Secrets of Berlin - mountains of rubble





Berlin has got mountains. Well to be honest, the majority of them are not real,
they are made of rubble and they are called Trümmerberge. What is a Trümmerberg?


Wilhelm-Förster observatory at  Insulaner
At the end of the Second World War about 70% of Berlin was destroyed.But where to put the rubble?
That was a big problem! Finally, a solution was found. It was decided to pile it up .
It was mostly transported with trains to choosen places. Provisional rails were laid.
The real heroes were women - they diligently and painfully removed the rubble,
then they piled it up thus creating artificial mountains. A monument of such a woman
(by the sculptor Katharina Szelinski-Singer) can be found in the Volkspark Hasenheide.
Later the hills were planted and parks were created. The Berliners call such mountains "Mont Klamott".


The Insulaner and the Marienhöhe
The Insulaner (75m) finished in 1951, is such a typical rubble mountain.
Idyllic are the paths leading to the top of the Insulaner. On the top lies the Wilhelm-Förster observatory
dating from 1963. Close by is a planetarium. At the foot of the Insulaner is a minigolf course,
and a swimming pool. In winter the toboggan mountain is the main attraction.
S2, S25 ( Priesterweg)
Bus: M76, X76, 170, 246, 187 (Priesterweg)
                                                      

The Marienhöhe (73m) is another mountain made of rubble.The hilly terrain was part of a ground moraine landscape
where gravel and sand mining took place. Between the two World Wars movies were shot there.
After the Second World War, the mountain was piled up with rubble.
In winter you can toboggan there as well.
You can climb idyllic paths that lead you to the top,
but the views from here are rather disappointing. After your visit, I recommend you the small quaint
and somewhat hidden beer garden at the foot of the Marienhöhe.
 Bus: M76, X76, 184 (Röbling/Atillastr.)
quaint paths lead to the Marienhöhe
Further mountains
Parts of Volkspark Friedrichshain are made of rubble. They are the 78 meter high Große Bunkerberg
and the 48 meter high Kleiner Bunkerberg. They were originally flak towers. The Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg (99 m high) in Pankow is also made of Second World War debris.
The 85-meter-high Humboldthöhe in the Humboldthain originated from a flak tower that was blown up after World War II. You can climb there.

The most visited Trümmerberg is certainly the Teufelsberg. At the same time, it is with 120 meter the highest (artificial) mountain in Berlin.
Once you have climbed it, you are rewarded with beautiful views.


Further mountains made of rubble are: the  86 meter high Dörferblick (village view) in Rudow,
the Trümmerberg Biesdorf (75 m) and the Rixdorfer Höhe (70 m) in the Volkspark Hasenheide.



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