The 2023 Carnival of Cultures parade.
© dpa
Hundreds of thousands are once again expected to attend this year's Carnival of Cultures. Road users must expect restrictions in Kreuzberg from Thursday.
For three days, Kreuzberg's Blücherplatz will be transformed into a colorful festival site for this popular event. Blücherplatz, Blücherstraße between Mehringdamm and Mittenwalder Straße, Zossener Straße between Gitschiner Straße and Baruther Straße and Johanniterstraße between Zossener Straße and Brachvogelstraße will be closed from Thursday morning. Further closures will follow at the weekend.
The Zossener Brücke, Hallesche Tor-Brücke, Tempelhofer Ufer, Wateröpp-Ufer and Gitschiner Straße will be closed to road traffic on Thursday evening. The road closures will remain in place until 6 a.m. on Tuesday. The southern lane of Südstern will be closed between Bergmannstraße and Lilienthalstraße from Saturday.
On Saturday, the children's carnival parade will take place from Mariannenplatz to Görlitzer Park. The route will be closed between 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Mariannenstraße, Rio-Reiser-Platz, Oranienstraße and Görlitzer Park will be affected. The big carnival parade will follow on Whit Sunday. For this, Yorckstraße, Hasenheide, Karl-Marx-Straße between Hermannstraße and Reuterstraße and Hermannplatz will be closed from 7 a.m. onwards. The road closures are to be lifted again early Monday morning.
The Berlin Traffic Information Center (BVIZ) strongly recommends that drivers avoid the area around Blücherplatz. Anyone wishing to visit the carnival should arrive by bike or public transport. There is hardly any parking available for cars.
The Carnival of Cultures is one of the capital's most popular street festivals. It has traditionally been celebrated at Whitsun since 1995 and attracts numerous Berliners and visitors to Kreuzberg year after year.