From Socialist Vision to Urban Revision: Architectural Narratives of the GDR
Explore how East Germany built, imagined, and reimagined itself through architecture. This two-hour walking tour investigates the GDR’s ideological contradictions through the buildings it left behind—from Stalinist grandeur and prefab efficiency to nostalgic reconstructions. By walking through key urban sites, we’ll uncover how architecture served not only as a tool of power but as a cultural expression of a vanished state’s ambitions.
Highlights include:
- The Barenboim-Said Akademie, a subtle design by Richard Paulick;
- The former State Council building, merging monarchy and socialism;
- Rathauspassagen and its pragmatic prefab ideals;
- The mosaic-covered Haus des Lehrers and Congress Center;
- Karl-Marx-Allee’s shift from Soviet monumentality to modernist elegance;
- Nikolaiviertel, a faux-medieval district built entirely from concrete slabs.
We will meet at 14:00 in front of the Memorial to the book burning on May 10, 1933 (Denkmal zur Bücherverbrennung am 10. Mai 1933) at Bebelpl. 1, 10117 Berlin. The tour will begin promptly at 14:15. Please arrive on time — we won’t be using public transport and the tour will be entirely outside and fully on foot.
Join us for the tour and get your free The Berliner magazine!
