Whitlam’s Self-Guided Berlin Walks: Where to find the best street art in Kreuzberg
Ever since the days of the Wall Berlin has been known for its graffiti. People used to flock to Berlin in the Cold War days just to see the graffiti on the Wall. After the Wall came down the graffiti kept coming. Thanks in particular to Banksy, graffiti started to become “street art”, and street art started to become popular. Street artists from across the world still make their way to Berlin, and that means that the artwork out there is always changing. I keep this walk updated, but I’m not a superhero. If something has disappeared don’t get upset, just get in touch and let me know and I’ll get it changed for you.
Follow this tour on a custom Google map
This blog post is good and everything, when you’re out looking for the street art you’ll want to use this custom Google Map so you know where you’re going and what you’re looking at.
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What do I see on the Self-Guided Berlin Street Art Walk?
On this walk through Kreuzberg you’re going to discover loads of amazing street art. Here’s the quick version:
Brüderkuss by Dmitry Vrubel
The Leviathan by Blu
Geisha by FinDAC
From Memory to Reality by Blu
The New Saints by Various & Gould
Nature Morte by ROA
Astronaut/Cosmonaut by Victor Ash
Angel by Alaniz
1UP by Fanakapan
Vhils’ portrait of Gould
Holzmarkt
Book me for a private Street Art & Alternative Culture Tour
This self-guided walk is just a little taste of what’s out there in Berlin! Find out what makes Berlin the bohemian capital of Europe on a private Street Art & Alternative Culture Tour with me! I’ll take you to the best hidden spots, tell you about Berlin’s street artists, and give you great recommendations for the best ways to experience Berlin on your own.
Brezhnev and Honecker really did go in for a big smooch!
Self-Guided Berlin Street Art Walk #1: See the iconic home of graffiti in Germany at the Berlin Wall
Possibly the most famous piece of street art in the world (at least not done by Banksy) is Dmitry Vrubel’s “Brother Kiss”, also known as “My God, please help me to survive this deadly love.”
You’ll find it about one third of the way up the East Side gallery if you start at the Warschauer Strasse end.
Self-Guided Berlin Street Art Walk #2: The Leviathan by Blu
The undisputed king of murals in Berlin is Italian artist, Blu. My favourite of all of Blu’s murals is the iconic Leviathan by the Watergate club. To get here walk to the end of the East Side Gallery and cross the picturesque Oberbaum Brücke. At weekends in the summer you’ll find musicians on the bridge - sometimes entire bands set up here, amps, drum kits and all! When you reach the other side you’ll be in Kreuzberg. Lookup at the first building you see on the left side and the Leviathan will be staring down at you: perhaps you’re the next victim?
Visit this mural at night for a cool surprise
Self-Guided Berlin Street Art Walk #3 Engeika by Fin DAC
After crossing the bridge follow the main road as it curves to the right. Look out for Burgermeister beneath the train tracks. The only burger joint I know of that’s in a former public toilet. You can still see the signs for Männer and Frauen (Men and women) sticking out of the kitchen.
Walk a little way down Köpenicker Strasse, and on your right side in the entrance to a courtyard you’ll find Fin DAC’s amazing Engeika piece (can’t find it? Look for signs from a company called INIT).
The lantern by the Geisha’s head is actually a window, if you come here at night it will look as if the lantern is lit up, and the ivy-laden balcony below it is a table.
Self-Guided Berlin Street Art Walk #4: From Memory to Reality by Blu
We’re back with Blu for spot number 4. Keep walking up the right side Köpenicker Strasse until you come to a car park. Walk into the car park and you’ll see it - it’s huge!
Blu’s from memory to reality reflects on the rapid changes that East Germans went through after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Communism is gone, and capitalism, warts and all, is here. German reunification was a tricky process. From the outside it’s easy to say that hey, it’s a good thing, the Stasi are gone and freedom and democracy are here and everyone lived happily ever after. The end.
