Teufelsberg Spy Station – Street Art on Devil’s Mountain, Berlin

The abandoned spy station of Teufelsberg

Teufelsberg, meaning ‘Devil’s mountain’ in German is an artificial hill in Berlin that curiously lives up to its name.

Teufelsberg rises approximately 80 metres above the surrounding Brandenburg plain in north Berlin’s Grunewald Forest. It was named after Teufelssee, a nearby lake that translates to ‘Devil’s Lake’. 

Teufelsberg was created shortly after World War II, by heaping the remains of the rubble left after the damage of the war. Buried underneath are the remains of a never completed Nazi military-technical college. Allies tried in vain to demolish the school using explosives, but it was so sturdy that covering it with debris turned out to be the easier option.

Since then Teufelsberg has been reconstructed to serve several purposes, including as a Listening Spy Station during the height of the Cold War.

However, after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the station became essentially obsolete. It was briefly used for domestic air travel control until the site was sold to property developers. Nothing has really happened since then. Apparently, the famous film director David Lynch tried at one point to buy it, having plans to turn it into a meditation retreat, but those plans never came into fruition. 

I heard about the abandoned Teufelsberg Listening Station after watching an interview with an electronic music artist from Berlin called Pantha Du Prince. He talked about the intense acoustics inside the main dome, and I saw pictures of all the street art. It looked really cool so I wanted to see it with my own eyes.

After doing some research, I found out that Teufelsberg was relatively easy to reach. Not one to miss out on an adventure, I decided to venture there on my first day in Berlin.

Reaching Teufelsberg through Grunewald forest

Getting to Teufelsberg was quite an interesting journey. I didn’t know before setting off on the trip, that parts of the forest, lake and beach are frequented by nudists. This only became apparent when we stumbled across it ourselves!

I honestly don’t think I’ve felt so embarrassed being covered up. My friends and I looked so out of place haha!

Anyway, the story of the nudist beach and lake is for another time.

Getting back on track. As we meandered through the beautiful Grunewald forest, the four of us stopped in amazement at the numerous signs warning us of wild boar. We didn’t spot any, which I think was for the best given they can be quite aggressive if caught off guard. 

We also spotted lots of beautiful flora, and brightly coloured blue beetles curiously littered the forest floor.

After coming to a clearing in the forest, high up in the distance we could see the dome of one of the stark white, listening towers. 

Arrival at Teufelsberg Listening Station

After arriving at the top of Devil’s Mountain, the Teufelsberg Listening Station finally came into full view.

Beautiful, huge spherical domes that shot into the sky dominated the landscape. Each decorated with graffiti as far as the eyes could see.

We had read online that we’d have to climb through the fence in order to gain access to the station. It is private property folks, so technically you are breaking the law. (I do not condone this type of behaviour *wink wink*).

However when we arrived, we found a few other people searching in vain for an entrance or way through as they had all been expertly sealed off!

Myself and a couple of other smaller girls finally managed to squeeze our way through a small gap in the gate. However my boyfriend and the other guys were too big.

As we all decided that we had come here to experience this place together I didn’t want to leave them, so Elsa and I decided to squeeze back through the small gap in order to find an alternative entrance.

However, soon after a man appeared from the inside and solemnly told us to leave. Teufelsberg is now home to squatters, and apparently, and I say this with a speculative tone, they are hired by the owners of the Listening Station to guard it.

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I felt a bit disappointed, but also perplexed because I could see people on the other side of the fence, and wondered how they got there.

We stayed around for a few more moment and saw more people from inside emerged. Then bizarrely, I saw a man sliding down the slope of the entrance swinging his legs about on an office chair like a child without a care in the world. He had in one hand a cigarette, and a can of beer in the other.

Entry to Teufelsberg

Next to him was a man who came jogging down towards us with with a walkie-talkie. He announced that we could have a guided tour by one of the inhabitants of the station for 7 € each.

We all decided that this was the only way in so agreed. Although it took away part of the excitement of breaking in alone, we agreed it was the safest opinion.

The man asked for our identifications, and we wrote down our e-mail and home addresses (we wrote down fake details). The station is very dangerous in places, with holes in the floors and weak supports and joists. If any of us were to injure ourselves or even worse, DIE, we had signed our disclaimers!

Street art, wall murals & graffiti

You’ve got to love this homage to David Lynch – as surreal as the man himself!

Once inside, it quickly became apparent that this was definitely an alternative thing to see in Berlin. The floor was filled with debris and rubbish and broken glass scattered on the floor. I wouldn’t recommend coming here if you feel on edge about these things.

However, the abundance of street art (by some world renowned artists) sprawled across the walls was certainly a sight to behold.

Inside there were some people in a small groups, or maybe a community describes it better. Some crowding around a campfire, others cooking food and playing guitar as their worldly belongings consisting of sleeping bags and clothes piled high.

We meandered up high into buildings, decorated with elaborate graffiti, and stopped to gaze in awe at the views ahead. The forest below us looked like a carpet of green, with buildings interspersed here and there.

At the top of the highest tower, the acoustics are otherworldly. Every sound and note echoes and reverberates for what seems like forever.

No sound is lost. A man with a guitar began to play and sing. Soon, the few of us there became silent, hypnotised by the transcendental qualities of the sound. We all knew we were experiencing something incredibly special.

Where to stay in Berlin

I’ve stayed in a few places in Berlin, and by far the best was Circus Hotel. The location nearby Hackescher Markt is perfect for sightseeing. It is close to the Berlin Wall and Soviet-era sites, as well as lots of fashionable shops. This boutique hotel is great value typically coming in at under £95 most nights of the week. It is equipped with modern perks, such as free pre-loaded iPods, Segway rentals, mini-laptops and the Fabisch restaurant.

Would you like to explore Teufelsberg?