Elektropolis: Schöneweide and the Birth of Berlin's Industrial Age

Berlin by Foot tour with Simon Goodall

Come explore the industrial past of Berlin with a walk through the birthplace of modern electricity: Schöneweide. Berlin was once the electrical capital of the world, and it was along this kilometre-long stretch of the Spree river that AEG created its campus of innovation, producing cables, transformers, light bulbs and building social housing.

After decades of neglect, the area is slowly realising its potential and reviving its traditions with artisanal spaces, galleries, university campuses, museums and new housing developments.

Our two-and-a-half-hour walk explores the past, present and future of this fascinating area. We will visit Europe’s first three-phase power station, a building whose façade is decorated with lightning bolts and gearwheel ornaments, and a monumental car factory designed by Peter Behrens. We will tour the original workers’ housing complex and also take a look at new housing developments currently in planning.

The tour includes the HTW campus and ends at the Industriesalon café and museum. The walk will include:

• Evangelische Friedenskirche A beautiful 1930s Klinker brick building referencing the industrial architecture of the area it served.
• Industriesalon Schöneweide Good coffee and a permanent exhibition telling the story of Berlin as Elektropolis!
• Lampenfabrik Frister / Leuchtenfabrik Once the largest lamp factory in Europe, founded in 1897, it now stands as an ornate relic of the past.
• AEG Kabelwerk Oberspree (HTW Berlin campus) AEG’s first Schöneweide plant, now a university campus with artisanal activity.
• Kraftwerk Oberspree / MaHalla Europe’s first three-phase power station from 1897, styled after the Palais des Beaux-Arts. Since 2022, the vast turbine hall houses MaHalla, an international creative space.
• Peter-Behrens-Bau (Behrens-Ufer) The centrepiece of the tour. Peter Behrens designed this multi-storey automobile factory for AEG in 1916, one of the tallest industrial buildings in Germany at the time. Its sky-lit central courtyard appears in scenes from the TV series Babylon Berlin.

Your guide:
Simon Goodall is a London-born writer and tour guide specialising in Berlin’s industrial heritage and suburban housing.

We will meet at 2:30 pm outside the Taj Mahal restaurant opposite Schöneweide Bhf, Schnellerstraße 128, 12439. The tour will begin promptly at 2:45 pm. Please arrive on time — we won’t be using public transport and the tour will be entirely outside and fully on foot.

What are you waiting for? Don't just see Berlin—experience it. Lace up your shoes and let Simon Goodall show you the city’s best-kept secrets. It’s Berlin like you’ve never seen it, complete with a complimentary copy of The Berliner magazine!
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photo: imago/Jürgen Held

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Host or Publisher Exberliner