Urban Exploring and Lost Places in Berlin

Berlin has always been a city with a diverse, moving and polarising history. 30 years after German reunification – and the unification of Berlin, the traces of a forgotten and neglected history are slowly vanishing. But these Urban Exploring Locations in Berlin were (and still are) silent witnesses to an ever-changing city - and can still be found. If you know where to look.

Berlin went through a very popular Urban Exploring Phase in the early 2010s, with abandoned places like the Spreepark with its abandoned Ferris Wheel, the Teufelsberg “Spy Station” and even the abandoned Iraqi Embassy becoming tourist hotspots, and seemingly every travel outlet covering them.  While the most "obvious" abandoned places in Berlin have either been renovated, demolished or become a legitimate tourist attractions that now charge an entrance fee – there is still a trove of hidden urbex locations in Berlin (and Brandenburg)to be found and documented.

Abandoned East German factories, forgotten Ball Rooms, abandoned Swimming Pools, Cinemas and even the odd chemical factory dot the city – waiting to be rediscovered and explored.

Below are some of the Urbex locations that we've explored and documented in Berlin during our Urban Exploring trips - but our list is by far not complete. Be sure to check back on a regular basis - or sign up to our Newsletter and stay up to date whenever we explore a new Urbex Berlin location. And don’t forget to check out our Abandoned and Urbex Berlin Map if you feel like going out and exploring.

abandoned teufelsberg urbex berlin

9 Legal Lost Places to visit in and around Berlin (and 10 that you can’t)

Urban Exploring has become quite a mainstream activity over the years, thanks to its ever growing presence and popularity on sites like youtube, reddit and even tiktok. Even this website […]
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avus tribüne avus motel autobahn lost places abandoned berlin urbex germany

The AVUS

There are few places in Berlin that I both equally hate and love driving along – one of them being the route of the legendary AVUS in West Berlin. The […]
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hubertusbad lichtenberg facade statues stadtbad lichtenberg hubertusbad berlin abandoned pool urbex lost places

The abandoned Stadtbad Lichtenberg

Berlin hasn’t always been a very “hygienic city”. Some say it still isn’t, but considering it boasts over 67 public baths today (83 if you count the members only / […]
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abandoned villa field winterquartier staatszirkus ddr lost places berlin urban exploring abandoned urbex germany

The Winter Home of the State Circus of the German Democratic Republic

I’ve never really been a fan of Circuses. I’ve been to a fair share, including some in Russia, and I’ve always felt slightly uncomfortable with the often-dubious animal shows. Historically, […]
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back view switch house rangierhaus bahn train abandoned lost places berlin germany urbex

The Switch House

Nothing could be dug up about this little abandoned railroad switch house. We stumbled across this lost place by chance looking for another abandoned structure a while back. While there […]
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glass window heizhaus heating plant abandoned urbex lost places berlin germany

The Heating Plant

Theres not much information to be found about the Heating Plant, but theres enough information about the surrounding area that one can speculate about its history. Judging from its architecture, […]
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villa heike front view DDR stasi nazi archiv berlin germany abandoned lost places urbex urban exploring

Villa Heike

Hohenschönhausen is one of those areas in Berlin that one rarely traverses these days. Wedged above Lichtenberg and Marzahn, one struggles to come up with a reason to visit this […]
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Schloss Dammsmühle

Schloss Dammsmühle – an 18th century fairy tale castle to the north of Berlin slowly bidding its time. Once an illustrious home to a wealthy merchant, the abandoned castle has […]
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berlin factory milchhof veb milchhof ddr back view

The VEB Milchhof

The history of the VEB Milchhof (Dairy Farm) begins with the construction and opening of another famous (and now abandoned) Berlin location – the Säuglings und Kinderkrankenhaus in Weißensee in 1911. […]
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The Wernerbad

The Wernerbad was Berlins oldest (abandoned) open air swimming pool. The term Swimmingpool might be a bit of a glorification as the origins of the Wernerbad are a kettle pond […]
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The Abandoned Children’s Home

Hidden in a small overgrowth in a luxurious suburb of Berlin lie the ruins of an abandoned villa. Built at the turn of the of the 19th Century, the luxurious […]
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front side view abandoned boeing 707 tegel txl flughafen airport berlin germany deutschland

Berlins Abandoned Boeing 707

Berlin and its Airports – a never-ending saga. First they killed off Berlins most central Airport, Tempelhof in 2008, then they wanted to expand Schönefeld and close down Tegel in […]
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The Jungle Hospital

When it comes to abandoned structures, it always struck me as odd why cities let Hospitals go to waste. Industries come and go (especially in East Germany), but everybody needs a […]
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Schwimmhalle Pankow

