When I ask people about Berlin’s green spaces, most of them mention Tempelhofer Feld or Treptower Park. However, tucked away in the Schöneberg lies a hidden gem that offers an entirely different kind of outdoor experience: Natur-Park Südgelände. And I believe more people should know about this unique blend of history and wilderness.
This one-of-a-kind public park covers 18 hectares and is built on a former rail yard. It gives visitors a fascinating look at what happens when people design something and then leave it up to nature.
For travelers, urban explorers, and photography enthusiasts, Natur-Park Südgelände provides an extraordinary space for discovery, relaxation, and accessible outdoor recreation.
And you will be able to see this below in the many pictures I took of the place in my visits since 2017. Since my office is close by, I’ve been going there once or twice a year for a while now. The park is always a great place to take pictures. This is why there are different lights and seasons in the pictures you’re going to see here.
Natur-Park Südgelände is where Berlin’s Industrial Past Meets Wild Urban Nature
The origins of the site date back to 1889, when the Tempelhof marshalling yard was built. It expanded steadily over the decades, and a dedicated locomotive depot, called Bahnbetriebswerk in German, was added in 1931. However, geopolitical shifts changed the site’s destiny. Mostly the changes in Germany after the end of the Second World War and the Berlin Wall.
Following the closure of the Anhalter Bahnhof in 1952, the western section of the yard was entirely abandoned since no trains would pass by the area anymore. This happened because the public transport in Berlin was split into two different managements. East Germany was in charge as Deutsche Reichsbahn, while the Allied Forces handled it as the Deutsche Bundesbahn. East German officers couldn’t or didn’t want to take care of the park because it was in West Germany, so they just left it there.
Nature began to aggressively take back the abandoned tracks and platforms after they were left alone for decades. While proposals emerged in the late 1970s to build a new freight station, enthusiastic community resistance successfully blocked the plans.
In 1995, Deutsche Bahn donated the land to the Berlin city government to compensate for environmental impacts elsewhere. Managed by the state-owned Grün Berlin group and funded with help from the Allianz Umweltstiftung, the site was officially opened as a public park in 1999 as a project of the Expo 2000.
The Ultimate Guide to Natur-Park Südgelände: Berlin’s Unique Green Space
Walking through Natur-Park Südgelände feels like stepping onto a post-apocalyptic movie set where the machinery of the industrial age has been frozen in time. And that is why I keep talking to people about visiting this special place.
The park is filled with artifacts from the steam locomotive era. You will encounter old water cranes, rusty light poles, switches, and two massive flying junctions, called Überwerfungsbauwerk in German, in the southwestern section.
Personally, the architectural highlights include the 1940 DRB Class 50 Steam Locomotive that sits permanently parked on the tracks, slowly being enveloped by trees. Close to it, you will be able to spot a water tower, a 50-meter-tall steel tower built in 1927 that rises high above the tree line. And, based on a conversation I had with one of the park caretakers, it nests some fantastic birds that I couldn’t spot from the ground.
You also have to visit the Locomotive Hall. This massive 4,000-square-meter historic hall is used today for experimental artists theater, dance, and performance events, including the renowned Berliner Festspiele. Next to it, you will find the Brückenmeisterei, the former bridge master’s office, which has been converted into a cozy café and exhibition space. A perfect stop in the middle of the park.
Exploring Natur-Park Südgelände: Trains, Art, and Biodiversity in Berlin
For almost 50 years, the region remained unaltered, allowing rare dry grasslands and a pristine urban forest to grow naturally. Something similar happened around the Berlin Wall, and I even wrote about the rabbits that used to be found on Chausseestraße between Mitte and Wedding. Many areas of the park are now formally designated as landscape and nature reserves.
The biodiversity here is staggering. Natur-Park Südgelände is home to over 300 species of ferns and flowering plants, 49 mushroom species, and 30 species of breeding birds. It is also an essential sanctuary for insects, hosting 57 spider species and 95 wild bee species—more than 60 of which are endangered.
To help visitors understand this fragile ecosystem, the park features an open-air exhibition titled “Bahnbrechende Natur.” Also, since the majority of the park’s trails are elevated, visitors don’t significantly alter the surrounding landscape.
It’s not just nature that the park celebrates; it’s also an outdoor art gallery. Steel artworks created by the Odius sculpture group are woven directly into the landscape as elevated footbridges, viewing platforms, and geometric treehouses.
Near the café, you will find the Giardino Segreto. This manicured, artificial garden features steel cubes, sharp-edged lawn beds, and contemporary sculptures that create a stunning visual contrast against the wild, untamed wilderness surrounding it.
Furthermore, a former retaining wall along the Tälchenweg path acts as a legal canvas for Berlin’s graffiti artists from 15:00, Monday through Saturday.
Plan Your Visit: Paths and Accessibility
Natur-Park Südgelände is highly inclusive, featuring barrier-free circular trails with accompanying audio information and sign-language videos. Starting in 2020, the outdoor exhibition has had tactile reliefs, Braille, and large print, which makes the whole experience effortless for blind and visually impaired visitors to enjoy.
There are two ways to explore Natur-Park Südgelände, and you need to learn about this before you end up getting on the wrong path like I did on my first visit to the park.
If you are short on time and want to focus more on the train aspect, you should take the Small Circular Path that is around 1 km long. This trail focuses primarily on the railway relics, including the steam locomotive and water tower.
If you feel like walking a little more because you want to see the local nature, you should take the Large Circular Path that is a bit less than 3 km long. This will take you deeper into the nature reserve, guiding you along a 600-meter elevated steel walkway through sunny clearings and a shaded robinia forest.
Essential Travel Tips:
- Opening Hours: The park opens daily at 9:00. Closing times vary by season (16:00 in winter; up to 21:00 from May to August).
- Some simple rules: To protect the delicate local wildlife, animals (including dogs) and bicycles are strictly prohibited inside the park. There are places to lock your bike easily at the entry.
- Amenities: Stop by Café Paresüd at the old bridge master’s office for a coffee. It is open on weekends and public holidays from April to October (11:00 to 18:00).
- How to get there: The main entrance is directly at the Priesterweg S-Bahn station (Lines S2, S25, and S26). And don’t forget to check the area since they have some unusual scars from the Battle of Berlin.
Natur-Park Südgelände: Discovering Berlin’s Abandoned Railway Turned Nature Reserve
Prellerweg 47-49
12157 Berlin
