A Tale of Teufelsberg, an Abandoned Listening Station in Berlin

Teufelsberg Listening Station, Berlin, Germany, 2011

Teufelsberg, or translated in German "the Devils Mountain", is an interesting place to visit. In the past you would have to have snuck in thru the double layer of fence surrounding it. Many graffiti artists have done this thru the past years. Guided tours (in German and English) to the former NSA field station have been offered by a student entrepreneur since February 2011. This has been the first opportunity for Berlin inhabitants and visitors to legally visit the Teufelsberg area finally after all these years.

Field Recordings from Teufelsberg Listening Station Berlin, Germany by RichardDevine

 First Floor, Teufelsberg, Listening Station, Berlin, Germany, 2011

The Teufelsberg is a hill in Berlin, Germany, in former West Berlin. It rises about 80 meters above the surrounding Brandenburg plain, more precisely the north of Berlin's Grunewald forest. It is an artificial hill with a curious history: it was built by the Allies after the Second World War from the rubble of Berlin during the following twenty years as the city was rebuilt. One estimate for the amount of rubble is about 12 million cubic meters, or about 400,000 buildings. It is as high as the highest natural hill (Großer Müggelberg) in the Berlin area.

Graffiti inside a room in Teufelsberg, 2011

The US National Security Agency (NSA) built one of its largest listening stations on top of the hill, rumored to be part of the global ECHELON intelligence gathering network. "The Hill", as it was known colloquially by the many American soldiers who worked there around the clock and who commuted there from their quarters in the American Sector, was located in the British Sector. Prior to establishing the first permanent buildings there in the very late 1950s, Mobile Allied listening units had driven to various other locales throughout West Berlin hoping to gain the best vantage point for listening to Soviet, East German, and other Warsaw Pact nations military traffic. One such unit drove to the top of Teufelsberg and discovered a marked improvement in listening ability. This discovery eventually led to a large structure being built atop the hill, which would come to be run by the NSA. The station continued to operate until the fall of East Germany and the Berlin Wall, but after that the station was closed and the equipment removed. The buildings and radar domes still remain in place.

Teufelsberg, view from inside the gate looking up at two towers, 2011

Teufelsberg's origin does not in itself make Teufelsberg unique, as there are many similar man-made rubble mounds in Germany and other war-torn cities of Europe. The curiousness begins with what is buried underneath the hill: a Nazi military-technical college designed by Albert Speer. The Allies tried using explosives to demolish the school, but it was so sturdy that covering it with debris turned out to be easier.

Top 5 Interesting Places to Visit in Berlin

To choose the Top 5 interesting places to visit in Berlin is not a simple list to put together. Of course it depends on what aspect you are interested, the history or the present scene. This list is focusing on the particularly unique places that you may not have heard of before or considered worthwhile.

5. Liquidrom
This is a spa but I listed it here because there is very interesting architecture for the building and they have a famous indoor swimming pool with an underwater sound system. If you check out their website for a schedule they sometimes have live DJ's playing music on the underwater sound system - this was strange enough to make it to the list. Visit their website here for more information; liquidrom-berlin.de/en/

4.  SpreePark Berlin
Now this place has quite a history and you will need to make an appointment in order to get a legal tour of the place. But I would highly recommend taking the time to do this, an abandoned theme park is very interesting especially on a lightly rainy day.

SpreePark Berlin. An abandoned playground.

3. The Art Bunker
An amazing rotating, every 2 years, collection of contemporary art. You will need to book a tour for this in advance in order to get in. I highly recommend this.

2. The Wall
If you've never seen it you should go and check out the remaining bits of wall as well as the missing wall  that has been marked on the ground.

1. Teufelsberg
This place translates to the Devils Mountain so you already know it's not a normal place. But add in the fact that it's an NSA listening station and it's been heavily covered in graffiti in recent years - this is something you should try to see and hear in person if possible. Read more about visiting Teufelsberg and it's history in my article titled A Tale of Teufelsberg.

Teufelsberg, Berlin, Germany

To give you an example of how creepy it can sound here is a recording by sound designer Richard Devine from Teufelsberg Listening Station;

  Field Recordings from Teufelsberg Listening Station Berlin, Germany by RichardDevine