Berlin Alternative History Walking Tour

Protest is at the heart of Berlin. Uprisings and demonstrations have defined the character and spirit of the city throughout its 800 years. A public square that is on the must-see list of every tourist visiting Berlin, Alexanderplatz today is a prime display of socialist architecture. But hidden behind the impressive concrete landmarks is the entire history of Berlin. On this walking tour, we will take an alternative look at Berlin’s busiest square and seek out the traces of some of the most momentous protests in its history as well as lesser-known acts of civil courage. From rebellious beginnings to the peak of Nazi terror, Alexanderplatz and its surroundings have borne witness to it all.

Meeting Point

Rotes Rathaus

10178 Berlin, Germany

Meet outside Rotes Rathaus U-Bahn station opposite the Rotes Rathaus building – look for your guide holding an orange umbrella!

What's included:

• Guide

What to expect:

Duration: 2 hours

Rotes Rathaus

Rathausstrasse 15, Berlin, 10178

Explore the impressive terracotta timeline of Berlin's history stretching all around the Red Town Hall. See the origins of the city and the cause for the most important uprising in Berlin's early history depicted in stone.

15 minutes

Marx-Engels-Forum

Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse, , Berlin, 10178

Meet the authors of The Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The statue of the two socialist philosophers has been a subject of much debate over the years.

15 minutes

Humboldt Forum

Schlossplatz 1, Berlin, 10178

See the reconstructed Berlin Palace and find out how the original palace was a witness to several protests and revolutions, most notably the March Revolution of 1848, which sowed the seeds of democracy in Germany.

20 minutes

Nikolaiviertel

Rathausstrasse 21, Berlin, 10178

Catch sight of a prime example of socialist kitsch built for the 750th anniversary of Berlin and the last remnants of the Palace of the Republic - the seat of the East German parliament and the most famous entertainment venue in the socialist half of the city at the same time.

10 minutes

Mutter Hoppe

Rathausstraße 21, 10178 Berlin, Germany

Explore the East German answer to the Red Town Hall's terracotta timeline - this timeline shows the most important moments in the history of the socialist country, with such pivotal moments as the building of the Berlin Wall suspiciously absent from it.

5 minutes

St. Mary's Church

Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 8, Berlin, 10178

Marvel at one of the oldest churches in Berlin, where Martin Luther King delivered a sermon to a huge crowd in 1964.

10 minutes

Rosenstraße

Rosenstraße, 10178 Berlin, Germany

See the Rosenstrasse monument for the women who staged a courageous act of civil disobedience in the cold winter of 1943 - the only protest by Germans against the Final Solution. Hear about Jewish life under Nazi rule and see the foundations of the oldest synagogue in Berlin.

15 minutes

Neptunbrunnen

Rathausstrasse 1, Berlin, 10178

Explore the history of the Peaceful Revolution of 1989 by tracing the events that led to the Fall of the Wall. Hear about young East German oppositionists who staged a "t-shirt protest" by the Neptune fountain in autumn 1989.

15 minutes

Berliner Fernsehturm

Panoramastr. 1A, Berlin, 10178

Catch sight of Berlin's Television Tower - the landmark of the city and a symbol of communist power.

Pass by without stopping

Weltzeituhr

Alexanderplatz 1, Berlin, 10178

Stand at the most popular meeting spot in East Berlin - a rotating clock of a unique design showing time in 148 cities around the world.

15 minutes