Tränenpalast, Cold War museum at Friedrichstraße station, Berlin, Germany
The Tränenpalast is a museum in the former border building at Friedrichstraße station in Berlin, documenting the history of German division. The structure displays border control equipment, travel documents, photographs, and video recordings from the period of separation.
The building functioned as a border crossing between East and West Berlin from 1962 to 1989, processing thousands of travelers daily through separate checkpoints. After the wall fell, it was preserved as a landmark and later converted into a museum to remember this border history.
The building preserves stories of families who said goodbye at this border crossing, showing how people coped with separation during division. The exhibition focuses on personal objects and letters that reveal the emotional impact of the split on ordinary lives.
The museum is open Tuesday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekends from 10 a.m., and admission is free. The exhibition is easy to reach on foot, located directly within the station building at a central Berlin location.
The building received protected monument status just one day before German reunification was officially completed. This recognition marked the moment the city acknowledged its divided past before the political unification was finalized.
Location: Berlin
Inception: September 15, 2011
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible
Operator: Stiftung Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Address: Reichstagufer
Opening Hours: Monday off; Tuesday-Friday 09:00-18:00; Saturday-Sunday,Holidays 10:00-18:00
Phone: +4930467777911
Website: http://hdg.de/traenenpalast
GPS coordinates: 52.52091,13.38715
Latest update: December 6, 2025 17:41
Berlin has reinvented itself several times in its history, and these transformations remain visible across the city today. You can see Prussian palaces like Charlottenburg, the large dome of the parliament building, the Brandenburg Gate, and the museums on Museum Island, where ancient art from different periods is displayed. The memorial church stands next to modern shopping streets, and the television tower at Alexanderplatz marks the skyline above the city center. More recent history shapes the city just as strongly. The Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse recalls the division, while the East Side Gallery along the river shows a painted stretch of the wall. The Holocaust Memorial, the Topography of Terror, and the Stasi Museum document the darkest chapters of the 20th century. The GDR Museum and the Palace of Tears offer a glimpse into daily life in the divided city. Between these serious places you find Tiergarten park, the zoo, and squares like Gendarmenmarkt, where you can simply sit and watch modern Berlin go by.
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