Completed all of Berlin’s top, above ground tourist attractions?
Why not explore the dark and devious side of Berlin;s history at the Berliner Unterwelten Tour.
Explore the otherside of Berlin after you have seen the stunning views at the Brandenburg Gate and TV Tower. Or before.
Before you book your tickets and plan your trip, you may want to research if it’s your cup of tea.
In this article we have put together a detailed review of the Berliner Unterwelten Tour.
You can make a decision based on value for money, storytelling and other special features.
Keep reading to find out if you should book the Berliner Unterwleten Tour for your next trip to Berlin.
What Is The Berliner Unterwelten Tour?
Berlin’s underground network is preserved at Berliner Unterwelten, a museum.
While taking a tour of the city’s underground, you can learn about World War II and the Cold War.
Hitler promised Berlin residents at the start of the Second World War that the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) would prevent any country from bombing the capital; however, as Nazi Germany started to lose its first battles, the government started to build bunkers in the major cities, especially in Berlin.
As the country was then faced with the Cold War, this underground system of tunnels and bunkers became essential for both sides of the war.
Many of the tunnels and bunkers were renovated with improvements that could be used as multi-use spaces that would save the population in the event of nuclear war.
The Berliner Unterwelten Tour allows you to explore the museum and learn about the dark past of Berlin’s underground.
Whether you are visiting the city for the first time or have never experienced the Berliner Unterwelten Tour, this could be a great way to learn the history of Berlin.
Visiting The Bunkers
As you enter the bunker you will be guided by a tour guide and in a small group of people.
Your tour guide will explain the past of the underground tunnels and take you to one of the 3,000 shelters that are built throughout the Berlin underground.
Your tour guide will teach you about the uses of the bunkers during the war, the people that used them and how many people fit inside during the last moments of war.
Disturbing, unsettling yet highly interesting. They will share the true stories of people’s experiences within the bunkers.
It is important you remain with your group and listen to your tour guide.
This is for you and your group’s safety throughout the tour. Plus you dont want to miss any interesting details about the bunkers and tunnels.
Types Of Tours
The Berliner Unterwelten offers several types of tours.
All which tells different stories regarding the underground bunkers and tunnels that run through the city of Berlin.
Classic Tour
On this tour you and your group will be guided to a fallout shelter.
This was created to protect the occupiers in the event of a nuclear explosion.
You will then be taken on a tour of a World War ll air raid shelter.
Throughout Berlin there were 5 main air raid shelters, Zoo, Anhalt Station, Humboldthain, Friedrichshain and Kleistpark.
Offering shelter to over 65,000 people, you will be taken and guided through the horrific history of one of these shelters.
Dark Worlds Tour
By the end of World War ll, over 80% of Berlin had been destroyed by the Allies air raids.
On the Dark Worlds tour you will explore one of the bunkers that remains intact.
Your tour guide will share the dark history of how the survivors or Berlin managed to squeeze inside the public bunkers.
This bunker has been untouched since the war allowing you to see the true conditions survivors of the war lived in.
As you walk through rooms and passages you will see artefacts from the war that have been buried in the underground system for decades.
From Flak Towers To Mountains of Debris
Hitler commanded the construction of six “Flak” or anti-aircraft towers in 1940 to protect Berlin from invading aircraft.
Only three of these six were built, and they were either destroyed or “demilitarized” after the war.
The Flak tower at Gesundbrunnen’s Humboldthain Park, however, was only partially damaged.
This tour now allows you to stand on three of the seven floors of one of the biggest bunkers in the city.
As you take in the views of the building, the tour guide will explain the history of the structure of the building and the current, on-going project to help restore the bunker.
Berlin’s Underworld Association are still working on cleaning the bunker and in the process have created the perfect hibernation area for bats.
This makes remaining quiet and within your group extremely important.
Under the Berlin Wall
East Germans frantically tried to escape when the Berlin Wall was constructed by either using the numerous underground tunnels or by creating their own tunnels.
As you take the Under the Berlin Wall tour you will see first hand the numerous attempts the citizens made in order to escape and how the authroties made it almost impossible to get to safety.
Over a span of 20 years over 70 tunnels have been started with only 19 being successful.
These self-made tunnels helped over 300 citizens make it to the safety of West Berlin.
This two-hour tour takes you through the stories of the escape tunnels, the Berlin ghost stations and the sealing of the sewage system to prevent underground escape attempts.
Fichtebunker (The Time Machine)
During WWll a 130 year old gasometer was turned into a bunker.
This gasometer was originally designed for lighting the streets of Berlin before the Nazi era.
In 1940 it was transformed into a public bunker which offered 6,500 mothers and children safety and protection. It quickly housed 30,000 people during the bombings.
On this tour you will discover the distrubing past of the Fichtebunker as it protected mothers’ children, the Red Army and a reception camp for refugees.
Special Features
Berliner Unterwelten is a museum of the Berlin underground tunnels and bunker from the Second World War, the educational building offers more.
Seminars
If the guided and group tours of the underground tunnels and bunkers simply weren’t enough for you, the museum are also offering seminars on the history of Berlin.
Historians and experts are being welcomed to give lectures on the shocking past of the city of Berlin.
Anyone is welcome to attend by registering with the museum.
The seminars are accepted as educational leave in several other federal states in addition to being approved by the Berlin Educational Leave Act.
Location
The Berliner Unterwelten is located just outisde of the heart of the city. With easy access by train you will ride over the historic Swinemünder Brücke bridge.
Getting off at the Gesundbrunnen train station you are only a simple walk away from touring the dark past of Berlin’s underground.
There are also a selection of things to do after your tour such as shop at the Gresundbrunnen Center, eat at Smack Burger or take a walk in the Spielplatz Humboldthain park.
With many more sites either a walk or train ride away, the Berliner Unterwelten is in a great location for tourists and those looking for something new to do.
Value For Money
When visiting Berlin and wanting to know more about the rich history of the city, the Berliner Unterwelten is the place to go.
With a range of tours, seminars and 360 Zoom tours, there is something for everyone to enjoy.
Visiting the museum and taking a guided tour is a cheap, budget-friendly way to know more about the city and its people.
You will be guided through the maze of tunnels, see artefacts from the war and stand in one of the bunker shelters used to protect the people of Berlin.
If you are looking to fully immerse yourself in the history of Berlin then the Berliner Unterwelten is a great place to start.
It is also in a tourist friendly location making it easy to find and places to keep you entertained after words.
Final Thoughts
Once you have completed touring the stunning above ground attractions that Berlin has to offer, you may want to learn about the devastating, deep history of its underbelly. These tours are not for the faint hearted.
With a selection of tours to choose from you will be led down to the cities underground where Citizens of the Cold War made their escapes and survivors of the Second World War hid in hopes of being protected in the bunkers.
You will be told the stories of survivors and the world they lived in, see the rubble in which they had to call home all within an hour to two hours.
After which you register for a seminar to learn more or head out for some shopping, a stroll in the park or, if you can stomach it, a bite to eat!