Germany
Berlin Street Art: An Artistic Journey off the Beaten Path
From show-stopping murals to charming stencil drawings, mixed-media sculptures and thought-provoking graffiti, Berlin is a living gallery.
History of graffiti in Berlin
Berlin’s street art was born of the Cold War era. The Berlin Wall, a potent symbol of division and oppression, provided a blank canvas for artists in the 1980s, the peak of hip-hop and graffiti culture. When the wall was mostly demolished in 1989, artists spilled into the eastern side of the city, covering dreary buildings and neglected streets with spirited works celebrating Berlin’s unity. Today, this legacy continues, with neighbourhoods like Kreuzberg, Friedrichshain and Mitte serving as open-air galleries that attract artists and art lovers from all over the world.
Berlin's East Side Gallery murals
Berlin street art among the ruins
Disbanded infrastructure provides the perfect backdrop for edgy urban art in Berlin. In the boho district of Friedrichshain, RAW-Gelände typifies Berlin’s urban art culture in a former railway yard. Layers of graffiti, murals and installations set the scene for performances and pop-up markets, including a popular weekend flea market.
Off the beaten track, Teufelsberg is an abandoned Cold War-era listening station perched on top of a hill constructed of urban rubble. Once used by the US government to spy on the Soviets, today its seductively decaying walls exhibit over 400 murals by young artists, some of them of international acclaim. New works are added every month and the site regularly hosts exhibitions and art events.
Kreuzberg: an art neighbourhood in Berlin
Top tip: Looking for an equally offbeat place to stay? Book Mercure Hotel Berlin Zentrum, centrally located in the Schöneberg district, and 10 minutes on foot to street art museum Urban Nation.
An art house in Berlin
The fascinating Haus Schwarzenberg is a labyrinthic residential–industrial infrastructure with a layered history. Thanks to the benevolence of its World War II owner, it was a hiding place for Jews. At various times since then, its flats and units have served as a commune, and also a TV office for the German Democratic Republic. Today it houses artist studios, a gallery and a café in a walled alleyway covered in murals. It's named Dead Chicken Alley, after the art collective that took over the compound. Every other surface of Haus Schwarzenberg is plastered with art, making it a beacon of counterculture in the upscale Mitte area.
Some Berlin graffiti artists to watch out for
Street artists from all over the world have left their mark in Berlin. Here are some names to watch out for:
- El Bocho: Originally from Bilbao in Spain, El Bocho has works all over Berlin, mostly of his charming Little Lucy character, which is based on a popular Eastern European doll from the 1970s. There's one in Dead Chicken Alley at Haus Schwarzenberg.
- XOOOOX: Often compared to Banksy, the German artist XOOOOX creates striking, layered stencils that blend a fashion illustration vibe with street edginess.
- Alice Pasquini: An Italian artist whose vibrant, emotive portraits of women bring a touch of strong femininity to Berlin’s urban spaces. You can see a lot of her works in the streets of Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg.
- Victor Ash: This French artist is the creator of the iconic Astronaut/Cosmonaut mural on the façade of a white cement building in Kreuzberg, which remains one of Berlin’s most photographed street art pieces.
- Josef Foos: This German yoga instructor creates little doll-like "street yogis" out of old wine corks. These beloved figures pop up on top of street signs and window sills, bemusing and delighting Berliners.
How to see street art in Berlin
Such is the abundance of urban art in Berlin that it's possible to simply wander around and discover works by happenstance. But if you want to dive deeper into the culture, book a tour. Street art tour guides know where the latest murals are, and the stories behind them. Alternative Berlin Tours cover iconic spots like the East Side Gallery and RAW-Gelände while introducing visitors to lesser-known gems. You can also follow the maps on a self-guided tour such as this one, where you can see Berlin’s creative energy unfold at your own pace.
As you're exploring the city, you might notice its Cold War landmarks, from the Neoclassical buildings on Karl-Marx-Allee to the sleek TV Tower. Find out more about them in our guide to East Berlin.
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