Close your eyes for a moment and imagine this: the scent of freshly fried sausage, sweet and
spicy ketchup, and a hint of curry dancing in the air. The aroma tickles your nose—and
you know that right here, just beside you, a true Berlin legend awaits: the
Currywurst.
And it packs a punch. Tomato sauce, ketchup, tomato paste, curry powder—that’s really
all it takes. Well, and of course, the star of the show: a snappy fried or boiled sausage.
But as always, it’s all about the blend—and every food stall guards its recipe like a
treasured secret.
Berlin, Hamburg, even Bückeburg Castle—everyone claims to be the birthplace of the
Currywurst. Yet when it comes to origin stories, Berlin clearly has the edge: Herta
Heuwer in Charlottenburg and Max Konnopke in East Berlin are said to have invented
their respective versions of the Currywurst in 1949—independently of one another. Herta
Heuwer was a shrewd businesswoman: in 1959, she registered her sauce as a trademark
and officially claimed the title of “Inventor of the Currywurst.”
One thing is as certain as the TV Tower itself: ketchup and curry arrived in Berlin during
the post-war era, brought by the British and Americans. And as is so often the case in this
city, it didn’t take long before East and West each developed their own unique variations. In
the GDR, the Ketwurst emerged in the late 1970s: not a fried sausage, but a Bockwurst—
drenched in ketchup and stuffed inside a hollowed-out bun. Done—and perfect for eating
on the go.
Whether it’s the West’s Currywurst, the East’s Ketwurst, or one of the many variations in
between—they all share one thing in common: they are more than just food. They are a
bite-sized piece of Berlin history.
Currywurst
Aus dem Audiowalk Berlin Like You’ve Never Heard It Before – True Stories & Secrets
254:05 min Audio
8
Hör dir die Audiotour jetzt an, am besten in der Großansicht.
Oder nutze die App, um den Audiowalk vor Ort zu hören:
Andere Stationen in dieser Audiotour:
A Brief Excursion into Berlin's History (7:59 min) • St. Nicholas' Church / St. Nicholas' Quarter (2:49 min) • Newspaper District (4:28 min) • Checkpoint Charlie (1:55 min) • Former Gestapo Headquarters (2:57 min) • Former Tempelhof Airport (3:46 min) • 7 Wannsee Conference (4:45 min) • Walther Rathenau Memorial (2:34 min) • Olympic Stadium / 1936 Olympic Games (5:36 min) • Commune 1 (2:27 min) • Benno Ohnesorg / Student Movement (2:16 min) • Rolf Eden (1:54 min) • Café Kranzler (2:08 min) • Kurfürstendamm (3:03 min) • Zoo Palace (3:47 min) • Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (2:22 min) • Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg (3:28 min) • Schöneberg Town Hall (2:33 min) • Former Sportpalast / Sportpalast Speech (5:12 min) • Bendlerblock/Stauffenberg assassination attempt (4:47 min) • Kroll Opera House / Enabling Act (3:09 min) • Reichstag Building (4:14 min) • Reichstag Fire (4:28 min) • Brandenburg Gate (2:52 min) • People's Court (3:08 min) • Potsdamer Place (2:58 min) • Former "Führerbunker" (5:06 min) • "Tresor" (Safe) (1:43 min) • Popular Uprising in the GDR (2:11 min) • Reich Chancellery / Hitler's Seizure of Power (5:11 min) • "Die weiße Maus" (The White Mouse) (2:57 min) • Friedrichstraße Station / "Tränenpalast" (Palace of Tears) (3:46 min) • Humboldt University (1:56 min) • Berlin Palace (5:04 min) • Red City Hall (2:30 min) • Alexanderplatz (2:30 min) • Otto Weidt's Workshop for the Blind / Anne Frank Center (2:05 min) • Hackesche Höfe (5:21 min) • Rosenthaler Platz (2:58 min) • St. Sophia's Church (3:03 min) • Sophie-Gips Courtyards (2:08 min) • Koppenplatz (3:16 min) • Clärchen's Dance Hall (3:54 min) • New Synagogue (2:19 min) • Berliner Ensemble (3:55 min) • Friedrichstadt-Palast (4:02 min) • Dorotheenstadt Cemetery (2:25 min) • Bloody May (2:18 min) • Humboldthain Flak Tower (5:17 min) • Chris Gueffroy and the Victims of the Wall (1:28 min) • Tunnel 57 / Egon Schultz (2:40 min) • AMIGA (1:37 min) • Bernauer Street (4:07 min) • Former Bornholmer Straße Border Crossing (3:26 min) • Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn Sports Park (3:43 min) • Mauerpark (4:07 min) • Arkonaplatz (3:03 min) • Zion Church (3:44 min) • Prenzlauer Berg Fire Station (3:18 min) • Hirschhof (2:41 min) • Freya Klier (2:28 min) • Prater (2:28 min) • Oderberger Straße Municipal Baths (3:36 min) • Oderberger Street 2 (1:58 min) • Konnopke's Snack Bar (2:43 min) • Gethsemane Church (2:09 min) • Museum in the Kulturbrauerei (1:06 min) • Kulturbrauerei (3:24 min) • Frannz-Club (2:31 min) • Husemann Street (1:58 min) • Jews' Passage (3:32 min) • Prenzlauer Berg Water Tower (2:37 min) • Rosa Luxemburg Square (4:34 min) • Mont Klamott (1:43 min) • Samaritan Church (2:23 min) • Former Stasi Headquarters / Stasi Museum (2:48 min) • Berlin-Karlshorst Museum / Unconditional Surrender (2:54 min) • East Side Gallery (2:59 min) • House Squatting in the 1980s (2:34 min)
