Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg

Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg
Entrance to the park at Oderbruchstraße (historically the Oderbruchkippe)
Interactive map of Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg
TypeUrban park
LocationPrenzlauer Berg, Pankow, Berlin, Germany
Coordinates52°32′11.9″N 13°27′44.1″E / 52.536639°N 13.462250°E / 52.536639; 13.462250
Areaabout 29 ha[1]
Elevationup to ~91 m[2]
Created1969 (inaugurated as a public park)[1]
StatusOpen all year

Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg is a public park in the Prenzlauer Berg quarter of the Pankow borough in Berlin, Germany. Laid out over a landscaped rubble hill (Schuttberg) historically called the Oderbruchkippe (Oderbruch landfill), it covers roughly 29 hectares and consists of planted slopes and plateaus with footpaths, lawns and viewpoints.[1] The area was regraded and planted in the 1960s after serving as a deposition site for post-war building debris cleared from inner-city districts such as Alexanderplatz; the park was inaugurated under its present name in 1969.[1]

History

After the Second World War, construction rubble from heavily damaged central districts was transported by truck and rubble tram to an area on Berlin’s northeastern edge, forming a double-summit dump known administratively as the Oderbruchkippe. By the late 1960s the slopes had been contoured; mid-1967 saw large-scale planting with hardy, predominantly European tree species, and former service routes were adapted as footpaths. The park opened to the public in 1969 as Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg.[1] The site’s origins as a debris landscape have also been the subject of artistic and cultural projects; for example, a 2013 feature discussed found shards and traces from the rubble layers.[3]

Location

The park lies between Süderbrokweg, Sigridstraße, Schneeglöckchenstraße, Maiglöckchenstraße and Oderbruchstraße / Hohenschönhauser Straße, with allotment gardens to the north and post-war housing estates to the south and west.[1] It sits on the boundary between Pankow and Lichtenberg (Fennpfuhl), with convenient access from tram and bus stops along Hohenschönhauser Straße.[1]

Landscape and use

The highest point is about 90–91 meters, making it one of Berlin’s more prominent artificial elevations.[2] The topography accommodates walking and jogging paths, open meadows and winter sledding.[1] A small community vineyard maintained by local enthusiasts (Weingarten Berlin – Berlin Vineyard) cultivates Riesling on a sunny slope within the park.[4]

The mosaic of woodland and meadow supports urban biodiversity and provides local micro-climate benefits; foxes and numerous bird species are regularly observed, and parts of the site have been kept comparatively natural to develop thickets and edge habitats.[1]

Public art

When the area was laid out as a recreational park, the district commissioned several sculptures and created a small public-art trail (Kulturwege [cultural paths]) around key entrances. A long bronze relief frieze by sculptor Birgit Horota runs along the entrance at Maiglöckchenstraße/Oderbruchstraße; it narrates episodes from the district’s history and the park’s creation from wartime rubble. The inscription on the frieze reads: "Aus Trümmerresten des II. Weltkrieges wurde hier ein Berg aufgeschüttet und der Park angelegt". ["From the rubble remnants of the Second World War, a hill was heaped up here and the park laid out".][5][6]

Notable works in and around the park include:

  • Erwin Damerow, Rodelnde Kinder [Sledding Children] (1972), bronze group on the upper slopes; part of the park's original artistic furnishing.[7]
  • Erwin Damerow, Bär [Bear] (1973; cast stone), placed below the Pappelplateau near a path junction.[8]
  • Stephan Horota, Vater und Sohn [Father and Son] (1970/71), bronze, formerly at the corner of Maiglöckchenstraße/Hohenschönhauser Straße; the sculpture was stolen in 2012.[9][10][11]
  • Stephan Horota, Junger Fuchs [Young Fox] (1972), bronze, formerly near the Schneeglöckchenstraße entrance; also stolen in September 2012.[12]
  • Werner Stötzer, Sitzender Junge [Seated Boy] (1956), bronze; relocated after 1991 and today sited at the small square by Erich-Weinert-Straße/Hosemannstraße (near the park).[13][14]
  • Birgit Horota, Aus der Entstehungsgeschichte des Parks [From the Park's Creation History] (1971–1973), bronze frieze approximately ten meters long at the Maiglöckchenstraße entrance; by the 2010s much of the surface had been oversprayed.[5][6]

