The story of Berlin’s division is often told through the remnants of the inner-city Wall. But the fortified border, formally known as the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart, extended far beyond the city center, encircling the whole of West Berlin. Located just outside the modern city limits, on the scenic banks of the Havel River, stands a uniquely preserved piece of this history: the Grenzturm Niederneuendorf.
This former command post, once the nerve center for a critical stretch of the border, offers a rare and deeply personal look at the reality of life under surveillance. The structure of the GDR’s border regime and the desperate attempts of those who sought freedom.
I have known about this place for several years, but its location is on the opposite side of where I live, so I never managed to find the time to go around the area to explore. This all changed in October 2025 when I was invited to go on a charity walk around the area supporting Give Something Back to Berlin, organized by my office.
I felt like this would be the best excuse to go explore a part of Berlin that I don’t go to often, and the Grenzturm Niederneuendorf was one of the places I was excited to visit. And below I’m going to tell you why.
Why the Grenzturm Niederneuendorf Is Worth the Detour from Berlin
The Grenzturm Niederneuendorf, also known as the Nieder Neuendorf Border Tower, is one of the very few surviving watchtowers from the outer ring of fortifications that sealed off West Berlin. I already wrote about the East German Watchtower on Schlesisches Busch and the East German Watchtower on Potsdamer Platz, if you are interested in the topic.
While over 300 observation towers once dotted the perimeter, this particular tower is of the “Führungsstelle” type. This means that this watchtower wasn’t just a simple observation station; it was a highly complex command center built relatively late in 1987. From its nine-meter height, border troops from the 38th Border Regiment Clara Zetkin directed 18 additional guard and observation towers, overseeing a significant 10 km stretch of the border between Schönwalde and Stolpe-Süd.
The tower’s spotless, bright white coat of paint makes it a fascinating and somewhat jarring sight against the tranquil river backdrop today. While some of Berlin’s towers are in worse shape, the Grenzturm Niederneuendorf has been carefully preserved and restored, keeping its impressive look. Its importance as a historical monument was officially recognized in 1999, and it opened to the public on November 9th of that year, the 10th anniversary of the Wall’s fall.
Besides the location, the Grenzturm Niederneuendorf holds particular significance. It sits on the western bank of the Havel River, which was part of the East German territory, looking directly across the narrow waterway to Heiligensee, a district of former West Berlin. The Havel River, especially at this point where the distance between East and West was only about 200 meters, became a natural, yet deadly, part of the border.
The river’s bottleneck was a site of heavy fortification and numerous, often tragic, escape attempts between 1961 and 1989. The exhibition inside the tower documents these local events, including the story of a Polish skipper in 1967 who attempted to swim to the West after ditching his stolen tugboat. He did not survive the exhausting swim, with his body found washed up a week and a half later. The sunken barges nearby add to the grim reality of the water border. It was the GDR’s job to block escape routes and make the channels less navigable with the barges.
Inside the Watchtower: An Up-to-Date Exhibition
The highlight of a visit to the Grenzturm Niederneuendorf for me was the accessibility and quality of its exhibition. It is not every day that I have the chance to step inside a former watchtower and gain an authentic sense of the original interior and its functions.
Completely reimagined and modernized in 2014 to celebrate 25 years of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the permanent exhibition, “Permanent Exhibition on the History of the Border Installations between the Two German States,” spans the tower’s four floors, including the basement and the observation deck.
So, allow me to share the watchtower structure, starting from the observation deck on the top floor. Here, you get as close as possible to the border guards’ experience. Original equipment, including powerful binoculars and communication gear, remains in place.
You can look through the same apertures used to monitor the electronic security systems and survey the border strip. The control beam for the massive searchlight atop the tower is also visible. Information panels here detail the construction of the Wall, the stages to German unity, and the specific layout of the border in this region. And it was interesting to see original pictures of how the area used to look and look past the windows to see how different it all looks now.
The Quarters is located beneath the upper floor. This floor, which housed the border soldiers’ quarters, focuses on the human element of the conflict. There you will learn about the organization and routine of the border security regiment. Above all, it highlights individual stories—both those who failed in their attempts to flee and the documented case of a successful escape from the Grenzturm Niederneuendorf’s sector. Also visible are the hatches, or loopholes, that could be opened for shooting down onto the border strip.
At ground level, visitors can see the small, grim arrest cell—the area where a “border violator” (the GDR jargon) would have been held immediately after capture. This level includes the first floor and basement, where the exhibition’s sole audiovisual component is a video screen playing archival film footage continuously.
To my surprise, the exhibition is bilingual, using display boards, photos, graphics, and statistics. A free audio guide is available, covering the content in both German and English, transforming the visit into a multimedia experience.
Remembering the Victims of the Berlin Wall
The ongoing dedication to preserving the past extends beyond the tower itself. The area in front of the Grenzturm Niederneuendorf has been thoughtfully named the “Platz der Maueropfer,” in English, Wall Victims’ Square, by the Hennigsdorf city parliament in 2010.
Next to the tower stands the memorial stone titled “Fall of the Wall,” a granite block unveiled in 2009 and created by artist Heike Becker.
And finally, a concrete memorial stele, intentionally symbolizing a segment of the Berlin Wall, was erected along the former course of the barrier, between the tower and the lake, ensuring that the physical presence of the division is not entirely forgotten.
Plan Your Visit to Grenzturm Niederneuendorf
While the Grenzturm Niederneuendorf is a bit outside the traditional Berlin sights, the detour is highly recommended for anyone seeking an authentic, less-crowded historical experience focused on the Berlin Wall.
The watchtower is situated on the Uferpromenade in Nieder Neuendorf, a district of the town of Hennigsdorf in Brandenburg, just northwest of Berlin. Getting there requires a little effort via public transport. You can take the S-Bahn (S-25) to Hennigsdorf station and then catch the infrequently running bus line 136. Alternatively, take the U-Bahn (U7) to Spandau Rathaus and catch the 136 bus from there; that is what I did.
The exhibition is open seasonally, generally from early April to early October, Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 18:00. The outdoor area is accessible year-round. Admission is free, and think about allowing between 15 and 45 minutes, depending on whether you simply want a quick impression or wish to dive into all the materials and individual stories on display.
If you are walking or cycling the Berliner Mauerweg, the Berlin Wall Trail that follows where the wall used to stand, the Grenzturm Niederneuendorf makes for an ideal stop. It is a must-see place to fully understand Germany’s division because it stands as a stark reminder of the border that used to separate a country, where Berlin ends and Brandenburg begins.
The Havel’s Silent Sentinel: Visiting the Grenzturm Niederneuendorf Watchtower
Uferpromenade – 16761
Hennigsdorf, Deutschland
