While most people will be familiar with the Soviet War Memorial at Treptow and Tiergarten, hardly any tourists visit the Soviet War Memorial in the Schönholzer Heide. This is such a pity because the memorial is beautiful.
The project for the Memorial came up right after the war since Stalin wanted to mark its contribution to the downfall of Fascism in Europe and the defeat of Germany. It wasn’t until 1947 that the construction began, and it took until 1949 for this Memorial to be completed.
In 2011, it was closed for renovations, and after a little over two years and 10 million euros, it was reopened in August 2013.
We first visited this Soviet Memorial at the end of 2013 when we first learned about it. We were learning a bit more about the presence and importance of the Soviet Union in the Second World War, and it felt like this was a place we couldn’t miss.
The pictures you can see here are from all the times we have visited it.
The Soviet War Memorial in Schönholzer Heide is the final resting place of more than 13.000 soldiers and officers who fell during the Battle of Berlin.
It was designed by a group of Soviet architects consisting of A. Solowjew, M. Belarnzew, W. D. Koroljew and the sculptor Iwan G. Perschudtschew.
On a wall around the memorial, there are 100 bronze tablets where the names, ranks and birth dates of the soldiers it was possible to identify are written. This group constitutes about one-fifth of the fallen soldiers.
Soviet War Memorial on Schönholzer Heide
When you enter the memorial, you see it is flanked by two massive granite pillars with eternal burning flames and symbolic wreaths. Those elements feel more potent than previous Soviet Memorials we visited.
After the eternal flames, you will be presented with big gatehouse towers decorated with large bronze reliefs representing the grieving Soviet people. There are also symbols of various Russian military branches, and the tanks were the elements we liked the most.
When you look into those gatehouses, you can see that each contains a symbolic empty urn and a quote from Stalin praising the Red Army’s heroic deeds. We do not see Stalin references often, and it was quite odd to find them here, even after the entire de-Stalinization process that happened decades ago.
Overall, the Sowjetisches Ehrenmal in Schönholzer Heide isn’t the most important or most beautiful Soviet Memorial in Berlin. We consider that this title will always be held by the one in Treptow. But this is an interesting place to visit and explore.
It feels less touristy, and you can even drop by the piece of the Berlin wall found hidden in the woods nearby.
If you manage to find your way into the Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Schönholzer Heide, don’t forget to look for the piece of the Berlin Wall that was seen around there.
Also, we wrote something about the Soviet Memorials in and around Berlin, and you might enjoy it as well.
Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Schönholzer Heide
Close to Germanenstraße and Volkspark Schönholzer Heide
13156 Berlin
