August 7, 2021, 4:20 am | Read time: 4 minutes
The Schöneberger Südgelände is a “lost place” located right in the middle of Berlin. Long-distance trains used to pass by the area, and even the German Reichsbahn was managed from here. But since 1961, no train has rolled over these tracks. TRAVELBOOK editor Sonja explored the abandoned railway site.
Have you perhaps passed by this lost place without noticing it? If you take the Berlin S2 and stay on the S-Bahn for a few more minutes after the “Südkreuz” station, you will pass right by the Schöneberger Südgelände. This lost place was once part of a large railway complex and is therefore situated between tracks where trains still run today.
I enter the site differently than is usual for lost places. While one often reaches abandoned sites illegally through construction fences or similar means, I can walk calmly through a gate at the Priesterweg S-Bahn station. The Schöneberger Südgelände is clearly marked and well signposted. I can explore the old railway site today without any problems–something that was forbidden to West Berliners during the division of Berlin. However, I will not set foot in the park while exploring. At least not in the literal sense, as I walk on a steel grid that hovers above the ground. This doesn’t bother me at all, as the park is home to 15 species of grasshoppers and 57 species of spiders. Nature has reclaimed the area here.
Groundbreaking Nature
The area I am on was once part of the Tempelhof marshalling yard, which was put into operation in 1841. At that time, some long-distance trains passed through the area, and the marshalling yard was also used. But in 1961, the Anhalter Bahnhof was closed, and since then, no train has run here. For 60 years, nature has gradually been reclaiming the station. Today, in the middle of the capital, some endangered animal and plant species live at the Schöneberger Südgelände. Every few minutes, you are reminded of how curious their habitat is. Because then a train rushes by again–to the left the S-Bahn, to the right regional trains.
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During my walk through the Schöneberger Südgelände, I am surprised by something that fits in quite well here: a locomotive. But the locomotive was only transferred to Berlin in 1979, long after the station had already closed. “Today, the locomotive is only here as an exhibit. But it is closely connected to the site. Because the Class 50 also ran over these freight tracks,” says Beate Räuber, park ambassador of “Grün Berlin.”
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The Schöneberger Südgelände was the seat of the German Reichsbahn
In the past, three large railway buildings stood on the site; today, you can only see the moss-covered bricks of two of them lying on the ground. “The railway operations site that remained became the seat of the bridge maintenance department West, of the German Reichsbahn. It was a consortium of the operating companies of Russia and the GDR,” says Beate Reuber. Thus, a GDR enclave was created, which was rarely entered. The recipe for a lost place was created.
I discover a turntable, and Reuber tells me that you can even still move it. You would need quite a bit of strength and a large wheel to make the turntable rotate, but theoretically, it is possible. We stroll further alongside old railway tracks and have to keep dodging the trees. Because where trains once ran, trees now grow–often right on the tracks and paths.
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The Schöneberger Südgelände Today
Beate Reuber points out old shelters to me that can still be clearly seen next to the path. They used to stand under the trains to carry out repairs on the wagons and locomotives. Today, they are no longer in one of the three large halls but under the open sky and are covered with moss everywhere.
The last large hall that remains cannot be entered at the moment: It is being renovated and will later be used as a venue for classical concerts. In addition, theater performances take place on the site, and a children’s rally is soon to be established there. And for an entrance fee of one euro, anyone can visit this lost place–and take a leisurely stroll over the tracks in the middle of Berlin.