You are now standing in the Prater—a venue renowned far beyond the city limits—amidst old
chestnut trees, right in the heart of Prenzlauer Berg. For nearly two hundred
years, a piece of Berlin’s heart has beaten here. The Pratergarten opened in 1837—back
then situated on the outskirts of the city—and drew in workers, families, and
artists. It was a place for drinking, dancing, and debating. Bands played here;
people laughed at farces; and politics were forged here. Even Rosa Luxemburg and
Clara Zetkin delivered speeches at the Prater.
However, with the Nazi seizure of power, everything changed. Suddenly, open
discussion came to an end—as did working-class culture. Political
gatherings were banned, and cultural programs were brought into line with the
regime. Instead of diversity, there remained only insipid entertainment in the
spirit of the Volksgemeinschaft (People’s Community). Although the Prater
remained open, its atmosphere was defined by control and censorship.
And yet: The building survived the Second World War almost unscathed—a small
miracle in a district that had been hit hard by the conflict.
Shortly after the war ended, life here began to flourish once again. The Soviet
Military Administration reopened the garden; theater troupes performed; and even
the Volksbühne theater company found a temporary stage here. Later, during the
GDR era, the Prater was designated a Kreiskulturhaus (District Cultural Center)—a
venue for celebrations, concerts, and political events. Following reunification,
it underwent renovation and stands today as exactly what it was in the 19th
century: a meeting place for everyone—offering beer, culture, and tangible
Berlin history.
👉 The Prater is more than just a beer garden. It is a place that reflects the
entire history of Berlin—from its working-class roots and periods of dictatorship
to the freedom now found beneath its chestnut trees. 1st Image: Own work
2nd Image: Own work
3rd Image: By Bundesarchiv, Image 183-D0717-0017-001 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5361904
Prater
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) • Oderberger Straße Municipal Baths (3:36 min) • Oderberger Street 2 (1:58 min) • Currywurst (2:16 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)
