Schöneberg: Nollendorfplatz to the Rathaus where Kennedy spoke

A walk through the West Berlin of the 1920s and of the Cold War: Berlin's biggest weekly market under St. Matthias church, the park where the Allies governed Germany, a cemetery with the graves of the Brothers Grimm, the café street Akazienstraße, and the town hall where John F. Kennedy said 'Ich bin ein Berliner'. Start at U Nollendorfplatz (U1-U4), end at U Rathaus Schöneberg (U4).

Best time: Saturday morning, for the Winterfeldtplatz market (also Wednesday morning); the cemetery café is a good mid-point

The route, stop by stop

1. 1
   U-Bahnhof Nollendorfplatz

   Opened in 1902 as an elevated station with a dome; the only station served by all of U1, U2, U3 and U4. 5 min.

2. 2
   Winterfeldt Market

   Berlin's largest weekly market, Wednesday 08:00-14:00 and Saturday 08:00-16:00, around the church of St. Matthias. Graze and buy picnic food here. 45 min.

   Berlin's biggest weekly market and a Saturday ritual for Schöneberg: shop for vegetables, flowers and cheese, eat your way down the rows, then sit in the cafés around the square…

3. 3
   Heinrich-von-Kleist-Park

   Berlin's former botanical garden, where the poet-botanist Adelbert von Chamisso worked. The Kammergericht building at the back was the seat of the Allied Control Council, and the Four Power Agreement on Berlin was signed there in 1971. The colonnades at the entrance host 'Jazz an den Kolonnaden' in summer, since 2002. 15 min.

4. 4
   Old St. Matthew's Churchyard

   Consecrated in 1856. Look for the graves of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and of the singer Rio Reiser. Café Finovo at the entrance was Germany's first cemetery café. 30 min.

   Consecrated in 1856 for the old Tiergarten 'Geheimratsviertel', this Schöneberg cemetery has ornate 19th-century tombs, the plain side-by-side graves of the Brothers Grimm and…

5. 5
   Akazienstraße

   The local shopping and café street of the 'Akazienkiez', a good place for lunch. 30 min.

6. 6
   Rathaus Schöneberg

   Seat of the Governing Mayor of West Berlin from 1949 to 1991. Here Kennedy gave his speech on 26 June 1963; the Freedom Bell, hung on 21 October 1950, is in the 70 m tower. 10 min.

Walking directions

More walks in Berlin

• Mitte classics: Reichstag to Museum Island3.5 km · 3 h
• The Wall and Prenzlauer Berg on a Sunday3.8 km · 3 h 30 min
• Kreuzberg to Neukölln food graze: bakeries, canal market and street food5 km · 4 h
• East Side Gallery and Friedrichshain's Boxi4 km · 3 h
• West Berlin: Charlottenburg Palace to Kantstrasse5.5 km · 4 h
• Tempelhofer Feld to old Rixdorf4.5 km · 3 h
• Karl-Marx-Allee: socialist boulevard from Kino International to Frankfurter Tor2.9 km · 2 h 30 min
• Wedding: flak tower, crematorium culture and Bruno Taut4.2 km · 2 h 30 min
• Britz: Taut's Horseshoe Estate and the old village1.1 km · 2 h
• Treptower Park: Soviet memorial, sky cannon and the Insel der Jugend0.9 km · 1 h 45 min