Wrangelkiez Walking Tour

This walking tour is an exploration of the Wrangelkiez, a neighborhood in Kreuzberg best known for its restaurants and bars, not so much for its history which is nonetheless fascinating as anywhere in Berlin.

There are many excellent organized walking tours of the city, mostly aimed at tourists who want to zoom from place to place, looking at the history of the city from a birds-eye view. Rather than racing around landmarks, I decided I wanted to do something a little different, focusing on the social geography of this wonderful little area between the river and canal where I have lived for the past year.

As well as checking out some of the most spectacular graffiti art in Berlin, the tour explores various places of social and historical importance in the area, including:

• The origin of the Schlesisches Tor, the Schlesisches Viertel and Oppelner Straße.
• Görlitzer Bahnhof and its destruction and renewal into a large park.
• The Landwehrkanal and surrounding parkland.
• One of only two remaining Berlin Wall guard towers, now under the custodianship of an art collective.
• The remnants of one of the strangest sections of the Berlin Wall, where it crossed the river.
• The Oberbaumbrücke bridge, one of Berlin’s popular landmarks.

Curious observers might recognize various locations here from scenes in Run Lola Run or even Peter Fox’s madcap video for Alles Neu.

I will be guiding this tour during summer and autumn, starting at 11am on weekdays. We meet outside Passenger Espresso, Oppelner Straße 45 (very close to Schlesisches Tor on the U1 line).

It’s all for free (tips, as in coffee or beers are much appreciated though, hint hint!) and by prior arrangement only. Please contact me if you would like to book a day to take the tour. If there’s enough interest, I may set up a regular schedule of dates, but for now, it’s easier if you arrange this in advance with me directly. It should be great fun.