Treptower Park, Berlin

Treptower Park, Berlin

Treptower Park along the Spree river is a popular recreational park with the Karpfenteich lake and Kleingartenanlange Rathaus as well as the Soviet War Memorial and Archenhold Observatory. The Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park is a tribute to the 80,000 Soviet Red Army soldiers who fell in the Battle of Berlin in 1945, and the final resting place for 5,000 of them.

Treptower Park along the Spree river is a popular recreational park with the Karpfenteich lake and Kleingartenanlange Rathaus as well as the Soviet War Memorial and Archenhold Observatory.

The Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park is a tribute to the 80,000 Soviet Red Army soldiers who fell in the Battle of Berlin in 1945, and the final resting place for 5,000 of them. A 12 metre tall bronze statue of a Soviet soldier holding a German child and thrusting a sword into a broken swastika is the highlight of the park. 16 stone sarcophagi (one for each of the Soviet Republics) line the sides of the central green patches which lead to two enormous triangular red granite flags, and two enormous kneeling soldiers clutching their helmets in their hands. At the end is a statue of a weeping Mother Russia. Reliefs on granite slabs depict scenes from war.

On the grounds of the Treptower Park is the 19^th century Archenhold Sternwarte (Observatory), with a colossal 21 metre long moveable refracting telescope, the longest of its kind on earth. The 130-tonne Treptow Giant Telescope has a 68cm diameter lens and can magnify upto 210 fold. It has a planetarium and guided tours for kids. See the Einstein Hall, where Albert Einstein gave his first public lecture on the Theory of Relativity in Berlin.

Take the Abteibrucke (oldest composite steel bridge in Germany) across the Spree to the Insel der Jugend (Island of Youth), a great spot for relaxing, picnicking and boating.

Across the Elsenstrasse from the Park is the Molecule Man, commemorating the reunification of Berlin’s neighbourhoods along the Spree.