Behind Prison Walls: Getting into Trouble in Moabit

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Berlin-Moabit was home to radical thinkers for centuries, albeit not by choice. The guided tour Behind Prison Walls shows interested visitors the traces of two prisons in Moabit and tells of crime, punishment and resistance in Berlin.

Berlin-Moabit was home to radical thinkers for centuries, albeit not always by choice. The district was home to two prisons with quite a few famous inmates. The two-hour guided tour Behind the Prison Walls shows interested visitors the traces of the prisons and sheds light on the history of the prisons and their inmates.

The Moabit Historical Park Cell Prison (Zellengefängnis Moabit) is located in the immediate vicinity of Berlin Central Station. The green oasis in the heart of Berlin is bordered by the former prison walls. The prison, which was considered particularly modern after its construction, housed the key figures of the assassination attempt of 20 July 1944, among others. A guided tour through the park not only illustrates the living conditions of the prisoners. Participants will also learn interesting facts about the development of the prison in the 19th and 20th centuries and about the stories of those imprisoned there.

The tour continues to the former women's prison. It hit the headlines in 1976 when four terrorists escaped. Today, the Moabit women's prison serves as a backdrop for film productions, most recently for the successful TV production Babylon Berlin.

During the tour, participants will also learn exciting facts about the Moabit neighbourhood and the role that local legend and former neighbourhood mother Klara Franke played for Moabit.

Tour details

• Length: 2 hours
• Cost: €20 per person, discount fee for children, students and seniors: €15
• Highlights: Explore the remaining sites of two former prisons in Moabit, uncover the attempt to overthrow the Nazi regime in 1944, learn about the resistance fighters and left-wing militants once imprisoned here, hear the story of an unbelievable prison break that took place here in 1976, discover stories of one of Berlin's old working class neighbourhoods
• Meeting Point: by the bus stop "Seydlitzstr." at Lehrter Str. 4 (at the northwestern corner of the Geschichtspark Ehemaliges Zellengefängnis Moabit). Look for your guide holding an orange umbrella.
• Finish: Klara Franke playground (Klara-Franke-Spielplatz)