Naturpark Schöneberger Südgelände, Berlin

Naturpark Schöneberger Südgelände is an urban park where abandoned railway structures, protected habitat, and contemporary artworks share the same grounds. The site originated as railway land: a marshalling yard appeared there in 1889, and once Anhalter station ceased handling long-distance services in 1952, vegetation gradually overtook the disused tracks. When clearance was proposed around 1980, local citizens demonstrated the ecological value of this wild growth and prevented the felling.

The city received the land in 1995, and the park opened in 1999 as an EXPO 2000 project. Look for the water tower rising about 50 metres above the former railway works; it is the park’s most recognisable landmark. Nearby railway remains include a steam locomotive built in 1940 and a turntable.

In the protected area, the route becomes a 600-metre steel-grating walkway carried above the ground on pipes resting on old rails. That design leaves space for animals below and allows rain to reach the soil. Surveys have recorded 366 fern and flowering-plant species, 49 large fungi, 49 bird species, 14 grasshopper and cricket species, 57 spider species, and 95 bee species, with more than 60 considered endangered. Permanent sculptures by the artist group Odius add another layer to this reclaimed railway landscape.