Berlin Marathon this weekend: Road closures and weapons ban

• 

  Straße des 17. Juni is currently closed between the Brandenburg Gate and Yitzhak-Rabin-Straße.

• 

  The finish area is already being set up at the Brandenburg Gate.

• 

  The road closures will be gradually extended over the course of the week.

The set-up work for this Sunday's Berlin Marathon has been in full swing since the beginning of the week.

The finish area has been prepared in front of the Brandenburg Gate on Straße des 17. The road between Platz des 18. März and Yitzhak-Rabin-Straße has therefore been closed since the weekend. Over the course of the week, the restrictions for car traffic were extended.

Closures will be put in place over the course of the week

According to the traffic information centre (VIZ), Straße des 17. Juni was closed on Wednesday as far as Großer Stern. The closure also included Yitzhak-Rabin-Straße. Since Thursday morning, Ebertstraße, John-Foster-Dulles-Allee, Scheidemannstraße, Dorotheenstraße and the government district have also been closed to traffic. Due to the inline skating race on Saturday, motorists should also expect restrictions on Unter den Linden and Potsdamer Straße between Reichpietschufer and Potsdamer Platz in the morning.

Over 55,000 participants registered

More than 55,000 participants are registered for the 51st Berlin Marathon next Sunday. On the day, motorists must be prepared for the roads along the marathon route, especially in Tiergarten and Mitte, to be closed almost continuously until the end of the event. According to the VIZ, there will also be road closures in Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg, Neukölln, Schöneberg, Steglitz, Wilmersdorf and Zehlendorf. The roads will be gradually reopened after the end of the event. However, Straße des 17. Juni will remain closed until next week Wednesday, according to the traffic information centre.

Crossings for pedestrians and cyclists

Cycle traffic will be maintained along the route. People travelling on foot can cross the marathon route via the subways of the underground stations. According to the VIZ, the following areas are also particularly suitable for crossing the route:

• Kurfürstendamm corner Tauentzienstraße (Sunday)
• Wittenbergplatz (Sunday)
• Potsdamer Platz at the level of the underground station (Saturday and Sunday)
• Leipziger Straße at the corner of Friedrichstraße (Saturday and Sunday)
• Französische Straße at the corner of Friedrichstraße (Saturday and Sunday)

Ban on knives and weapons during the marathon

People will not be allowed to carry knives and weapons in certain areas of the Berlin marathon route on Saturday and Sunday. The Berlin police have issued a general order to this effect, which will apply from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days. Areas in the Mitte district are primarily affected, according to the police. These include the areas around Friedrichstraße, Potsdamer Platz, Ebertstraße, Tiergartenstraße and Großer Stern. In addition to all types of knives, for example kitchen knives or pocket knives, the ban at the Berlin Marathon also applies in particular to alarm guns, irritants and signal weapons. The regulation also applies to people with a small arms licence.