Teufelsberg – Berlin’s abandoned spy station
Teufelsberg – Berlin’s abandoned spy station
I get off the S-Bahn at Heerstraße, walk past an Imbiss stand sleeping in snow, and tread onwards down a long, tree lined street. The day is misty and cold, the air heavy with snow, and the road curls away into fog without much clarity as to its destination. It’s a scene fitting for today’s mission; a trip to Teufelsberg. Translated literally as ‘Devil Hill’, the name encompasses both the 120m tall hill and the abandoned Cold-War Era American Listening Station nestled at its peak.
This, however, is no naturally occurring hill. It is built from the incomplete shell of the Nazi Defense Technology Faculty, blown up after WW2 and filled with rubble. 26 million m³ of rubble was dumped here, brought to the site in thousands of truckloads over hundreds of days.
Initial plans to transform the artificial hill into a site of leisure were parked once the Americans, in control of this section of Berlin post-war, realised the elevated position might prove useful in their Cold War efforts. The peak of the hill was turned into a listening station manned by 1500 spies, used until the fall of the wall in 1989 for intercepting, listening in, and jamming radio signals from the eastern bloc.
After around 30 minutes of walking I reach Teufelsberg’s crest, a triple layered, barbed-wire topped fence appears. It’s tricky to orient oneself here – trees on every side obscure the view and lend a distinct air of secrecy. To the right is a steep drop down the hill; to the left a fence part-reclaimed by branches.
I spot the first looming white curves of the station’s iconic radomes, through holes in the fence – the former entry points of exploratory Berliners. 4 canvas clad spheres, torn with time and fluttering in the wind.
On entry, it becomes clear that the abandoned spy station is no longer just that. The colourful payment booth overlooked by a pair of 8-foot tall, sparkling eyes, hints at what is inside: one of the largest street art galleries in the world.
A disco ball-lined path takes me to the spy station proper and the gallery it contains. There are over 400 works here, some reaching up to 270 m2 . Inside the station, external walls are missing and only a concrete skeleton remains, transformed into gallery walls.
The gallery, established more than 10 years ago, is the largest in Europe and a magnetic draw to international and local artists alike. New art is added almost every month – though larger places are left in place for at least a year in order to make their artists’ effort worthwhile. New walls have been added to create even more space for art.
After climbing the five floors you reach a viewing deck, a railing-bound platform scattered with various graffiti and revealing the showstopper: a panoramic view over the entirety of Berlin.
The gallery is an incredible use of the space, and possibly the most exciting location to view street art that I’ve ever visited: with the shadow of Berlin sprawled out beneath you, the gloomy white spheres looming over you, and the echo of Cold War history all around you.
Article: Peggy Hughes
Cover photo: Andreas Kuendgen
Photo gallery: Hendrik Wolter
This article was part of our winter 23/24 magazine, Berlin Underground:
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