A memorial to the Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse (a factory-based militia in the GDR, 1953–1989) stood at the south-eastern approach from 1987 until its removal after reunification.[5]

Maintenance and recent developments

In 2025, preparations to repair ageing asphalt paths led to the felling of several storm-damaged or unstable trees; the works form part of a staged programme to rehabilitate routes through the park.[15] Path renovations and the associated removal of a limited number of poplars, robinias and maples were reported in the Berlin press earlier that year.[16]

Notable incident

On 27 February 2024, passers-by discovered a severed human thigh in the park, triggering a large police search; investigators later identified the victim via DNA and appealed for information.[17][18]

  • View across one of the hill plateaus (Trümmerberg) in Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg.
  • Bär (Erwin Damerow, 1973), one of several pieces of public art in the park.
  • Young Fox (Stephan Horota, 1972), stolen in September 2012.
  • Father and Son (Stephan Horota, 1970/71), stolen in 2012.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg: Berliner Wein und die Trümmer des Alex [Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg: Berlin's wine and the rubble from Alex]". tipBerlin (in German). 4 February 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Steile Pisten [Steep pistes]". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). 8 January 2003. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  3. ^ Gabriela Walde (19 August 2014). "Die verlorene Macht [The Lost Power]". Berliner Morgenpost (in German). Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  4. ^ Gerd Nowakowski (7 October 2022). "Beim sächsischen Wein-Adel gelernt: Berliner Hobby-Winzer bauen Riesling im Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg an [Trained with Saxon wine nobility: Berlin hobby vintners grow Riesling in Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg]". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "Der Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg". Natur entdecken Pankow (in German). Bezirksamt Pankow. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Bildhauerinnen in der DDR – Kunst von Frauen im öffentlichen Raum [Women Sculptors in the GDR – Art by Women in Public Space]" (PDF). Berlin-Pankow (in German). Bezirksamt Pankow. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  7. ^ "Rodelnde Kinder [Sledding Children]". Bildhauerei in Berlin (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  8. ^ "Bär [Bear]". Bildhauerei in Berlin (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  9. ^ "Vater und Sohn [Father and Son]". Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Pankow (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  10. ^ "Begehrter Schrott [Coveted scrap]". taz (in German). 17 July 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  11. ^ "Kunstklau im Volkspark [Art theft in the park]". Pankower Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 3 July 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  12. ^ "Fuchs [Fox]". Bildhauerei in Berlin (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  13. ^ "Sitzender Junge [Seated Boy]". Bildhauerei in Berlin (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  14. ^ "Sitzender Junge [Seated Boy]". Kunst im öffentlichen Raum Pankow (in German). Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  15. ^ Thomas Schubert (6 August 2025). "Im stillsten Park von Prenzlauer Berg kreischen jetzt die Sägen [In the quietest park of Prenzlauer Berg, chainsaws are now roaring]". Berliner Morgenpost (in German). Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  16. ^ "Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg: Mehrere Bäume müssen gefällt werden [Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg: Several trees must be felled]". Berliner Zeitung (in German). 14 February 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  17. ^ Eva Maria Braungart; Jule Damaske (27 February 2024). "Spaziergängerinnen entdecken menschliches Bein – Spurensuche im Volkspark [Women out walking discover a human leg – search for clues in the park]". Berliner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  18. ^ "Ungeklärter Kriminalfall in Berlin: Oberschenkel-Fund in Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg – Fall bei Aktenzeichen XY [Unsolved case: Thigh found in Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg – case on Aktenzeichen XY]". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). 29 July 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  • Media related to Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg at Wikimedia Commons
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.