Tempelhofer Feld Berlin

The former Tempelhof airport is now a public park – and not for the first time in its history. Originally the Tempelhofer Feld Berlin was a parade ground. At the weekends and on public holidays, as soon as the military cleared the site, the locals would swarm in their thousands to Tempelhof to enjoy their leisure time. Whole families would come with their baskets full of food, deckchairs and sunshades to have picnics there. At the beginning of the 1920s, Tempelhof airport was built on the site. After the airport closed in 2008, the city of Berlin reclaimed the 386-hectare open space and one of the world's largest buildings in a central location for public use. 

Today, the area has a six-kilometre cycling, skating and jogging trail, a 2.5-hectare BBQ area, a dog-walking field covering around four hectares and an enormous picnic area for all visitors.

Freedom for the entire family

On windy days, Tempelhofer Freiheit not only offers families the best place to fly a kite, but due to the many stretches of asphalt that were once runways among other things, and in the absence of any motorised transport, athletes big and small can safely practise skateboarding, in-line skating and bicycling or unicycling here. Dogs can also romp to their heart's content - without disturbing other visitors. Three fenced-in dog runs ensure that animals and humans won't get in each other's way. You can marvel at even more urban nature in the urban gardening section, where residents and others grow lettuce, carrots and tomatoes on raised beds.

On the trail of history

The history of Tempelhofer Feld goes back more than 700 years. Tempelhof, this name refers to a seat of the "Knights Templar". Whether as a parade ground for the Soldier King in the 18th century or as a landing site under the control of the Allied powers protecting Berlin after the Second World War until the 1990s - the field was used for military purposes almost continuously. And even worse: after the big propaganda rally on 1 May 1933, the National Socialists set up the only official concentration camp of the SS on Berlin city territory in the "Columbiahaus" on the northern edge of the field and forced labourers had to work for war production in a barracks camp. But during the Berlin Blockade of 1948/49, the Western Allies supplied the population here with everything they needed to survive via the legendary "Airlift". An information trail with 20 places of remembrance and memorials on Tempelhofer Feld provides information about the history of the site in text and pictures.

Around Tempelhofer Feld

Without doubt, the vast Tempelhofer Feld is the highlight of the district, but there’s plenty going on in the streets all around it. Near the former airfield are the Fliegerviertel, Papestraße and the Schwerbelastungskörper, which all have their own history and fascinating stories to tell.

Find out more about the city’s neighbourhoods with our Going Local Berlin app.