicity.

A must see when visiting Germany!! You can take a tour for 7 euros or explore by yourself for 5 euros. The history here is very interesting, underneath the hill used to be a Nazi military school that was never completed, it was too sturdy to be destroyed after WWII that it was instead covered with the immense amounts of rubble from the destruction of WWII. On top of the hill became the new location of an American spy station to spy on the Soviets in East Berlin. After the fall of the Berlin Wall the spy station was abandoned and eventually became a location for vandals and street artists. During my visit many graffiti artists were at work and it seems that people were working on other projects as well cleaning up the area and moving dirt around in wheelbarrows. The view from the top by the white domes is beautiful, you can see most of Berlin and outside of it as well. Outside of the spy station area you can find a make-shift skatepark and bike course, and some type of wooden crate amphitheater.

Yes, you do pay an entrance fee to people who hold this property under squirrelly circumstances. No, there aren't any benefits of entrance other than the ability to walk around. Yes, the place is covered in street art and run by anti-establishment folks. Given the incredible views and fascinating history, it's still worth a trip. This place is haunting. Don't miss out on the opportunity to climb up and into the largest listening dome..... seriously bizarre acoustics in there. Do yourself a favor, read the history and then cough up the 8 Euro and enter with an open and exploratory mind.

Just two stars for the place itself and the nice view you can enjoy from here. Nonetheless I wouldn't recommend to pay entry and much less to take the tour. The guides are a******* that barely answer questions and the place itself is beyond shabby chic - it's just ruined. It's a rip-off. Also: They tell you that they have amazing graffiti and street art on the building. That's another lie. Sure there is graffiti and such all over the place, but definitely NOT Berlin's finest. Just wander around the city in Kreuzberg/Friedrichshain/Wedding and you see much better street art by internationally renowned artists for free. Save you 15 EUR entry fee and spend them on delicious cake and coffee at the nearby Naturschutzzentrum Ökowerk Berlin. And for a even better view over the City: Go to the Funkturm near Messe, where you have a brilliant view for just a fiver!

This is a very cool place that is being run very strangely. Tours are 15 euro, 8 for students, which seems very high to tour an abandoned property. Our tour had maybe 50 people in it. At the beginning the guide asked how many people didn't speak German. There were maybe ten of us, and the guide said that he would give English explanations as well. This did not happen. I understand that the majority of the tour needed to be in German, but it would have been very nice to have a sentence every now and then about where we were. When I asked the guide a question in English, he responded in German, despite obviously speaking English. The site is going to ruins and covered in fairly average graffiti. If it's supposed to be an artist colony or project, it's doing a pretty poor job of it. The views are wonderful, and I'm glad to have been there. But 15 euros is way too much for a tour of urban ruins, especially one that is given condescendingly. The tour setup is extremely shady -- it seems that the property is owned by a private company that has sold tour rights to the people living there. I'm great with squatters, etc., but the way that this place is being run just doesn't play nicely with that ethos. I felt more like I was being fleeced at a carnival, albeit one with nice views.

Five stars for Teufelsberg -- an amazing view of Berlin surrounded by beautiful forest. One star for the tour and the sketchy company running them. It seems the rules of entrance to this place keep changing. As of today, you must be part of a guided tour and pay 15 euros for entry (8 euros for students -- flash any ID and say you're a student). You cannot pay an entrance fee and wander the place on your own. This is an abandoned site and charging entry feels like extortion, especially at such a cost. This tour was entirely in German (fine), but the guide, who said he would give the tour in English as well, ended up not doing so. He spoke English, and when I asked a question in English (to the side), he responded in German.

I am writing this review based on the last time I visited the Teufelsberg in May 2014. I have been to the Teufelsberg several times but until this point I never paid to get in. The fence around the Teufelsberg is a joke - patched together metal fencing with crudely made 'keep out' signs - anyone would think kids had made them. You can walk up the hill and take in the views for free but if you linger around someone (whatever the German version of a Gypsy is) will come out and offer to show you inside the gates at 15 euro's a head. The one day I did go inside was because a friend had always wanted to. We got shown around by a man who smelt like he hadn't washed, wore shorts and flip flops. No uniforms here and of course you pay cash. We weren't given a tour per se - he led us around area's but didn't have any knowledge on the Teufelsberg's past. He didn't allow us in to any the buildings because they did not have insurance to cover it. Our 'tour' consisted of walking around the inside area of the fence, just around the buildings which is really quite small. Try and complain and there English skills suddenly don't exist anymore and your tour will get cut short. We went midweek and just the two of us got shown around. I think there are official tours at the weekend.

Wanna get a special Night, be there at New Years Night

Probably the most amazing and unique place in berlin. Make sure you visit / sneak into the old abandoned military station. Climb the tower for the perfect view of Berlin and the best Berlin street art.

TL;DR version: place is interesting, but the tours are very shady. Sections of the station are inexplicably closed off because of "work in progress," and the boorish* "guides" barely speak English. Berlin is full of other lovely places, amazing street art, and friendly people -- spend your time elsewhere. This is NOT the most amazing place in Berlin; it may have been at one point, but it's been ruined by this sketchy company. Wait until Teufelsberg allows visitors to roam a little more freely or at least offers tours that are better value for money rather than a sham. *word chosen carefully: I watched a couple of them say all kinds of impolite things to several people. Direct quote (male "guide" to a sweet Spanish girl): "How would you like it if I took a picture of you while you were in the toilet?"

The experience of visiting Teufelsberg was very strange. It is located within Grunewald, a forest that, even in the middle of winter (we visited in February), is beautiful and peaceful. When we got to the top of the Berg, I was amazed at the terrible condition that the spy station and surrounding area are in - not just some disrepair due to the effects of time; it had been seriously trashed by people. There were posterboard signs tacked to a shabby chain link fence with handwritten messages in marker: KEEP OUT and PRIVATE AREA. Litter was everywhere, wooden boards covered some of the blown-out windows, the whole place was covered in graffiti. If you keep outside the fence, you really can't see anything of the station except for the round top, covered in a torn tarp. The rest of the station is completely hidden from view behind trees and giant plywood boards sprayed in graffiti and leaning against the building, to keep people out I guess. We walked along the side of the fence in the direction of the handwritten sign that said MAIN ENTRANCE. As we rounded the corner of the fence, we saw a youngish white man (late 20s or early 30s) standing next to a tiny, ragtag trailer with no doors, blasting German rap. He turned off the music when he saw us but said nothing. We kept our distance from the fence and turned right along the paved road; when I looked up the hill again I noticed he had trailed us, wearing headphones, standing in the shadows watching us. Was he a guard? But there was nothing official-looking about him: he was wearing an oversized track jacket, sunglasses and oversized pants. A squatter? But how would he have gotten a trailer behind the locked fence..? We left pretty quickly. It looked like there could be a meth lab up there, seriously. I had a really strange/uneasy vibe about the whole experience. There is literally no way I would even have considered scaling the fence and sneaking into the station like another reviewer suggested, no matter how cool the view. We're not tourists from other cities who expect Berlin to be spic and span and are offended by graffiti. I was finally visiting Teufelsberg after living in Berlin for years--and I won't be back; at least not in mid-winter, when the place sees few visitors and is basically abandoned. We checked out the view from a nearby hill, Drachenberg. It was beautiful - worth a trip. :)