Communist & Socialist Berlin: A Walking Tour Through History
Historical tour of communism and socialism in Berlin. We trace German communism from Marx and Engels to the GDR and beyond across Mitte and Friedrichshain – visiting the Marx-Engels Forum, Liebknecht Balcony, Karl-Marx-Allee, Frankfurter Tor, and the Berlin Wall’s East Side Gallery.
Basic Information
Total time
2h 45m
Language
English (check the calendar for availability)
Price
Our “Pay What You Wish” tours don’t have a fixed price — you decide how much the experience was worth. At the end of the tour, please make a fair contribution that reflects your satisfaction and appreciation for your guide’s work. Most guests give between €10 and €50 per person.
Meeting point
In front of Red Town Hall (Rotes Rathaus) Nearest public transport: Rotes Rathaus metro station; Klosterstraße metro station
Additional info
☂︎ This tour is organised by Walkative Berlin guides. Look for the guide with the yellow umbrella.
❗Requires an AB Single ticket.
❗Our tours run in all weather conditions. High or low temperatures, rain, or snow are never a reason for us to cancel. We’re always here for you! The only reasons for cancellation are extreme weather conditions (such as heavy storms), a guide’s sudden illness, or if there are fewer than 5 registered participants. In such cases, we will always notify you using the contact information you provided when booking the tour.Booking rules
Booking is obligatory. Our “Pay What You Wish” tours are meant for individual travellers and small groups. Large groups (8 or more people) cannot join these tours, as they significantly affect the experience for others and the guide. For school trips, organised tours, or groups of friends, please book our paid option (18€ per person) or arrange a Private Tour. For more information or to schedule a group visit, please contact us directly.
About the tour
What comes to your mind when you’re in Berlin and someone says “communism”? The Wall? GDR? Hotspot of the Cold War?
All of these things are an important portion of our tour, but they’re only a part of the topic called “communism & socialism.” So our goal is more ambitious than just showing you the Berlin Wall and mentioning a couple of chapters of the Cold War history. We want to give you a holistic understanding of one of the most revolutionary and controversial ideological movements in world history.
How? By way of having a chronological journey from the 19th to 21st century and covering all the main chapters of the history of German communism. You will learn about the fathers of communist ideas – K. Marx & F. Engels and what they really taught about. You’ll hear the story of R. Luxembourg & K. Liebknecht and understand their role in a political struggle that tore German society apart 100 years ago and thus also helped A. Hitler rise to power. You’ll see and compare the Soviet model of socialism exported to Germany after WWII: you’ll experience it architecturally, grasp it geopolitically and perceive it through people’s life stories. Finally, we’ll talk about leftwing movements today.
After this 3 hours Walkative journey, you’ll form a historical Gestalt of communist & socialist ideas! Both in Germany and Europe (and even beyond). Both before and after WWII. Long before and long after.
This tour requires an AB Single ticket.
Highlights
- 1
Marx-Engels Forum
A memorial dedicated to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the fathers of communist ideas.
- 2
Liebknecht Balcony
The historic balcony from which a Free Socialist Republic was proclaimed in Germany in 1918.
- 3
Karl-Marx-Allee
A monumental socialist boulevard showcasing the most impressive Stalinist architecture in East Germany.
- 4
Frankfurter Tor
Two landmark towers representing the architectural development of socialist ideas in the former GDR.
- 5
The Berlin Wall
The longest remaining section of the notorious border that once divided East and West Berlin.
- 6
Cold War History
Discover Berlin's role as a geopolitical hotspot during the decades-long standoff between East and West.
Map
In front of Red Town Hall (Rotes Rathaus) Nearest public transport: Rotes Rathaus metro station; Klosterstraße metro station
Our customers said about us
Berlin
5.0exceptional tour with Ru
really fantastic overview of socialist and communist history in Berlin - if you have any interest in left politics or German history or even if you don’t, just an absolute delight of a tour! Ru was such an excellent guide. A treat!
Berlin
5.0Suditi
Great tour for commie history buffs!
This was an incredible tour, Alex, our tour guide was so well-informed and just very cool. It’s a great way to get to know the city’s history.
Berlin
5.0Tour with Ru
I so enjoyed my walk through Berlins history of the eras of the socialist and communist parties and philosophy's guiding the rulers / leaders of that time period. Fascinating and informative and thought provoking
Berlin
5.0Jamie
Great tour with Ru
My partner and I had a great time learning about the prehistory of Germany and socialism, the GDR and a trip to Friedrichshain. Thanks Ru!
Berlin
5.0Abi
Great Tour
Will is really knowledgeable and really explained the context in great detail highly recommended!
Berlin
5.0Peter
Fantastic tour
Amazing tour! Rue was extremely knowledgeable and provided great perspective
Berlin
5.0Foteini Kaltsa
Impressive and highly recommended
Rou is very knowledgeable and put us in the spirit of the socialist communist situation! He loves what he does and it seemed special! With passion for his work and with a lot of research, he made us live a piece of Berlin's history! I highly recommend it!
Berlin
4.0Foteini Kaltsa
Other perspective of Berlin
Thanks for so interesting things we learnt,and we saw another perspective of Berlin !I highly recommend this tour !
Berlin
5.0Sydney
Flew by so fast!
Tina was absolutely amazing for this tour! She was so well informed and so passionate about the topics, she did such and great job explaining and tying in all the history together. The tour was about 3 hours long but it felt like 1, it flew by so fast. I can't recommend more, this one is for the history needs.
Berlin
5.0Sj
Tina was great!
Tina was very knowledgeable and we learned a lot from her. I liked that her tour covered the history of communism prior to the development of East Berlin. The sites were pretty cool to check out!
