![Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0403-016, Berlin, Bahnhof Friedrichstraße, Grenzübergang](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-1990-0403-016%2C_Berlin%2C_Bahnhof_Friedrichstra%C3%9Fe%2C_Grenz%C3%BCbergang.jpg)
The ''Tränenpalast'' ( en, "Palace of Tears") is a former border crossing point between East and West Berlin, at
Berlin Friedrichstraße station
Berlin Friedrichstraße () is a railway station in the German capital Berlin. It is located on the Friedrichstraße, a major north-south street in the Mitte district of Berlin, adjacent to the point where the street crosses the river Spree. Under ...
, which was in operation between 1962 and 1989. It is now a museum with exhibitions about
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
during the
Cold War period and about the process of
German reunification. It was the border crossing for travellers on the
S-bahn
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban-suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble c ...
,
U-bahn
Rapid transit in Germany consists of four U-Bahn systems and fourteen S-Bahn systems. The U-Bahn commonly understood to stand for Untergrundbahn (''underground railway'') are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while ...
and trains going between East and West Germany. It was used only for westbound border crossings. It had separate checkpoints for West Berliners, West Germans, foreigners, diplomats, transit travellers and East Germans.
The term ''Tränenpalast'' is derived from the tearful partings that took place in front of the building between western visitors and East German residents who were not permitted to travel to West Berlin.
Border station during the time of the Berlin Wall
![Berlin Traenenpalast Dezember 2004-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Berlin_Traenenpalast_Dezember_2004-2.jpg)
Although Berlin Friedrichstraße station was located entirely in
East Berlin, because of the
Berlin Wall some S-bahn and U-bahn lines were accessible only from
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
. Travellers in West Berlin could use the station to transfer between those lines, or to cross into
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
. The ''Tränenpalast'' was built after the volume of traffic and the constraints of the lower level of the main building made it necessary to expand.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall
After the
fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...
, the building was used as a nightclub and stage until 2006.
[Tränenpalast website]
Retrieved 17 January 2019 It was listed as a protected historic monument on 2 October 1990 by the GDR government, a day before German reunification, which was on 3 October 1990.
Museum
In 2008 the ''Tränenpalast'' became a federal memorial site.
On 15 September 2011, the
Haus der Geschichte
Haus der Geschichte (officially ''Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland'', i.e. "House of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany") is a museum of contemporary history in Bonn, Germany. With around one million visitors ever ...
opened the museum with exhibitions about Berlin during the Cold War. It displays original artefacts, documents, photographs and audio-visual material about the checkpoint and it provides an overview of the German reunification process.
It was opened by German Chancellor
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...
on 14 September 2011. In its first two weeks more than 30,000 people visited the museum. Entrance is free.
Gallery
During the Cold War
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-A0706-0010-001, Berlin, Bahnhof Friedrichstraße, Glashalle, Eingang.jpg, Entrance to the Tränenpalast.
During the Fall of the Berlin Wall
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0403-311, Berlin, Bahnhof Friedrichstraße, Grenzkontrolle.jpg, Custom checks by East German officers on those exiting East Berlin
File:Stempel Grenzabfertigung Berlin Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse im westdeutschen Reisepass.jpg, Passport stamp of the border crossing ''Friedrichstrasse''.
Post German Reunification
File:Berlin Traenenpalast 2008-04-24.jpg, Construction near the ''Tränenpalast'' in 2008.
See also
*
DDR Museum
The DDR Museum is a museum in the centre of Berlin. The museum is located in the former governmental district of East Germany, right on the river Spree, opposite the Berlin Cathedral. The museum is the 11th most visited museum in Berlin.
Its ...
*
Haus am Checkpoint Charlie
*
Haus der Geschichte
Haus der Geschichte (officially ''Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland'', i.e. "House of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany") is a museum of contemporary history in Bonn, Germany. With around one million visitors ever ...
*
Museum in the Kulturbrauerei
*
Stasi Museum
*
Zeitgeschichtliches Forum Leipzig
References
External links
Tränenpalast Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tranenpalast
Buildings and structures in Berlin
Berlin Wall
Berlin border crossings
Allied occupation of Germany
Museums in Berlin
Cold War museums in Germany
Buildings and structures in Mitte