A listening station during the Cold War
The simple 3 letter word – spy – always conjures up adventurous stories. imagination, and occasionally a martini and a bikini. While in Berlin, I was able to turn my imagination into reality when I went to go visit the famous spy station Teufelsberg at one of the highest points in Berlin. The high point is actually man made – and the name translates into Devil’s Mountain and the mountain is created from landfill and trash. But it doesn’t matter how it got there – the important thing is that it served a purpose…and that purpose was spying on Berlin Cold War enemies.
Teufelsberg was occupied by the US and the British during the Cold War and served as a listening station. Consider this hill and these abandoned structures one giant hearing aid. It was used for listening to Soviet, East German, and other Warsaw Pact nations’ military traffic.
Now of course you can get a tour of the abandoned windowless structures on the weekends for a cost of $20USD and hear all of the spy stories. Hopefully you’ll go there on a day that isn’t blustery cold like we did! When it’s nice out – it’s provides one of the nicest views of Berlin and the surrounding lakes.
The bright sun shines through the listening station on a very cold day in Berlin.
The abandoned listening station
Where there is no one – there is always graffiti in Berlin. Loved this image.
Ripped listening station structure from the inside
To get to the abandoned station – you get to walk through some lovely wooded areas.
Huge wall murals grace the abandoned station
A view of Berlin
More Information:
Website: www.berlinsightout.de/englisch.htm
Tours are possible every Saturday and Sunday at 12:30 pm. If there aren’t enough English guests,the guide speaks German, but may answer your questions in English between the stops.
During my stay in Berlin I was a guest of Go with Oh who furnished my apartment in Friedrichshain. I was also a guest of Berlin Sight Out of this Teufelsberg tour. However all of the opinions expressed here are my own.
By Dan Thompson April 26, 2013 - 10:09 am
That is extremely cool! Hate I missed this, but have something to do the next time we go!
Thanks for sharing,
Dan
By Maria April 26, 2013 - 7:30 pm
The listening station is so cool and yet, gives me chills. *shiver*
The art you found there is above par – great that you captured it on film and are showing it here.
The entire location is a gem!
By Virgil S. April 27, 2013 - 2:33 pm
Thanks for the great post and pics, articles like this is where I get a lot of my travel destination ideas. Next time I am near Berlin, I will have to put on my trench coat and check it out.
By Maia May 1, 2013 - 3:56 pm
Very neat! It’s so interesting to see the different places cities abandon over time.
By peter May 6, 2013 - 7:43 am
was there 72 to 75.. brings back memories
By Sherry May 6, 2013 - 8:05 am
Wow – what was it like to work there? Isolating? Fun? Just work?
By Yeity May 7, 2013 - 3:28 am
You’d really like the community on Google + – it’s all about photography centered around abandoned buildings and urban grafitti!
https://plus.google.com/b/112196951669296806107/112196951669296806107/posts#communities/118010045683344777640
By peter May 7, 2013 - 4:52 am
Hi Sherry,
Unless you were there at the time and of a certain (just retired) age it is very difficult to explain.
It was at the height of the cold war and the Americans were getting out of Vietnam, but my wife and I had a ball. I played in a band, sold motors, and worked in my own business as I got out of the RAF in74 and rust proofed the motors we sold motors and that just covers 5% of what we did. and we still have German friends there. It was a unique time that will never be repeated but I was glad I was there.
By Dan July 3, 2013 - 9:33 pm
That is awesome! The street art is amazing also
By Edward Hasbrouck January 21, 2016 - 9:56 am
Bill Scannell, who worked at the NSA listening post at Teufelsberg as a military intelligence analyst in the 1980s, gave a public talk about his experience at the Chaos Computer Club annual conference in Berlin on December 28, 2014:
“Inside Field Station Berlin Teufelsberg: The story of the NSA listening post – told by an ex-SIGINT analyst who worked there”
https://media.ccc.de/v/31c3_-_6585_-_en_-_saal_2_-_201412282145_-_inside_field_station_berlin_teufelsberg_-_bill_scannell
https://youtube.com/watch?v=8x_yL12dJjI
By Ray June 30, 2016 - 11:00 am
Gotta love former Communist countries and their unique ways of spying on each during the Cold Ward! There’s something similar in Ukraine near Chernobyl, but was obviously used by the Soviets instead of the East Germans.