It seems like nobody likes to go swimming anymore these days. Or at least one gets that impression when looking at the amount of abandoned swimming pools Berlin has. The […]
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Postenturm Neumagener Strasse Liebermannstrasse abandoned berlin watchtower

The Stasi Tower

When the DDR erected the „Antifaschistischer Schutzwall“ – aka the Berlin Wall in 1961, the 160 Kilometer long fortification was overlooked by 302 Watchtowers. The East German Watchtowers weren’t only used for […]
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flugzeughallen karlshorst berlin

Flugzeughallen Karlshorst

Berlin-Karlshorst has always had a long history in aviation. Between 1907 and 1911, Georg Wilhelm von Siemens ordered the construction of the first rotating Airship Hangar on a plot of land in […]
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verlassener hoersaal berlin anatomie schule

The School of Anatomy

Despite having only closed its doors a few years ago – vandals have found their way into this abandoned anatomy school.  All that remains are the shards of glass and […]
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fabrik halle und wachturm veb kuehlautomat berlin

VEB Kühlautomat

Back in the day, Berlin had 6 Airports – Schönefeld, Tegel, Tempelhof, Gatow, Staaken, and Johannisthal. 4 of those have since been closed, some converted into parks and nature reserves, […]
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auslaenderlager schoenholz bunker vorne

Ausländerlager Schönholz

Berlin is made of Bunkers. Where ever you go, chances are pretty high that you’ll stumble across some signs or remnants of a Bunker. Be it the Volkspark Friedrichshain, underneath […]
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werkshalle oben veb baerensiegel adlershof berlin

VEB Bärensiegel

Everybody loves a drink or two – and Berlin was (and still is) a city for drinkers. 150 years ago, the city had over 200 breweries and distilleries – today […]
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abandoned piano berlin germany

The Cinema Directors House

From the outside it looks like any other closed down villa – but this 2 story house is more than that. Upon closer inspection this run down Villa turns out […]
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dreilinden checkpoint bravo flaggen

Checkpoint Bravo

The Berlin Wall didn’t go up on the 13th of August 1961. What actually happened was that East Berlin Closed all its borders with West Berlin that day. Roads were […]
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abandoned sbahn milestone friedhofsbahn stahnsdorf germany

The Abandoned Friedhofsbahn

Berlins rail based public transport network is huge. Combined, the S-Bahn and U-Bahn have over 477 Km worth of tracks, 25 lines and 339 stations – something very few cities […]
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Müggelturm Berlin

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 68: The Müggelturm

Berlin is best enjoyed from the top. Not that there are that many opportunities within the city aside from the Fernsehturm and the Weltballon. But if you venture out to […]
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abandoned swimming pool lichtenberg diving board

The BVB Freibad Lichtenberg

Schools out for Summer and everyone’s heading to the pool. But not this one. The Freibad Lichtenberg has been closed for a good 20 years, the ground is still rumored […]
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abandoned industrail factory berlin koepenick

VEB Kabelwerk Köpenick

*Update 19.7.2013* Just as I was about to post this I stumbled across some bad news. Some asshole set the VEB Kabelwerk Köpenick on fire on the 7th of June […]
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abandoned chemicals

VEB Fotochemische Werke Berlin

The steady decline of film photography and production has become a mere side note in today’s digital world. Every so often you’ll see a small news article pop up stating […]
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abandoned gas station pumps berlin

The Abandoned 1950s Gas Station

Virtually untouched – hidden in a courtyard lies an old abandoned Gas Station, an 80-year-old Berlin time capsule. A trio of old Arab men guard the courtyard entrance, suspiciously eying […]
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typewriter abandoned iraqi embassy berlin

The Abandoned Iraqi Embassy in Berlin

It’s a scene akin to the ransacking of Iraq. Broken glass, smashed doors, charred ceilings, and paper. Lots of mouldy paper strewn across every room on every floor. Everybody knows […]
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Bahnhof Siemensstadt

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 86: The S-Bahnhof Siemensstadt

Berlin has its fair share of Geisterbahnhöfe – Ghost Stations. Some are hidden underground, behind brick walls, or in overgrown forests  while others are hiding in plain sight. The Second […]
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The Abandoned Childrens Hospital in Weißensee

The Abandoned Childrens Hospital in Weißensee Berlin or as its was officially known as: The Säuglings- und Kinderkrankenhaus Preußens (Childrens Hospital Prussia) was the first communal run childrens hospital in Prussia. […]
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small ballroom of the abandoned ballhaus riviera

111 Places in Berlin – Nr 5: The Ballhaus in Grünau

1920s Berlin was the place to be – it was the epicenter of culture and vice. The Weimar era brought out some of the best in German Culture, from Bauhaus […]
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The Bahnbetriebswerk Pankow Heinersdorf seen from Sbahn platform

