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shopping in berlin mitte
© visitberlin, Foto: Philip Koschel

Friedrichstraße

Berlin’s main shopping street

The Tränenpalast, Checkpoint Charlie, the former entertainment district and shopping are all part of Friedrichstraße in Berlin. But there’s a lot more besides.

Friedrichstraße is Berlin’s north-south axis and runs in a straight line through Mitte and Kreuzberg. It is 3.5 kilometres long and one of the city’s most important arterial roads. Today, you can stroll and shop here, visit the famous Checkpoint Charlie border crossing or one of the theatres. 

From an entertainment district to a shopping area: the history of Friedrichstraße

Street course Friedrichstraße
Friedrichstraße with the station © visitberlin, Foto: Wolfgang Scholvien

Friedrichstraße is named after Elector Friedrich III, who ruled here from 1688 to 1713. In his day, the road was surrounded only by fields, pastures and farmland – until the royal estates were sold and work started on building Berlin’s suburbs with paved roads.

By the time of the Second World War, with music halls, theatres and the famous Wintergarten variety theatre, Friedrichstraße had become Berlin’s most famous – and notorious – amusement district.

The Friedrichstraße becomes the border 

When Berlin was partitioned, the wall cut through Friedrichstraße as well. Today at this exact spot – the Checkpoint Charlie border crossing – there is a replica of the guard house that you can visit. Another crossing point in GDR times was Friedrichstraße station. In the glass pavilion – known as the Tränenpalast, or palace of tears – there is an exhibition on the border crossing.

Strolling and shopping in the Friedrichstraße

Building projects after reunification turned the section of Friedrichstraße between the station and Checkpoint Charlie into a popular shopping district. Today, there are many new buildings such as the Friedrichstadtpassagen with designer boutiques, offices and restaurants.

Quartier 207 contains the department stores Les Galeries Lafayette with French fashion, lifestyle accessories and a delicatessen department with specialities from France. Designed by the architect Jean Nouvel, it has an impressive transparent glass façade and an atrium that narrows towards the ground. The neighbouring Quartier 206, where you can shop in elegant designer boutiques, is built in the extravagant Art Déco style. You can only visit the French department stores' in Friedrichstraße this year; its closure has been announced for the end of 2024. 

Broad cultural offerings

The entertainment district is still there, north of the station, where the Friedrichstadt-Palast and Admiralspalast still put on variety shows and spectacular revues. Only a few minutes’ walk away is the Berliner Ensemble – one of the most prominent theatres in Germany, famously established by Bertolt Brecht.  

Future project: Car-free Friedrichstrasse

From 2021, Friedrichstrasse is to become a car-free promenade. Until the end of January 2021 no cars will be allowed to drive on the section between Französische Strasse and Leipziger Strasse. The aim of the pilot project car-free Friedrichstraße is to make the shopping mile more attractive and to create more space for pedestrians and cyclists.

Quarter 206 in the Friedrichstraße in Berlin
Quartier 206 in the Friedrichstraße © visitberlin, Foto: Philip Koschel

Nearby attractions