Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg
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| Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg | |
|---|---|
 Entrance to the park at Oderbruchstraße (historically the Oderbruchkippe) | |
 | |
| Type | Urban park |
| Location | Prenzlauer Berg, Pankow, Berlin, Germany |
| Coordinates | 52°32′11.9″N 13°27′44.1″E / 52.536639°N 13.462250°E |
| Area | about 29 ha[1] |
| Elevation | up to ~91 m[2] |
| Created | 1969 (inaugurated as a public park)[1] |
| Status | Open all year |
Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg is a public park in the Prenzlauer Berg quarter of the Pankow borough in Berlin, Germany. Laid out over a landscaped rubble hill (Schuttberg) historically called the Oderbruchkippe (Oderbruch landfill), it covers roughly 29 hectares and consists of planted slopes and plateaus with footpaths, lawns and viewpoints.[1] The area was regraded and planted in the 1960s after serving as a deposition site for post-war building debris cleared from inner-city districts such as Alexanderplatz; the park was inaugurated under its present name in 1969.[1]
After the Second World War, construction rubble from heavily damaged central districts was transported by truck and rubble tram to an area on Berlin’s northeastern edge, forming a double-summit dump known administratively as the Oderbruchkippe. By the late 1960s the slopes had been contoured; mid-1967 saw large-scale planting with hardy, predominantly European tree species, and former service routes were adapted as footpaths. The park opened to the public in 1969 as Volkspark Prenzlauer Berg.[1] The site’s origins as a debris landscape have also been the subject of artistic and cultural projects; for example, a 2013 feature discussed found shards and traces from the rubble layers.[3]
Location
The park lies between Süderbrokweg, Sigridstraße, Schneeglöckchenstraße, Maiglöckchenstraße and Oderbruchstraße / Hohenschönhauser Straße, with allotment gardens to the north and post-war housing estates to the south and west.[1] It sits on the boundary between Pankow and Lichtenberg (Fennpfuhl), with convenient access from tram and bus stops along Hohenschönhauser Straße.[1]
Landscape and use
The highest point is about 90–91 meters, making it one of Berlin’s more prominent artificial elevations.[2] The topography accommodates walking and jogging paths, open meadows and winter sledding.[1] A small community vineyard maintained by local enthusiasts (Weingarten Berlin – Berlin Vineyard) cultivates Riesling on a sunny slope within the park.[4]
The mosaic of woodland and meadow supports urban biodiversity and provides local micro-climate benefits; foxes and numerous bird species are regularly observed, and parts of the site have been kept comparatively natural to develop thickets and edge habitats.[1]
Public art
When the area was laid out as a recreational park, the district commissioned several sculptures and created a small public-art trail (Kulturwege [cultural paths]) around key entrances. A long bronze relief frieze by sculptor Birgit Horota runs along the entrance at Maiglöckchenstraße/Oderbruchstraße; it narrates episodes from the district’s history and the park’s creation from wartime rubble. The inscription on the frieze reads: "Aus Trümmerresten des II. Weltkrieges wurde hier ein Berg aufgeschüttet und der Park angelegt". ["From the rubble remnants of the Second World War, a hill was heaped up here and the park laid out".][5][6]
Notable works in and around the park include:
- Erwin Damerow, Rodelnde Kinder [Sledding Children] (1972), bronze group on the upper slopes; part of the park's original artistic furnishing.[7]
- Erwin Damerow, Bär [Bear] (1973; cast stone), placed below the Pappelplateau near a path junction.[8]
- Stephan Horota, Vater und Sohn [Father and Son] (1970/71), bronze, formerly at the corner of Maiglöckchenstraße/Hohenschönhauser Straße; the sculpture was stolen in 2012.[9][10][11]
- Stephan Horota, Junger Fuchs [Young Fox] (1972), bronze, formerly near the Schneeglöckchenstraße entrance; also stolen in September 2012.[12]
- Werner Stötzer, Sitzender Junge [Seated Boy] (1956), bronze; relocated after 1991 and today sited at the small square by Erich-Weinert-Straße/Hosemannstraße (near the park).[13][14]
- Birgit Horota, Aus der Entstehungsgeschichte des Parks [From the Park's Creation History] (1971–1973), bronze frieze approximately ten meters long at the Maiglöckchenstraße entrance; by the 2010s much of the surface had been oversprayed.[5][6]
A memorial to the Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse (a factory-based militia in the GDR, 1953–1989) stood at the south-eastern approach from 1987 until its removal after reunification.[5]
Maintenance and recent developments
In 2025, preparations to repair ageing asphalt paths led to the felling of several storm-damaged or unstable trees; the works form part of a staged programme to rehabilitate routes through the park.[15] Path renovations and the associated removal of a limited number of poplars, robinias and maples were reported in the Berlin press earlier that year.[16]
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