What You Will Do
34 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the BWSG is offering a boat tour that traces part of the border in what is now East Berlin. In addition to the many changes that can be discovered from the water in the old and new center of the city, the EAST-SIDE-TOUR shows above all the latest developments in the shadow of the "East-Side-Gallery" - this 1.3 km long concrete remnant of the Berlin Wall, whose post-reunification pictures are currently being lovingly restored and whose name was the inspiration for this tour. With the Oberbaumbrücke, the redesigned Osthafen, the Molecule Men and the passage through the MÜhlendammschleuse, Berlin's cradle of urban development, this tour offers very special highlights. This city tour on the Spree is rounded off with a trip through the parliament and government district, with the Reichstag building and the Federal Chancellery.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Itinerary
Meeting Point
Near S-Bf Hackescher Markt, walk to the Spree, direction Museumsinsel, the landing stage is directly in front of the Friedrichsbrücke
1
Berliner Dom
The Berlin Cathedral (officially: Oberpfarr- und Domkirche zu Berlin) at the Lustgarten on the Museum Island is a Protestant church in the Berlin district of Mitte. Built in the years 1894-1905 according to designs by Julius Raschdorff in Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque style, the monument is the largest Protestant church in Germany in terms of area and one of the most important dynastic burial sites in Europe
2
Humboldt Forum
The Humboldt Forum (proper spelling Humboldt Forum) in the Berlin Palace is a universal museum in the Mitte district of Berlin. In addition to the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art of the Berlin State Museums, it is also home to the Berlin exhibition of the Berlin City Museum and the Humboldt Laboratory of the Humboldt University of Berlin. In addition, accompanying events, exhibitions and guided tours take place in the facility supported by the Humboldt Forum Foundation in the Berlin Palace.
3
Mühlendammschleuse
20 minutes
The Mühlendammschleuse in Berlin is located in the Mitte district east of Mühlendamm on the Fischerinsel. It lies in the course of the Spree, which is part of the Spree-Oder waterway here. In the early days, a fut v connected the towns of Berlin and Cölln, from which the city of Berlin later grew. This is where Berlin was founded. The lock was put into operation in 1942 and overcomes a drop of 1.51 meters
4
East Side Gallery
The East Side Gallery memorial in Berlin-Friedrichshain is a permanent open-air gallery on the longest surviving section of the Berlin Wall on Mühlenstraße between Berlin Ostbahnhof and the Oberbaum Bridge along the Spree.
In the spring of 1990, after the opening of the Berlin Wall, this section was painted by 118 artists from 21 countries over a length of 1316 meters. The artists commented on the political changes of 1989/90 in a good one hundred paintings on the side of the wall that used to face East Berlin, using a wide variety of artistic means. Due to urban planning measures, it is no longer preserved in its entirety, and instead of the originals from back then, only the replicas made in 2009 still exist today.
The actual border here was the Kreuzberg bank of the Spree. The gallery is located on the so-called Hinterland Wall, which closed off the border area to East Berlin.
5
Oberbaum Bridge
A first wooden bridge was at the level of the former city wall, a few kilometers further downstream from the present bridge near the Spreeinsel. The Spree was blocked on both sides except for a narrow passage in the middle with walkable wooden walkways in order to be able to collect customs duties. At night the passage was closed with a thick trunk reinforced with iron nails, the so-called tree.
In addition to the lower tree in the west of the city, there was the upper tree in the east. With the relocation of the city limits and the construction of the Berlin customs wall in 1723, a new wooden bridge with flaps for shipping traffic was built in place of the upper tree a little further east by royal order. Here the Stralauer Tor stood as the entrance to Berlin.
6
Molecule Men Sculpture
The Molecule Man is a Berlin monumental work of art created in May 1999 by the American sculptor Jonathan Borofsky. It is a three-person sculpture that was set up in the Spree between Elsenbrücke and Oberbaumbrücke near the intersection of the three districts of Kreuzberg, Alt-Treptow and Friedrichshain.
7
Nicholas Quarter
The Nikolaiviertel in Berlin's Mitte district is the oldest settlement area in the capital. Almost completely destroyed in World War II, it was rebuilt in 1980-1987 by architect Günter Stahn on behalf of the East Berlin magistrate on the occasion of the city's 750th anniversary. Around the reconstructed Nikolaikirche, an ensemble of historic town houses and correspondingly adapted prefabricated buildings was built on an almost medieval floor plan. The monument is now one of the sights of Berlin.
8
Berliner Fernsehturm
At 368 meters, the Berlin television tower is the tallest building in Germany and the fifth tallest television tower in Europe. The television tower is located in the park at the television tower in Berlin's Mitte district. When it was completed in 1969, it was the second highest television tower in the world and, with over a million visitors a year, is one of the ten most popular sights in Germany.
