Mauerpark

Mauerpark
Mauerpark seen from east to west, on the right floodlight masts of the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sportpark
Type	Urban park
Location	Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin
Coordinates	52°32′37″N 13°24′12″E / 52.54361°N 13.40333°E / 52.54361; 13.40333Coordinates: 52°32′37″N 13°24′12″E / 52.54361°N 13.40333°E / 52.54361; 13.40333
Area	15 hectares (37 acres) (planned for 2019)
Created	1922-1924
Status	Open year-round

Mauerpark is a public linear park in Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district. The name translates to "Wall Park", referring to its status as a former part of the Berlin Wall and its Death Strip. The park is located at the border of Prenzlauer Berg and Gesundbrunnen district of former West Berlin.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Mauerpark area served as the location of the Old Nordbahnhof ("Northern Railway Station"), the southern terminus of the Prussian Northern Railway opened in 1877-78, which connected Berlin with the city of Stralsund and the Baltic Sea. Soon after it lost its role as a passenger station to the nearby Stettiner Bahnhof and remained in use as a freight yard. In 1950 the Stettiner Bahnhof took the name Nordbahnhof because of its role in Berlin's public transportation system, and the Old Nordbahnhof became known as Güterbahnhof Eberswalder Straße. It was finally closed after the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961.

When viewed from above, one can still see remains of the railroad tracks running towards the former station from the Ringbahn.

In 1946, through the division of Berlin into four occupation zones, the land of the Old Nordbahnhof stretching from Bernauer Straße to Kopenhagener Straße was split between the French and Soviet sectors. After the building of the Berlin Wall, the land was included into the heavily guarded Death Strip with walls on either side. One of the viewing platforms, from which West Berlin residents could look over the wall into East Berlin, stood at this location. The remaining western part of the station was turned into a storehouse and commercial area.