Watchtower at Potsdamer Platz

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  An old GDR watchtower of the BT-6 type stands near Potsdamer Platz in Erna-Berger-Straße.

• A visitor climbs into the last remaining observation tower BT6 of the Berlin Wall near Potsdamer Platz in Berlin.

The oldest border watchtower in the GDR is located near Potsdamer Platz. Visitors experience a journey back to the days of the Cold War.

Very close to Potsdamer Platz, directly behind Leipziger Platz is the oldest remnant of the Berlin Wall, the GDR border watchtower in Erna-Berger-Straße. Due to its location behind all the new buildings, it is easily overlooked.

The very name "Rundblickbeobachtungsturm" (panoramic observation tower) makes its purpose obvious. More than 200 towers of this type once stood along the Wall. The watchtowers made of solid concrete were built from 1966 onwards. They all had a round shaft and a turret pulpit.

This tower was built around 1971 and is the last of its kind. It has been a listed building since 2001. A private initiative has taken care of the tower's preservation.

Time travel to the Cold War

Anyone who dares to climb the steel ladders takes an impressive journey back to the days of the Cold War. Through the small window hatches, visitors can see what the guards once had to observe.

There was a strict shoot-to-kill order. From the turret pulpit, it was possible to fire as far as the Tiergarten and far to the north in the direction of the Brandenburg Gate.

During opening hours, members of the "Berlin Wall Exhibition" explain the former course of the Wall to interested visitors and provide interesting facts about the history of the surrounding area and the GDR border watchtower.

Information

• Address:
  Erna-Berger-Straße
  10117 Berlin
  City map
• Phone: [phone]
• Internet: diemauerthewall.de
• Please note: The tower cannot be visited at the moment.