9
Museum Island
The Museum Island is a building ensemble consisting of five museums in the northern part of the Spreeinsel in the historic center of Berlin. It is one of the most important sights in the German capital and one of the most important museum complexes in Europe. Built between 1830 and 1930 on behalf of the Prussian kings according to plans by five architects, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as a whole in 1999. The Museum Island consists of the Old Museum, the New Museum, the Old National Gallery, the Bode Museum and the Pergamon Museum. Since the reunification of Germany, it has been renovated and expanded as part of the Museum Island master plan. On July 12, 2019, the James Simon Gallery opened as a new visitor center. Also in the northern part of the Spreeinsel is the Berlin Cathedral at the Lustgarten, as well as the Humboldt Forum, which is used for museums and culture and was built in the form of the Berlin Palace by 2021.
10
Schiffbauerdamm
The Schiffbauerdamm is the street on the right bank of the Spree in Berlin's Mitte district between Weidendammer Bridge and Reinhardtstraße (interrupted by the new government buildings). The name refers to the shipbuilding companies that used to be there.
11
Reichstag Building
The Reichstag building (in short: Reichstag; officially: plenary area Reichstag building; unofficially also Bundestag or Wallot-Bau) on the Republic Square in Berlin has been the seat of the German Bundestag since 1999. The building was erected between 1884 and 1894 in Neo-Renaissance style according to plans by the architect Paul Wallot in the Tiergarten district on the left bank of the Spree. It housed both the Reichstag of the German Empire and that of the Weimar Republic. Initially, the Federal Council of the Empire also met there. After severe damage from the Reichstag fire of 1933 and World War II, the building was restored in a modernized form in the 1960s. From 1995 to 1999, the Reichstag was fundamentally redesigned by Norman Foster for permanent use as a parliament building, which was decided in 1991. The German Bundestag meets here. A landmark in the cityscape is the accessible glass dome above the plenary hall based on an idea by Gottfried Böhm.
12
Kronprinzenbruecke
The Kronprinzenbrücke is a road bridge that spans the Spree and connects the districts of Mitte and Tiergarten in Berlin's Mitte district with the government district. The structure crosses Konrad-Adenauer-Straße, the continuation of Reinhardtstraße, with two lanes and cycle and pedestrian paths on both sides. The day-care center of the German Bundestag and the Spreebogenpark are directly adjacent to the western end of the bridge.
13
Humboldthafen Berlin
Humboldthafen is a dock in the Mitte district of Berlin. The pool, built according to the plans of the landscape architect Peter Joseph Lenné and named after the natural scientist Alexander von Humboldt, has a water surface of 33,500 m². The water depth is around 3.5 meters. Today the Humboldthafen is a listed building.
14
Bundeskanzleramt der Bundesregierung
The Federal Chancellery is a supreme federal authority that supports the German Federal Chancellor in his duties. It has its headquarters or first office in the federal capital of Berlin and its second office in the federal city of Bonn. Wolfgang Schmidt (SPD) is head of the Federal Chancellery and Federal Minister for Special Tasks. The Chancellery currently employs around 600 people (as of 2019). Since 2001, a new building designed by Axel Schultes in Berlin's Spreebogen, separated from the Reichstag building by Platz der Republik, has served as the seat of the authorities. The building opens onto a central square opposite the Paul-Löbe-Haus, which is to be designed as a citizens' forum. It is part of the "Bund des Bunds" group of buildings at the Spreebogenpark. Employees of the Minister of State for Culture are also currently working in the building.
15
Haus der Kulturen der Welt
The House of World Cultures (HKW) is an exhibition space in Berlin for international contemporary art and a forum for current developments and discourses. It presents artistic productions from all over the world with a special focus on non-European cultures and societies.
Since it was founded in March 1989, the House of World Cultures has been based in the former congress hall on the banks of the Spree in the Tiergarten and government district. As an icon of architectural modernism, the Congress Hall became a prominent symbol of the German-American alliance. In the vernacular of Berlin, the building is also known under the name "Pregnant Oyster" based on its shape.
16
Palace of Tears
Palace of Tears is the colloquial name for the former departure hall of the border crossing point Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse in Berlin's Mitte district. From here, S-Bahn and U-Bahn trains ran to West Berlin and long-distance trains via West Berlin to the Federal Republic.
The name “Palace of Tears” came about because East Germans used to say goodbye to their western visitors in tears. As a rule, they themselves were not free to travel to the Federal Republic.
The control and check-in counters were in the Palace of Tears, manned by employees of the Ministry for State Security in the uniforms of the GDR border troops.
17
Weidendammer Brucke
The Weidendammer Bridge in Berlin's Mitte district crosses Friedrichstrasse over the Spree. It goes back to an original building on the same spot from the 17th century, so today's bridge marks the third oldest bridge in the area of the old Berlin city center. Located in a central part of the city, the bridge has also played a role in literature on several occasions. Today's bridge construction has been a listed building since the 1970s.
18
Bode-Museum
The Bode Museum in Berlin's Mitte district is part of the building ensemble of the Museum Island and is therefore a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built by Ernst von Ihne in neo-baroque style as the Kaiser Friedrich Museum between 1898 and 1904 on behalf of Kaiser Wilhelm II, it is home to the Sculpture Collection and the Museum of Byzantine Art as well as the Coin Cabinet. On the forecourt was the equestrian statue of Frederick III created by Rudolf Maison, which was destroyed in the GDR era.
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