Köllnischer Park

Köllnischer Park is a public park in Berlin’s Mitte district, positioned near the River Spree. Its name recalls Cölln, the historic city that helped form Berlin. The park occupies former fortification grounds, where Bastion VII once stood on low-lying terrain vulnerable to flooding. Those fortifications controlled access and toll collection. By the late nineteenth century, the city had redesigned the site as a public park with historical buildings and artworks. Berlin lists the park as a registered landmark.

The Märkisches Museum, designed by Ludwig Hoffmann, presents architectural traditions from the Mark Brandenburg and North Germany. The Bärenzwinger, also designed by Hoffmann, once housed Berlin’s official city bears. It now remains without bears. The Lapidary adds an open-air display of stone sculptures and reliefs from different periods, including Hercules in sandstone. A bronze statue of artist Heinrich Zille provides another notable work within the park. Other buildings include the Landesversicherungsanstalt, Alfred Messel’s office building, and the AOK building in purplish brick. The Volksbadeanstalt is another historic structure.