Mauermuseum

Historic Mitte

LoginSave

The Cold War years, especially the history and horror of the Berlin Wall, are engagingly, if haphazardly, documented in this privately run tourist magnet. Open since 1961, the ageing exhibit is still strong when it comes to telling the stories of escape attempts to the West. Original devices used in the process, including a hot-air balloon, a one-person submarine and a BMW Isetta, are crowd favourites.

Other galleries (all are multilingual) address global human rights movements as well as NATO and its involvement in world conflicts. Note that there is a €5 fee for taking photographs.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Museum island on Spree river and Alexanderplatz TV tower in center of Berlin, Germany

    Museumsinsel

    1 MILES

    Walk through ancient Babylon, meet an Egyptian queen, clamber up a Greek altar or be mesmerized by Monet's ethereal landscapes. Welcome to Museumsinsel …

  • Neues Museum und Alte Nationalgalerie (right) at Museumsinsel in Berlin.

    Neues Museum

    0.95 MILES

    For over 60 years, not a soul was able to visit Berlin’s Neues Museum – in fact, it sat in ruins. But today it’s one of the city’s most celebrated…

  • The Museumsinsel in Berlin

    Pergamonmuseum

    1.03 MILES

    The Pergamonmuseum is one of Berlin’s most visited historical gems and perhaps also its most controversial. This museum offers an archaeological time-warp…

  • BERLIN, GERMANY- October 15, 2014: Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed starting on 13 August 1961. East Side Gallery is an international memorial for freedom. October 15, 2014 in Berlin

    East Side Gallery

    2.13 MILES

    The East Side Gallery is the embodiment of Berlin’s grit and guts.

  • Berlin city Germanyu 1610343451

    Fernsehturm

    1.24 MILES

    Germany's tallest structure, the TV Tower is a Berlin icon.

  • Schloss & Park Sanssouci

    Schloss & Park Sanssouci

    16.78 MILES

    This glorious park and palace ensemble is what happens when a king has good taste, plenty of cash and access to the finest architects and artists of the…

  • Schloss Sanssouci

    Schloss Sanssouci

    16.49 MILES

    Frederick the Great's famous summer palace, this rococo gem was designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff in 1747 and sits daintily above vine-draped…

View more attractions

Nearby Historic Mitte attractions

1. Checkpoint Charlie

0.05 MILES

Checkpoint Charlie was the principal gateway for foreigners and diplomats between the two Berlins from 1961 to 1990. Unfortunately, this potent symbol of…

2. Trabi Museum

0.06 MILES

If you were lucky enough to own a car in East Germany, it would most likely have been a Trabant (Trabi in short), a tinny two-stroker whose name (…

3. asisi Panorama Berlin

0.07 MILES

Artist Yadegar Asisi is famous for creating bafflingly detailed monumental photographic panoramas. In Berlin, the giant 'Die Mauer' next to Checkpoint…

4. BlackBox Kalter Krieg

0.07 MILES

This small exhibit right by Checkpoint Charlie provides an easily accessible chronicle of the Cold War using photographs, maps, original footage and…

5. Peter Fechter Memorial

0.12 MILES

On 17 August 1962, 18-year-old would-be escapee Peter Fechter was shot and wounded by Berlin Wall border guards and then left to bleed to death as the…

6. Museum für Kommunikation Berlin

0.25 MILES

Three cheeky robots welcome you to this elegant, neo-baroque museum, which takes you on an entertaining romp through the evolution of communication, from…

8. Former Reichsluftfahrtministerium

0.31 MILES

Designed by Ernst Sagebiel in 1935 and ’36, this behemoth was not only Hermann Göring’s power centre but also where the resistance group ‘Red Orchestra’…