t Bar patrons enjoying an evening in a Hackesche Höfe courtyard
Berlin’s sprawling size, diverse history and idiosyncratic style mean it has plenty of surprises and rewards for those who want a unique experience of the city. Some are hidden in plain sight, while others require a bit of extra effort – exploring beyond the usual tourist areas.
t Bar patrons enjoying an evening in a Hackesche Höfe courtyard
The artist-run Haus Schwarzenburg complex is tucked away in a courtyard in the middle of Hackesche Höfe. Inside you’ll find a bar, an art-house cinema, a trio of insightful museums and a den of mechanical monsters.
For an overview of the city’s past, Berlin Story Bunker tells the history of the city through 30 multimedia stations featuring films, texts, photos and more. There’s also an entire floor dedicated to recreating Hitler’s bunker and his final days there in April 1945.
Berlin’s Stasi-Museum is also the former headquarters of the GDR Ministry for State Security. Shortly after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the building was seized by demonstrators, who began the project to turn it into a museum. The office of the Stasi head, Erich Mielke, is preserved as part of the three-floor exhibition, which charts the Stasi’s various illicit activities.
Berlin’s Olympiastadion is one of the few remaining examples of Third Reich-era architecture, having been built for the 1936 Summer Olympics. Self-guided tours via 45 panels explain the building’s usage and include a slew of war-era sights.
Blink and you’ll miss Kreuzberg’s Museum der Dinge (Museum of Things), which is tucked away in the third floor of a factory. Centred around the work of the Deutscher Werkbund (German Association of Craftsmen), it showcases a dizzying range of everyday items designed as a marriage of form and function, from snowglobes and toys to furniture and appliances.