Tränenpalast

About the museum

The pavilion at Friedrichstraße station was built in 1962, about a year after the Berlin Wall went up, as the departure hall of the border crossing between East and West Berlin. Architects Horst Lüderitz and Günter Matzko designed a light steel-and-glass structure in the International Style. This is where East German citizens said goodbye to relatives and friends from the West who were returning home – hence the name Tränenpalast (Palace of Tears).

Passport and customs checks of departing travelers took place in the hall; until the Basic Treaty of 1972, essentially only West Germans and foreigners were allowed through here. When border controls ended in 1990, the building lost its function, and it was listed as a historic monument on October 2, 1990.

From 1991 to 2006 the building served as a club and event venue for concerts, cabaret and parties. After the site was sold, the Stiftung Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland set up an exhibition and memorial site in the hall.

The permanent exhibition opened in September 2011 and now bears the title "Tränenpalast. Ort der deutschen Teilung" (Palace of Tears. Site of German Division). On around 550 square meters, it shows more than 550 objects, documents and films on border controls, surveillance, escape and family separation as well as the fall of the Wall, with the life stories of eyewitnesses at its center.

Highlights

• Original departure hall of the Friedrichstraße border crossing
• Stations on passport and customs checks in the former processing hall
• Eyewitness accounts of separation, escape and emigration
• More than 550 objects and documents on the division of Germany
• Free audio guide in ten languages, Easy Language and sign language

Permanent exhibitions

• Tränenpalast. Ort der deutschen Teilung – The exhibition in the former processing hall tells of everyday life at the inner-German border – from checks and surveillance to escape and emigration and the fall of the Wall, often from the perspective of eyewitnesses.

Founded

2011

Operated by

Stiftung Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Director

Mike Lukasch

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission, audio guide and guided tours are free.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: not available
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description

Exhibition hall on one level (550 m²), step-free entrance at the back of the building. Walking sticks, a travel wheelchair and folding stools available free of charge at the information desk. Tactile overview plan and touch objects, audio description, audio guide in German Sign Language and Easy Language, tours in Easy Language can be booked, induction neck loops for group tours. No accessible parking spaces; Friedrichstraße S-Bahn and U-Bahn station has elevators.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities

"Spurensucherausweis" (young detective pass) for families with children ages 5 and up (approx. 45 min.), free at the information desk. For groups, self-guided explorations and workshops for children ages 8 and up. Strollers and baby carriers are allowed in the exhibition; baby changing table in the accessible restroom at the back of the exhibition.

Getting there & parking

Taxi stand right at Friedrichstraße station.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers
• Wi-Fi

Free cloakroom with lockers (no luggage storage), free Wi-Fi, museum shop.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit