Haus am Checkpoint Charlie

An essential piece of history.


While impressed by the Checkpoint I didn't fully appreciate the significance of Checkpoint Charlie until I saw some of the pictures on the street display nearby, showing it at various times between the 2nd World War and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Seeing Russian and American tanks facing off roughly where you are stood tends to bring it home!


The aforementioned street exhibition is a real bonus and I happily spent an hour in light rain reading a history of the checkpoint and the Berlin wall, the confrontations, escape attempts and the political wranglings.

Jam packed with real life accounts of people whose lives were impacted by the wall, this museum is definitely worth spending a couple of hours in (if only to get your money's worth as it's on the steeper end of the scale).
Bit cramped, and you can't take photos, so it isn't on my list of favourite museums in Berlin, but it's still one to see.

Not worth it. Very bad museum design. Information just plastered in the walls and it seems to be all over the place. It's not intuitive and overall it's just text and text with a few artifacts. It costs €15, not worth at all. Very confusing museum, it looks like a Wikipedia article printed and put all around the walls. Ended up disappointed and barely informed because of its bad layout.

An inevitable stop on the itinerary of most visitors to Berlin the area around Checkpoint Charlie is worth a visit although anybody wanting a more sober and less touristy take on the history of the wall should also visit the memorial at Bernauer Str. The area around Checkpoint Charlie has become a rather gaudy tourist attraction and it somewhat detracts from the reality that this used to be part of a system of lethal border defences.


The museum has plenty of interesting exhibits and the variety of vehicles that people created or adapted for escape attempts is fascinating. It also documents the fate of some people whose brave escape attempts failed, most notably Peter Fechter who was allowed to bleed to death in no man's land after being shot during a failed escape attempt.


You can buy a small part of the wall in the shop although its authenticity is questionable. With the exception of the parts of the wall sent to museums around the world most of the wall was actually demolished and crushed into rubble for use in the reconstruction of East Germany's crumbling road network.

Personally, I loved museum and thought that this was the best thing about the visit to Checkpoint Charlie. I learnt a lot about the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and the confrontations of East vs West. As a history addict, I was in heaven!

Allow a LOT of time to look around. There is a mass of information to read and take in. Luckily it wasn't too busy when we were there - I imagine that if it were packed with people it may be a little difficult to enjoy fully. For me though, all of the

One word of warning - when we were there it was a very, very, hot day and the museum reached boiling point! Either go when it's cooler or bring a hand fan or something.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this museum and would recommend it to anybody who loves their history. Just expect to do a lot of reading!

Definitely some interesting exhibits, but the most disorganized mess of a museum I've ever seen. Definitely not worth €12.50, unless you've seen *everything* else in Berlin. Look at the free museum at Bernauer Str. for more organized accounts instead.

Chaotic tourist trap. It's a shame because with a good curator, this museum could be a valuable source of information about the wall. Instead, the collection is organized in a willy nilly way, like a PowerPoint presentation designed by kindergartners. It's not worth the price of admission.

I don't write reviews (this is literally my first) but this museum angered me to the point in which I felt a review was necessary. Don't go. This is the worst museum I have ever visited. Admission is over priced, information is not presented in a chronological, or logical, fashion. Not that you would want to take any pictures but, if you do, you need to purchase a photo pass. It should also be noted that this museum has NOTHING to do with Checkpoint Charlie. There was one board that mentioned Checkpoint Charlie; the remainder of the museum pertained to unrelated topics. Save your time and go elsewhere.

The bad rap this place gets is understandable, but unfounded. First off, let me just state if it's at all possible for you, go when it is cooler outside. If it's hot outside, it will be amplified tenfold inside. There is no air conditioning and only a couple ineffective fans. It also gets insanely crowded. But it is still worth it.

This museum provides an in-depth look at Checkpoint Charlie itself, along with stories of Germans who tried (some succeeded, some failed) to escape from the DDR to the BRD. There are three floors to the museum, and the good thing is as you go further upstairs, it gets less crowded.

There is much dedicated to the wall itself, of course. The main exhibit focuses on the time from the building of the wall itself to its destruction. DDR history is also shown, such as the uprising in 1953. It presents just how divided things were in the East vs. West, and even how this division continues today.

Escape cars are shown to give one an idea of just how desperate people were to flee. A VW Beetle is on display, as well as another car (I cannot remember the make, sorry) that is even smaller. One would have to almost be a contortionist to fit in the trunk, and yet somehow they did. In fact, life-sized dummies are shown in the trunks to reinforce just how small the trunks were.

There is also an exhibit about the formation of NATO, including actual items used by NATO back in the day. It is quite an interesting look to see how vested the USA was in Germany. Ronald Reagan is somewhat immortalised in an exhibit on him, due to his famous quote to Gorbachev...you know the one. The room almost looks propaganda-like, showing him as this amazing saviour. There are lots of bumper stickers from his two election campaigns, photos, and even a timeline of his life.

Furthermore, there is a third floor (perhaps 2.5th floor would make more sense as it's only at the top of a few steps) that almost no one goes to. If you're feeling like you can't make it anymore and you're so exhausted and hot, go up here. First, either this part has air conditioning or maybe just due to the lack of crowds, the open windows actually help to bring a breeze in. I'm not sure. But in each of the many rooms, movies are shown, some in German, some in English, and some in other languages. Many of these star Ronald Reagan, back when he was an actor. What's great about this section is you finally have a place to sit, and due to the nature of movies being screened, you don't feel an obligation to only sit for a moment. Not to mention, absolutely no one goes up there (they're packed like sardines on the ground floor, the next floor is a little less crowded, and this floor is virtually empty).

The gift shop is great, too. There are of course pieces of the wall for sale, pieces that were specifically at Checkpoint Charlie. Many sizes are available so if you only want to spend a couple Euros, you can still buy one. There is lots of other merchandise to buy...one oddity being a bowl of keychains. At first glance one might assume they're for Berlin, Germany, and maybe Checkpoint Charlie. You couldn't be more wrong...they're cities of various American cities, such as Miami. I have no idea why they're there but it's a funny thing to mention. It could be fun to say you bought a South Carolina keychain...in Berlin.

Finally, the signs explaining each item in the museum are bilingual, so if you do not speak German at all or only a little, there is still a way to understand everything. Also, while the ticket counter states you have to pay a fee (I think it's €2) to be able to take photographs, here's the thing. It's so crowded, and I never saw employees wandering around like in other museums...so you technically don't have to pay that fee. Granted, ymmv but I didn't observe employees anywhere but the ticket counter and gift shop, and at no point did anyone ask to see my ticket to see if I'd paid the fee.

The museum is horribly organized and needs updating. It seems like they are working on it as some boards were updated but other items were oddly placed/kept. For instance, on painting about 1.5 meters high is on a wall that faces a wall only two feet away so you cannot really see the painting. There are lots of small areas to visit but the arrangement is awkward. Interesting sections, everything is in four languages including English, and lots of photos. If you have no background knowledge then the museum may be confusing but if you know a little about the Cold War then you will be fine. I liked it and learned a little. If you want to see a lot of the museum, then allot 3-4 hours. I spent about 1.5 and only got through 1/2 the museum.