Many Berliners make pilgrimages to this area every weekend. The 300 hectare area with green meadows between the hangars invites you to relax.

Tempelhofer Field: Where History, Nature, and Berlin's Sunsets Meet!

Whether barbecuing, playing football, riding a bicycle, no matter what, everyone will find their place there. Many events take place on the field. It is also a paradise for flora and fauna. The natural meadows are home to many bird species. And when the day comes to an end, you will experience one of the most beautiful sunsets in the city. The Tempelhofer Park was once called "Great Field" and has a much longer history than we think. You can read about it at the bottom of this article.

Tempelhofer Field in Berlin

Location & Sights nearby

The Tempelhofer Feld is the largest open space in the inner city and borders on the districts Tempelhof, Kreuzberg and Neukölln. There are three entrances to the park on Oderstraße, Columbiadamm and Tempelhofer Damm. Interesting places can also be found around the Tempelhofer Feld. In the north there is the lively Bergmannkiez, in the east the Schillerkiez and in the northeast the Volkspark Hasenheide.

Brief history of the Tempelhofer Field

The "Great Field", as it was formerly called, was arable land until the 18th century and was used by Schöneberg farmers. Friedrich Wilhelm I turned it into a military parade and drill ground from 1722, and it became a manoeuvring area for the Prussian army. Paradeplatz remained "Das Feld" until the spring of 1914.

For Wilhelm II, the square was probably essential, as the imperial parade chapel was held there, which he took off himself. In 1828, the area was bought by the military. One part was leased to the Horse Breeding Association in 1830 and a racecourse was built. Unfortunately, in 1841 the racecourse had to give way to the hitchhiker railway. After the Franco-Prussian War a barracks and a loading station were built for the 1st Prussian Railway Regiment. The Berlin-Dresden railway line was joined by a military railway to Zossen and later to Jüterbog until 1875. This resulted in more and more barracks for the railway brigades, which were then extended by the 2nd Regiment in 1890 and by the 3rd Regiment in 1893.

But there was still some undeveloped land left. There was the bathing lake Schlangenpfuhl. Even then, part of the field was used by Berliners for recreation, picnics and sports. Football has always been written in capital letters and the first Berlin football club, the BFC Frankfurt 1885, had its home port there, as did the German football champion of 1905, Union 92 Berlin. And who knows the oldest, still existing football club in Germany, the BFC Germania 1888, also this club played the first games on the field. At first, there were no sports facilities, just playing fields were marked on the large area. It was not until 1924 that a sports field was built, which was used by BFC Prussia. It offered space for 40,000 spectators and many games were played there.

 
On the "Prussia Square", as the stadium was called, for example, several final round matches for the German Football Championship took place, including the semi-final match between Fortuna Düsseldorf and Eintracht Frankfurt in May 1933. In 1936, the facility was demolished.

 
In 1922, a piece of land was levelled and the history of Tempelhof Airport began. Already in 1923, the first airplanes rose into the air. One year later, in 1924, Berliner Flughafen-Gesellschaft mbH was founded. The airport was completed in two construction phases, and even then, it was noticed that it was too small. In 1934, an extension was planned and from 1936 to 1941 a new airport building was built.
The building was used exclusively by the armaments' industry for the production and maintenance of dive bombers. Thousands of forced labourers from all over Europe were abducted, and their camps were located all over the field.
In 1945, after the Second World War, air traffic was resumed.

It became important during the Berlin Blockade from 1948 to 1949.
The supply planes landed in 90-second intervals.
The airport was finally closed in 2008 due to the Berlin-Brandenburg International airport (which will probably never be completed).
Today the Tempelhofer Park is a recreation area with an area of 355 hectares and thus the largest city park in Berlin. Fortunately, the referendum in May 2014 made it possible for the Tempelhofer Feld not to survive. Rather, the future use and further development will from be decided by the population.

Address, opening hours ...

Address: Platz der Luftbrücke, 12101 Berlin
Opening times: January: 7.30 AM -5 PM; February: 7 AM - 6 PM, March 6 AM - 7 PM, April 6-20.30, Mai: 6-21.30, June: 6-22.30,, July: 6-22.30, August: 6-2.30, September 6-20.30, October 7-19, November 7-18, December: 7.30 -17.
Connection: stops nearby: Metro Station Paradestraße and Tempelhof (U6) underground station Boddinstraße and Leinestraße (U8), S Bahnhof Tempelhof (S41, S42, S46, S47), Bus: S Bahnhof Tempelhof (104, 246)

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Tempelhofer Field: Where History, Nature, and Berlin's Sunsets Meet!