Berlin-Zehlendorf

The Allied Museum is located in Berlin-Zehlendorf. It is intended to document what the role of the Western Allies was in the Federal Republic and in West Berlin. The focus here is on a period from 1945 to 1994. The opening of the museum goes into the year 1998. At that time the ceremonial opening took place with former Chancellor Helmut Kohl. The collection of various exhibits and display panels is housed in the former US soldiers' cinema Outpost and the former Nicholson library. Visitors can view the permanent exhibition free of charge, which covers the period from the end of World War II to the 1948/1949 airlift. Maps, uniforms, photos and much more illustrate what happened back then. The former soldiers' cinema is now a venue for film screenings, lectures and readings.

Breitenbachplatz, which was laid out in 1892, is located in the Berlin-Zehlendorf district. Until 1913 it was called Rastatter Platz. When the subway line to Dahlem was inaugurated in August 1913, the name was changed. Breitenbach was a Prussian minister of public works and was present on the day of the inauguration of the underground line. There is still an underground station on the square today. The Reichsknappschaftshaus, which is an architectural monument, sits enthroned in the northeast of the complex. It is also noteworthy that one of the 17 installed automatic wheel counting stations is located on the square. It reveals the heavy use of the place by cyclists.

In Berlin-Zehlendorf there is the Brücke Museum, a large art museum in which around 400 sculptures and paintings as well as many thousands of watercolors, drawings and graphics by the artist group Brücke are on display. The artist group was founded in June 1905. This makes the collection the world's largest coherent collection of works of art by Expressionist masters. The museum was opened in September 1967. The collection was a gift from the painter Karl Schmidt-Rottluff to the State of Berlin. Erich Heckel added another donation to the art collection. The works of art are housed in a low-rise building with an inner courtyard. The total of four exhibition rooms have been designed by the German architect Werner Düttmann.

The Domäne Dahlem is located in Berlin-Zehlendorf. It is an extraordinary place in the middle of the capital, because here Berliners and tourists find peace and quiet within the metropolis. The historic manor has been converted into a unique museum project. It links the agricultural and nutritional culture with one another and has an ecological focus. Visitors to the attraction have the opportunity to marvel at exciting exhibitions and benefit from interactive knowledge transfer. The project builds on an old tradition in the region. Precisely at this location - the former village of Dahlem - fields have been cultivated for more than 800 years. Visitors can experience up close how the path from field to mouth is designed. Participation in this open-air museum is expressly encouraged.

Dreipfuhlpark is located in Berlin-Zehlendorf and is long and narrow. It runs parallel to Clayallee and lies between Schützallee in the south and Garystraße in the north. The city park was laid out by Max Dietrich between 1935 and 1939. The area was once a gully from the Ice Age that was made up of three ponds. That is why the park got its name. In the 1930s, one of the puddles was filled in as part of the park. The other two became a pond. Walking paths run through the green area, which are popular with walkers and joggers. In the north of the pond, the landscape is natural. In the south, meadows expand, which invite you to relax.

In Berlin-Zehlendorf, the Fischtalpark extends from Wilskistraße to Onkel-Tom-Straße. The green corridor was only converted into a park in the 1920s. However, the concept was already in place in 1912. The garden director of Berlin-Zehlendorf at the time wanted to preserve the natural character of the landscape there. In addition, soil modeling, planting and a path should help to support this original appearance. To this day, those looking for relaxation and strollers like to come to the green area to relax and do sports. Park benches allow you to take a break from walking. In the middle of the complex is the water lily pond, which is a popular destination. There is also something going on in the park in winter when it is snowing, as it has a toboggan slope.

The Free University of Berlin - FU Berlin for short - was founded in 1948. Its headquarters and central campus are in Berlin-Dahlem in the Berlin-Zehlendorf district. Due to the high number of students, it is one of the 20 largest universities in Germany. The university is also part of the “Berlin University Alliance”. It also includes the Humboldt University of Berlin, the Technical University of Berlin and the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. In 2007 and 2012, the federal institution received the “Excellence University” award as part of the Excellence Initiative. The faculties at the university are extensive. These include geosciences, physics, mathematics, law, economics and veterinary medicine.

Gleis 17 is a memorial at the Grunewald train station in Berlin-Zehlendorf. It is dedicated to the thousands of Jews who were deported from this railroad track on Deutsche Reichsbahn trains during the Nazi era. On October 18, 1941, the first deportation train ran off the tracks at this station. The train headed east. There were 1,013 people in it. Over the next few years, thousands of German Jews were to follow, who were brought from the Grunewald train station to concentration and labor camps. Many of them died violently in these. Destinations included Warsaw, Riga, Theresienstadt and Auschwitz-Birkenau. Visitors come to the Platform 17 memorial regularly to place flowers on the platform to commemorate the deceased.

In Berlin-Zehlendorf, the Glienicke Bridge, which connects the capital with Potsdam, runs over the Havel. The name of the bridge is based on the Klein Glienicke estate, which was once located near the road bridge. Today Glienicke Castle is located at the same location. The bridge was built in 1907. At that time it was called Kaiser Wilhelm Bridge, but the name did not catch on. The special thing about the building is not its half-timbering, but its history. The state border between the states of Berlin or Potsdam and Brandenburg stretches across the middle of the road bridge. During the GDR era, this building was of great importance due to its location. On February 11, 1986, a third and final exchange of agents was staged there in a spectacular way.

