Prenzlauer Berg has a reputation for being chilled, charming—and a bit boring. Often sneered at for its high rental prices, family-friendly demographic and lack of edgy culture and ethnic diversity, it nonetheless offers more than pricey brunches for the curious visitor.
Scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find a unique and fascinating history. This tour draws on historical research, eyewitness accounts and personal interviews as well as architecture, music and literature to uncover exactly how the district transitioned from a sleepy windmill-dotted backwater outside the city gates, to a beer-fuelled industrial powerhouse and a hotbed of GDR dissent—right up to the breezy, cosmopolitan neighbourhood it is today.
Along the way you’ll see and hear about parts of Prenzlauer Berg you won’t find in the guidebooks: the 1862 Hobrecht Plan and its effect on the city’s layout and character; its significant Jewish community; bullet-riddled courtyards and sites of Nazi torture; plus a profile of the district’s most famous resident, the unique German artist Käthe Kollwitz.
Ultimately you’ll discover that Prenzlauer Berg is anything but boring…
About The Tour Leader
Paul Sullivan is a writer and the founder and editor of Slow Travel Berlin. He has written several books about Berlin for Rough Guide, Fodors, Wallpaper* and National Geographic, as well as articles for The Guardian, The Sunday Times, Telegraph Travel, National Geographic UK, BBC Travel, Afar.com, and more.
Pricing
€25 per person for two hours. Private tours and groups can be arranged in advance.
Contact
slowtravelberlin@gmail.com or SMS/What’s App + 49 171 122 5973
Reviews
Click here to see recent Trip Advisor reviews of this tour and others.
Group Size
Up to 8 for the public tours; private tours can be more.