In reality, as with anything, there are shades of grey. German reunification happened very quickly. In the ‘90s East Germany’s state-run businesses were privatised and many thousands of East Germans found themselves out of work and unable to compete in the new Western world they found themselves in. For 40 years they’d been warned about the evils of capitalism, and now many Easterners were experiencing that dark side firsthand.
Self-Guided Berlin Street Art Walk #5: The New Saints by Various & Gould
Walk a tiny bit further up Köpenicker Strasse and take a left on Eisenbahnstraße. Walk for a block and a half and you’ll be in front of the famous Markthalle IX, home to the crazy-popular Street Food Thursdays.
Either side of the main entrance you’ll find Various and Gould’s Modern Saints: modern saints for modern problems!
Self-Guided Berlin Street Art Walk #6: Nature Morte by ROA
From the Markthalle walk over the Lausitzer Platz to the big, busy Skalitzer Strasse (where the over street-level U-Bahn tracks are) and follow the street to the right. After walking down a very narrow pavement (carefully avoiding the bike lane of course) you’ll reach a big crossing where you’ll find ROA’s Nature Morte.
ROA creates these images of huge dead animals as an environmentalist statement: these are the animals native to this area, but through urbanisation humans have completely destroyed their habitats. The animals are dead and gone, and here’s your reminder.
Self-Guided Berlin Street Art Walk #7: Astronaut/Cosmonaut by Victor Ash
Keep following the train tracks along the loud and busy Skalitzer Strasse and take your next right on Mariannenstrasse. Right in front of you is perhaps Berlin’s most famous mural: Astronaut/Cosmonaut by Victor Ash. The title of the piece is a reflection of the Cold War: the Soviet Union used the word “Cosmonaut”, the USA chose “Astronaut”, and where better to reflect on the Cold War than Berlin?
Self-Guided Berlin Street Art Walk #8: Angel by Alaniz
Keep walking down Marianennstrasse, through the park, and past the St. Thomas Kirche (church). Turn left onto Köpenicker Strasse and then take your first right onto Bona-Peiser-Weg. You’ll find a huge, empty abandoned space with a giant angel on the wall. The angel is by the Argentinian artist, Alaniz. Part of his series of ‘found paintings’. He’d go around Berlin looking for marks on walls, missing plaster, that sort of thing, and then create these huge images around them. Above the angel you’ll find our next piece.
Self-Guided Berlin Street Art Walk #9: 1UP by Fanakapan
Fanakapan, the bubble-balloon artist! Here Fanakapan has painted a tribute to the 1UP (one united power) crew with his incredibly realistic silver balloon painting. Look carefully and you’ll see he even included a relection of the building behind you. What a talent!
Self-Guided Berlin Street Art Walk #10: Portrait of Gould by Vhils
Keep heading up to the end of Bona-Peiser-Weg, follow the curve to the right, and stand in the middle of the bridge. Looking South you’ll see the Oberbaumbrücke - the bridge from the start of the walk - in the distance. Turning your gaze to the left you should see Vhils’ portrait of street artist Gould we talked about before.
This portrait wasn’t chipped out the wall, it was made using explosives! Completely legally mind, this was a viral marketing done for Levi’s jeans over a decade ago. I have to admit, the videos of Vhils’ 4 pieces exploding, the dust settling, and his amazing two-tone portraits appearing after the dust settles are pretty cool.
Self-Guided Berlin Street Art Walk #11: Head to Holzmarkt for pizza, drinks, concerts and more by the river
After all that walking you’ll probably want somewhere nice to sit down with a drink, maybe a slice of pizza or a fine dining experience? How about a concert? Surrounded by more street art? Holzmarkt is all of this rolled into one. Cross the bridge, turn left and just keep walking until you get there. It’s impossible to miss.
Holzmarkt is the perfect place to hang out in the afternoon or the evening. So long as the weather’s good, Holzmarkt is great. Enjoy!
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