In Berlin-Zehlendorf at the Großer Wannsee 56-58 is the house of the Wannsee Conference. The imposing villa dates back to 1914, when the manufacturer Ernst Marlier had it built. But only a few years later the right-wing industrialist Friedrich Minoux took possession of it, who in turn sold it to an SS foundation in 1941. Initially, the foundation used it as a guest house, then it became the venue for a conference to organize the extermination of the Jews in the Third Reich. According to the motto "The rooms remain innocent - the perpetrators and their clients do not", the villa is now a memorial. This was arranged by Richard von Weisäcker, then mayor of Berlin, in 1982. Ten years later there is a museum and an educational facility in the historic rooms.

In the southwest of the capital in Berlin-Zehlendorf there is a lake called Krumme Lanke, the name of which could not be more apt. It has a curved shape and hugs the Grunewald. The water is very picturesque because it is surrounded by forest. A long riverside path leads along the lake, which is why it attracts walkers and joggers. In the summer months, the lawns are a popular place for those looking for relaxation. There are also several bathing spots, of which the area at the north end is particularly popular. Various fish species are hidden in the lake, which is around 1,100 m long and up to 6.60 m deep. These include carp, pike, eel, catfish and many more.

The Museum of European Cultures in Berlin-Zehlendorf is dedicated to the topic of ethnology. Around 280,000 cultural and historical objects are brought together under one roof, providing an astonishing view of everyday European culture and popular art. The main aim of this exhibition is to bring people from different cultures together and to ensure understanding. For this reason, historical exhibits belong to the collection as well as objects of the present. Therefore, in the exhibition you can marvel at a mechanical Christmas mountain by Max Vogel from the 19th century and the costume of a light meter from 2011. The museum was created in 1999 when the Museum für Volkskunde was merged with the Europe department of the Museum für Völkerkunde.

In Berlin-Zehlendorf you can immerse yourself in the Middle Ages. In the seasonally open Museumsdorf Düppel, everything revolves around the year 1200. The open-air museum is laid out on an approximately eight hectare site, which once actually housed a medieval village. Expensively reconstructed granaries, houses, workshops and fields have been created. On certain dates, performers present lively stories that are intended to provide additional insight into the past. In addition, there are farm animals typical of the time, including oxen, grazing pigs or a breed of sheep that is threatened with extinction. With the help of a timeline, the development of the region and the associated changes in the landscape are illustrated.

In Berlin-Zehlendorf there is a particularly picturesque place with the Pfaueninsel in the Havel, to which a castle of the same name belongs. The landscape park has a size of 67 hectares and is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In addition, it has been a designated nature reserve since 1924. The 88 hectare island is closely linked to important people and events in Brandenburg-Prussian history. It is also interesting that people lived on the island 2,500 years ago. The summer palace there was built in the late 18th century.

In Berlin-Zehlendorf in the Nikolassee district is the Rehwiese, which used to be called Franzosenwiese and Kuhfenn. It is about 1.5 km long, narrow depression, which has a total size of 25.6 ha. The green area has been a landscape protection area since 1960. The protected green area has 12 wells from which three million cubic meters of water are pumped per year. In the 1980s, the figure was nine million cubic meters. The continued large volume of water creates waterlogged areas that are preserved. However, woody growth is deliberately suppressed. In the autumn months, some citizens come to the green area to pick blackberries.

In the southwest of Berlin in Berlin-Zehlendorf, the Schlachtensee expands on the edge of the Grunewald. It has the shape of a tube and is part of the Grunewald lake chain. The lake has an area of 421,000 m², which makes it one of the largest lakes in the capital. At the deepest point the water has a depth of about 8.5 m. The circumference is 5.5 km. Its shoreline is picturesque and frequented by walkers. Joggers also get their money's worth thanks to the continuous riverside path. In the summer months the lake invites you to swim. Go to the restaurant and beer garden Fischerhütte for refreshment.

The Thielpark in Berlin-Zehlendorf is a park that was named after the German politician Hugo Thiel. The park, which is protected as a garden monument, was laid out between 1912 and 1915. In the following decades redesigns took place. Long before that time at the end of the last Ice Age, the area was a glacial gully. Water collected in the depressions, ultimately creating small bodies of water. Even today there are four ponds belonging to the green area. They contribute to the picturesque image of the park landscape. That, the easy accessibility by subway and the walking paths as well as sunbathing lawns make the park one of the busiest parks in Berlin-Zehlendorf.

The famous Wannsee belongs to Berlin-Zehlendorf. Especially in the summer months, Berliners and tourists appreciate the numerous recreational opportunities and excursion destinations at Wannsee. But sunbathing and splashing around are only two activities that are worth a trip to the water. One of the sights there is the Pfaueninsel, which can only be reached by ferry. It has been under nature protection since 1924. A white castle from the 18th century sits enthroned on the island. Peacocks walk across the green spaces. On the west bank of the lake, the villa and gardens by the painter Max Liebermann are well worth a visit. The house of the Wannsee Conference, which was once used by the National Socialists, serves as a memorial and educational site.

The Wannsee lido is one of the largest open-air pools on inland water in Europe. It nestles on the east bank of the Großer Wannsee, which is a branch of the Havel in Berlin-Zehlendorf. The current appearance of the lido is based on the designs of the architect Martin Wagner. In 1915 he developed the first development plan for this bathing area, which had only been poorly developed at that time. In the late 1920s, an ultra-modern bathroom was finally developed - in the style of New Objectivity. The building ensemble measures 540 m and it took a year to build. It is a listed building and is therefore only being renovated very carefully. The lido has cloakrooms, showers and shops. The roofs form a total area of 400 m², so there is plenty of space for sunbathing and doing sports.