Volkspark Humboldthain

Volkspark Humboldthain
View of Humboldthöhe (rubble hill) in the park
Location in Berlin
Type	Public park
Location	Gesundbrunnen, Mitte, Berlin, Germany
Coordinates	52°32′50″N13°23′06″E / 52.54722°N 13.38500°E / 52.54722; 13.38500
Area	29 ha [1]
Created	1869–1876
Designer	Gustav Meyer
Operated by	District of Mitte
Status	Open all year
Website	www.visitberlin.de/en/humboldthain-park

Volkspark Humboldthain is a public park in the Gesundbrunnen neighborhood of Berlin, Germany. The landscape park covers 29 hectares and was created between 1869 and 1876. It is notable both for its 19th-century design by landscape architect Gustav Meyer and for the remains of a World War II Flak tower integrated into the terrain as the rubble hill Humboldthöhe. ^[1]

History

Foundation and design

Work on the park began on 14 September 1869, the centenary of Alexander von Humboldt's birth; completion followed in 1876. The original concept by city garden director Gustav Meyer combined broad lawns, educational plantings and promenades typical of Berlin's 19th-century Volksparks. ^{[1] [2]}

World War II and rubble landscape

Between October 1941 and April 1942, heavy flak structures (combat and command towers) were constructed in the park as part of Berlin's air-defense network. Building was around the clock with up to 3,200 workers, including foreign laborers and POWs. ^[3] After 1945, the command tower was demolished and buried; the northern tower was only partially demolished (nearby rail lines limited blasting). The site was reshaped with large volumes of rubble to form today's Humboldthöhe. ^[1] Contemporary reporting also recounts the postwar blasting attempts and their limits. ^[4]

From the late 1940s to early 1950s the grounds were reconstructed as a public park. A formal rose garden (Rosengarten) was laid out on the former church site and remains a key feature of the southern section. ^[2]

Recent decades

Informal urban explorers dug their way in and noted a fatal fall inside the Humboldthain bunker in 1982, underscoring why access today is controlled and guided. ^[5] In the early 2000s, blocked passages were cleared and routes were secured inside the Humboldthain tower. ^[6] Guided visits have since run seasonally, typically April–October; three of the tower’s seven floors are shown, after volunteers removed over 1,400 m³ of debris across 8,000+ hours of work, with helmets required and a 90-minute route designed to avoid disturbing hibernating bats. ^[7]

Features

• Bat hibernation site: The interior hosts several bat species in winter; it is one of Berlin's larger winter shelters for bats. ^[2]
• Bunker tours: Regular guided visits to multiple levels of the flak structure. ^[7]
• Humboldthain Club: In May 2013, the Club opened inside the station building at Hochstraße 46, next to the park. Operator Constantin Boese launched the venue with a four-day opening party on the second weekend of May. ^{[8] [9]}
• Humboldthöhe: Rubble hill incorporating remains of the northern flak tower; the tower was left standing in part to protect nearby rail lines during demolition. ^[1]
• Climbing walls: The outer bunker walls are used as a sport-climbing facility operated by the German Alpine Club (DAV). ^[10]
• Rosengarten: A formal rose garden; around 15,000 roses are arranged in box-edged beds and pergolas. ^[11]
• Sommerbad Humboldthain: Outdoor pool complex with a 50 meter pool, slide, paddling pool and sunbathing lawns. ^{[12] [13]}

Conservation

The park is treated as a historic garden monument within Berlin's inventory of protected green spaces and is maintained by the district of Mitte. ^[2]

Access

The park borders the Berlin Gesundbrunnen station (S- and long-distance rail), and is also served by local bus routes. ^[2]

Gallery

• 
  Stairway area leading up to the flak-tower remains.
• 
  Observation platform on the bunker roof.
• 
  Exhibitions and tours (Berliner Unterwelten).
• 
  North face of the flak tower.
• 
  Park view near the bunker walls.
• 
  Rosengarten (formal rose garden).
• 
  Rosengarten beds and pergolas.
• 
  Bieberbrunnen in the rose garden.
• 
  S-Bahn passing the park at Humboldthain.

References

1. Sonja Álvarez (17 September 2012). "Humboldthain: Ruht ein Klotz über allen Dingen". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 3 October 2025.
2. "Humboldthain Park". visitBerlin (Official Berlin Tourism). Retrieved 3 October 2025.
3. "History – Flak Tower Humboldthain". Berliner Unterwelten e.V. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
4. "Vor 75 Jahren in Berlin: Als in Wedding die Erde bebte". Berliner Zeitung (in German). 13 March 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
5. "Berliner Ruinen aus dem 2. Weltkrieg: "Das ist ein Großstadtabenteuer"". taz (in German). 21 March 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
6. Sven Felix Kellerhoff (14 December 2003). "Angstzustände im Flakturm am Humboldthain". WELT am Sonntag (in German). Retrieved 3 October 2025.
7. "Tour: From Flak Towers to Mountains of Debris". Berliner Unterwelten e.V. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
8. Ronja Ringelstein (29 June 2013). "Berliner Bezirke im Wettstreit: Wedding will was werden – endlich". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). Retrieved 3 October 2025.
9. Jens Uthoff (11 May 2013). "Durch innere Kräfte bewegt". taz (in German). Retrieved 3 October 2025.
10. "Bunkerwand Humboldthain". Deutscher Alpenverein – Sektion Berlin (in German). Retrieved 3 October 2025.
11. "Die schönsten Gärten Deutschlands entdecken". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). 20 April 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
12. "Sommerbad Humboldthain". Berlin.de – Sport & Fitness. 27 March 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
13. "Sommerbad Humboldthain in Berlin: Freibadsommer ohne Freiheit". Die Zeit (in German). 19 August 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2025.