Berlin Alternative History Walking Tour

Discover Berlin as a city of protest on this engaging walking tour through one of its most historic areas. Beginning at the Red Town Hall, we trace 800 years of history — from the Berlin Indignation of 1448 to the Peaceful Revolution of 1989. At Schlossplatz, see where the March Revolution of 1848 erupted, as citizens demanded civil rights and free elections, and fought Prussian troops on barricaded streets. At Rosenstraße, hear how German women stood up for their Jewish husbands in 1943, staging the only public protest against the Final Solution. In Alexanderplatz, uncover how demonstrations in 1989 swelled into the largest protest in East German history, leading to the fall of the Wall.
- Trace 800 years of Berlin’s history in one compact area
- Discover four key protests that shaped the city’s destiny
- See iconic landmarks including the Berlin Palace, Red Town Hall, and TV Tower
- Learn how ordinary citizens defied rulers and regimes

Meeting Point

Sculpture Aufbauhelferin - Fritz Cremer

Rotes Rathaus, Jüdenstraße, 10178 Berlin, Germany

At the sculpture “Aufbauhelferin” (bronze statue of a young woman with a shovel over her shoulder) next to the Rotes Rathaus underground station (U5), directly opposite the Red Town Hall (Rotes Rathaus). Look for our guide with the orange umbrella!

What's included:

• Expert guide

Not included:

• Gratuities

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

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

Gasthaus 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

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

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

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

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

Brunnen der Volkerfreundschaft

Am Alexanderplatz, 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 fountain in autumn 1989.

15 minutes

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