Bahnbetriebswerk Pankow Heinersdorf

It seems like i’m slowly turning into a train spotter – or something akin to that. Though i’m not that interested in the trains themselves, i’m interested in the structures that used to […]
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The Rewatex Factory in Spindlersfeld, Berlin, Germany

VEB REWATEX

By now everyone should have realized that Berlin is a large urban wasteland dotted with specs of “civilization”. With a little research and some light reading you will easily stumble […]
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Kino Sojus

Marzahn. The last Bastion of old Berlin. Cold, Ugly, and Unwelcoming. Plattenbauten as far as the eye can see. Unless you are a fan of giant east german housing estates, […]
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Facade inside the Theater

The Lost Cabaret

Berlin is a truly wonderful place. No matter where you go there, there’s always a secret bit of history to be discovered. Not too long ago a curious property investor […]
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Back Staircase to the First Floor

Stadtbad Oderberger Straße

On every second sunday in September, Germany (and several other european countries) celebrates the “Tag des offenen Denkmals”(Day of the open Monuments) as part of the European Heritage Days. Monuments, […]
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The abandoned Eisfabrik in Berlin, Germany

The Eisfabrik

Walking along the Spree you’ll find an ever decreasing amount of crumbling factories and halls. All are destined to make way for the MediaSpree Project, for luxury Hotels and Offices […]
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Steps leading onto subway tracks of the U6 Tunneltag

U6 Tunneltag

Germans Love Tunnels. They simply go apeshit for them. Theres simply no other explanation as to why over 7000 people queued up on a Sunday Morning after the BVG invited […]
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Urbex Berlin: Ausländerlager Schönholz - AVUS Tribüne (+AVUS Südkurve) - Bahnbetriebswerk Pankow Heinersdorf - The Ballhaus in Grünau - VEB Bärensiegel - Checkpoint Bravo - The Abandoned Children's Home - The Cinema Directors House - The Lost Cabaret - The Classical Villa - The Eisfabrik - Flugzeughallen Karlshorst - VEB Fotochemische Werke Berlin - Freibad Lichtenberg - The Friedhofsbahn - 1950s Gas Station - The Heating Plant - Villa Heike - Iraqi Embassy - The Jungle Hospital - VEB Kabelwerk Köpenick - Kinderkrankenhaus Weißensee - Kino Sojus - VEB Kühlautomat - VEB Milchhof - The Müggelturm - VEB Rewatex - The S-Bahnhof Siemensstadt - Schloss Dammsmühle - Schwimmhalle Pankow - The School of Anatomy - Stadtbad Lichtenberg - Stadtbad Oderberger Straße - The Stasi Tower - The Switch House - U6 U-Bahn Tunnel - The Wernerbad - The Staatszirkus der DDR

Urbex Brandenburg: Adolf Hitler Lager / Forst Zinna - Avro Lancaster Crash Site - Bramo - Zümo Werk - Bunker Wünsdorf Zeppelin | Maybach I - Chemiewerk Rüdersdorf - The Artillerie Kaserne - Flugabwehr-Raketenabteilung 4123 - Flugplatz Alt Daber - Flugplatz Löpten - Flugplatz Rangsdorf - Carinhall - Fürstenbergs Soviet Murals - Gasthof zum Schwarzen Adler - Gut Gentzrode - Heeresbekleidungsamt Bernau - Jagdschloss Schwarzhorn - Kaserne Krampnitz - Kraftwerk Vogelsang - Lager Koralle - Lenin Bust Fürstenberg - Mars La Tour Kaserne Fürstenwalde - NVA Lazarettbunker - Olympiastadion Wünsdorf - Panzerkaserne Bernau - Papiermühle Wolfswinkel - Sanatorium E - The Stasi Hotel - Truppenübungsplatz Döberitz - Twin Villas Fürstenwalde - Abandoned Soviet Training Tank - Villa Bogensee - Flugplatz Werneuchen

Urbex Oranienburg: The SS Bath and Boiler House - Flugplatz Oranienburg - Funkbunker Karo Ass - Heilstätte Grabowsee - Munitionsdepot Oranienburg - SS-Hundeschule Sachsenhausen - The SS Hundertschaftsgebäude - Veruschsstelle für Höhenflüge

Urbex Germany: Hotel Fürstenhof - Kernkraftwerk Greifswald - The Machine Factory - The Nail Factory - The Textile Factory - Rapunzel’s Tower - The Soviet Helicopter - The White Castle - Weißen Häuser Rechlin

Urbex France: L’église du Bon-Pasteur
Urbex Hungary: Párizsi Udvar
Urbex Italy: Il Grande Cretto di Gibellina - Tonnara del Secco