Street Art Haven in the Former Teufelsberg Spy Station

If you’re at all familiar with Berlin, you may have heard of Teufelsberg spy station. Perched atop an 80-metre artificial hill made of rubble from collapsed buildings during World War II, this former U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) Field Station played an integral role in spying on communist East German intelligence during the Cold War. Within the Grunewald National Forest on the west side of Berlin, the Devil's Mountain has undergone a Renaissance of sorts. What was once a vital intelligence base has become one of the world’s largest collections of street and graffiti art, with over 400 works by both local and international artists. Scrawled directly on the building’s abandoned shell, the street art installations take on a post-apocalyptic feel, juxtaposed by the serene treetops of the Grunewald and the sprawling capital city beyond.

Berlin was decimated by 363 air raids and 14 days of street fighting during World War II. By the war’s end, approximately 80 percent of the city centre had been destroyed. The German capital was in ruins, and for reconstruction to begin, something had to be done with the piles of rubble from nearly 400,000 buildings. The decision was made to dump the rubble in the Grunewald Forest outside the city. This location was also the site of a Nazi military and technical college that needed to be destroyed. Instead of detonating the structure, it was decided to bury it in the rubble of the bombed-out city. The pile of debris grew around the former college and formed the highest hill around Berlin. It came to be known as Teufelsberg, meaning “Devil’s Mountain” in German.

Teufelsberg was briefly used as a ski slope before the Americans realised that the elevation of the artificial hill made for the perfect location to build antennas meant to intercept radio signals from the Eastern Bloc. Thus the purpose that Teufelsberg served during the Cold War was that of a spy station. During the 1950s, this site had also been used as a carnival where a large Ferris wheel had been erected. It was discovered that from the top of the wheel, more frequent interceptions were made from nearby East Germany. For this reason, the NSA quickly erected radio equipment in the hopes of eavesdropping on the communists. Throughout the Cold War, Teufelsberg field station was the largest outpost of the Allies’ spy network locations. The former home of Cold War spies remained an active den of espionage until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

When the Cold War ended, the so-called “listening station” was briefly repurposed as an air traffic control station until the city government sold it to an investment group in 1999. There were plans to transform it into a luxury hotel, a conference centre, apartments, and even a transcendental meditation school, but they all fell through and the station was abandoned, vandalized and fell into disrepair. Now Grunewald’s population of wild boars roam amidst the shells of the deserted buildings and decades of graffiti dominate the exterior surfaces.

The ruins of the five large white radar domes create an eerie atmosphere in what was once Berlin’s most important secret site of the Cold War. Resembling giant golf balls, these huge, white domes are set on elevated platforms that feature spectacular views over the forest and the city. With the passing years, the domes’ exteriors have begun to deteriorate, leaving gaping holes as a further reminder of the station’s storied past. Dominating the skyline, the radomes—once used to intercept and jam East German radio transmissions—and their crumbling exteriors have become one of Berlin’s most recognizable sights.

The station was abandoned in 1999 and became a hotspot for rave parties. Despite the fenced off perimeter surrounding the private property, the abandoned station was subjected to graffiti and vandalism. The area became filled with rubbish and was known for being quite dangerous due to drug use and the unstable structure of the buildings. All that changed in 2011 when the property was turned into one of the world’s largest street art collections. Set in and around the station’s concrete frames, over 400 works of art by local and international artists are featured at the exhibition. From graffiti painted directly on the radomes to wild murals and interpretations of furniture displayed in the open-air and inside the windowless buildings, the field station has been given vibrant new life while retaining its characteristic dystopian feel.

For the past two decades, the former spy station has become a hub of Berlin street art enthusiasts and housed thousands of artworks from around the world. In the spirit of freedom that came after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the gallery is now proud to uphold free speech by displaying works depicting various viewpoints and opinions on a wide array of topics such as politics and religion. The whimsical, vibrant works have included images of colourful Catrina skulls representing Mexico’s Day of the Dead by the artist Devita, to a massive Darth Vader head painted by the artist Ceepil. While the exhibition continually rotates pieces to ensure new artists get a chance to exhibit, many of the larger works remain on display for up to a year.

With such a fascinating history, it’s not surprising that various myths and urban legends have sprung up surrounding the former radar station. One such legend says that during the Cold War, the NSA drilled tunnels into the depths of the mountain to build nuclear bunkers in the Nazi college buried beneath the rubble below. Another myth goes that there was a secret escape route from the spy station down through the mountain to a submarine base on the nearby Havel River. The flashlight tours of the station conducted after dark add to the site’s creepy Cold War aura.

The peaceful forest of Grunewald is the largest green space in the city of Berlin. After World War II Grunewald seemed a convenient place to dump the rubble from the city’s collapsed buildings, this man-made hill then being planted with trees and subsumed by the surrounding forest. Filled with pine and birch trees, this is now a popular location for nature lovers looking to escape the concrete jungle of the capital. Hiking, birdwatching and mountain biking are popular pastimes in the forest, as are sailing and swimming in its many ponds and lakes, as well as in the Havel River.

From budget picks such as ibis budget Berlin Kurfuerstendamm to stylish stays like the Pullman Berlin Schweizerhof, these hotels in Berlin make a great base from which to conduct your very own reconnaissance mission of Teufelsberg and Grunewald National Forest.

• Entry tickets cost €8 per adult and are cash only.
• Guided tours cost an additional €15 and are offered in five different languages. Tour days and times vary throughout the year so check the website before your visit.
• Teufelsberg is located in the Grunewald National Forest, 13 kilometres outside of Berlin. 
• Paid parking (cash only) is available solely at the bottom of the hill, so be prepared to walk up to the top.
• The nearest S-Bahn stations, Heerstrasse and Grunewald, are both about 30 minutes’ walk from the site.

Teufelsberg, Teufelsseechaussee 10, 14193 Berlin. Open 11 am to sunset Tuesday through Sunday.

Teufelsberg’s unique man-made origins, Cold War espionage history and transformation into a vibrant centre of global street art have made it one of the German capital’s most popular attractions, well worth a visit.