Berliner Unterwelten

Go on an exciting discovery tour under the streets of the metropolis during a visit to Berlin's underworlds. Learn more about the history of the city and its secrets. Descend into abandoned bunkers and tunnel systems. The headquarters of the Underworlds Association is located in a former bunker in the Gesundbrunnen transport hub. In an exhibition on four floors, you can learn all about the capital's many underground facilities.

Berlin's history: rediscovering the hidden

Berlin's surface is only the visible part of the city, Berlin's underground is as full of holes as a Swiss cheese: relics, tunnels and secret passageways from Berlin's eventful history lie dormant beneath the wide squares and streets. The remains of bunkers are particularly impressive. The non-profit organisation Berliner Unterwelten e.V. has been exploring these fateful buildings in Berlin since 1997. In 1999, guided tours through an extensive bunker complex in the Gesundbrunnen underground station were offered for the first time. The association also actively researches, documents and preserves the infrastructure of Berlin's underground and makes it accessible to the public. You can gain vivid insights into the work at first hand on many different tours and exhibitions. Berliner Unterwelten also offers seminars throughout the year.

The focus of the various guided tours is on civilian air defence during the Second World War. On the tours through the underground, you will also encounter historical features such as the tube post system, GDR escape tunnels, munitions finds and archaeological treasures. The guides at Berliner Unterwelten will give you exciting and moving insights into all of this. We also recommend the Fichtebunker industrial monument in Berlin-Kreuzberg. It brings together 130 years of the city's history - from the gasometer for the municipal street lighting to the buildings converted for use as mother-and-child bunkers during the Nazi era and the warehouse for Senate reserves for West Berliners at the time of the Berlin Wall. The exhibition "Hitler's Plans for Berlin: Mythos Germania - Vision and Crime", which deals with the National Socialists' plans for the Reich capital Berlin, is exceptional.

A new highlight is the Tour D "Tunnel and Bunker Dresdener Straße" in Berlin-Mitte/Kreuzberg: Under Dresdener Straße, many stages of Berlin's city history are made visible and illustrated by the guides of Berliner Unterwelten e.V.: from local transport planning in the German Empire and the developments during the Second World War and Cold War (including the construction of the Wall through the bunker with border security facilities) to the present day. There were several successful and failed escape attempts through the neighbouring underground tunnel, which are also covered on the tour.

Highlights of the Berlin Underworlds

• Bunkers at Gesundbrunnen
• Remains of the flak towers in Humboldthain
• Escape tunnels between East and West Berlin
• Fichtebunker History Memory (Gasometer Fichtestraße)

Information for your visit

Most of the Berlin Underworlds are located at the Berlin-Gesundbrunnen transport hub, which can be reached using lines S1, S2, S25, U8 and the Ringbahn. You will find the museum's ticket and book shop next to the southern entrance of Gesundbrunden underground station (in front of Kaufland) at Brunnenstraße 105. Visits are only possible as part of a guided tour. The exhibitions are excluded. A tour of the bunker complex at Gesundbrunnen usually lasts around 90 minutes. The Verein Berliner Unterwelten recommends taking children from the age of 8 at the earliest, preferably from the age of 13. Children under the age of 7 are not admitted. Please note: Warm clothing and sturdy shoes are sometimes necessary. Detailed information is available on the homepage.

You can get a discount on admission to the exhibition "Hitler's Plans for Berlin: Mythos Germania - Vision and Crime" with the Berlin Welcome Card.