Ernst Thälmann Park is one of those places in Berlin
that, at first sight, might look generic or even ugly. Yet the many stories it
holds, makes this building complex a fascinating spot to dive into the city’s recent history.

The park covers a 25-hectare large block
between Prenzlauer Allee, Greifswalder Strasse, Danziger Strasse and the
railway tracks. In 1873, when this area was first used to construct a gas
plant, it was still outside of the city walls. The gas plant operated for more
than a hundred years – the longest operation time of all of Berlin’s gas plants
– and left the legacy of an intoxicated ground, which is still a concern today.

When the GDR government started to demolish the gas
plant in 1981, the authorities had highflying plans fort the area. By then, it
had already been since long absorbed by the city’s expansion. A socialist
settlement showcasing the glory of GDR architecture should be built there,
right in the middle of the city, as a prestigious project for Berlin’s 750-year
celebration of 1987. The whole park was planned as a combination of living
spaces, cultural life and nature. It provided housing for 4000 inhabitants and
included a hospital, a school, sports facilities, a theatre, a planetarium, a
lake and hundreds of trees within its boundaries.

For the inauguration on 16th April 1986, which was
also the 100th birthday of Ernst Thälmann, the elite of the GDR government
gathered with 3000 guests at the Eastern end of the park where a gigantic
bronze sculpture of the founder of Germany’s Communist Party and eponym of the
whole complex was erected.

In the 80’s, Ernst Thälmann Park was a shining
lighthouse project of urban living in the GDR. Those who were lucky enough to
receive an apartment there were much more privileged than their neighbours
living on the South of Danzinger Strasse and West of Prenzlauer Allee. There
the old “Wilhelminian-Era” buildings were lying in desolate conditions, still
suffering from war damages and out-dated living standards.

In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell and everything changed –
or, better said, started to change.

There is a certain irony in how today the
“Wilhelminian Altbauten” of Prenzlauer Berg, which had been
completely abandoned by the GDR government, became of prime interest for
investors and new solvent owners, while this time the “Plattenbauten”
of Ernst Thälmann Park, which were of little interest to the new rulers of the
capitalist era, were left to decay.

Today, Prenzlauer Berg, with its renovated, charming
old buildings, is one of Berlin´s most fancy and posh districts. On the other
hand, the once shining Plattenbauten of Ernst-Thälmann Park in its immediate
vicinity, now stand with its rather shabby looks like an “alien” in the
landscape, a remnant from a different time and world.

Due to its prime location, investors took an eye in
the area and since 2010 new buildings (Neubauten) have been constructed within
the park. In order to protect the outstanding example of GDR architecture, the
whole complex was declared National Heritage and put under protection in 2014.

As always, all the changes happening in Berlin are a
struggle. The Ernst Thälmann Park is a great example of how the city resists
becoming what governments, authorities and investors want it to be. There are
hundreds or thousands of places with similar stories in Berlin, and you never
know what the next chapter will be. That is, in short, the essence of this
city: a place that never is, but always in the process of becoming.