Halloween in Germany: What are Berlin's most haunted spots?
At first glance, these spots may simply seem like serene remnants of the past. But they have a spookier side - learn more if you dare!
If there's any city in the world that has reason to be haunted, it's Berlin. Devastated by war, divided in two for fifty years, it's been host to countless tragedies.
Indeed, in its over eight hundred years of history, one can only imagine the number of unquiet dead with cause to wander.
The most famous spirit associated with the city would have to be the White Lady of the Berliner Schloss. Long, long before its current reconstruction, the halls of the palace were said to be roamed by a female wraith - the first reports hail from the mid-17th century.
The Berliner Schloss during construction in 2018. Photo: DPA
If a terrifying spectre haunting one's halls weren't enough, sightings of the figure were meant to signify the impending death of one of the ruling Hohenzollern dynasty! Speculation as to the identity of the spirit ranges from a medieval member of the family who murdered her children, to a spurned lover of a family heir - the truth is, well, hard to make out.
Less obscure is the spectre said to roam the ruins of the Franzisker Klosterkirche in Berlin-Mitte. In life, the medieval Friar Roderich was a mean, stopped figure with a limp. Unlucky in love, it is said, he became a monk and took out his frustration in a number of sadistic ways.
READ ALSO: Weekend Wanderlust: Discovering the original medieval Berlin Wall
In death, his presence is said to make itself known as a terrifying spirit, determined to scare the wits out of passersby - although these days he might mistaken for a lost clubber!
The Franzisker Klosterkirche. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Over in Kreuzberg, the Künstlerhaus Bethanien is said to be positively crowded with apparitions - and fair enough too, since it was once one of the city's busiest hospitals, specifically dealing with the poor and destitute of the growing 19th century city.
Whether the figures artists claim they've seen lurking in their studios are actually the dead lurking where they once drew their last breath, or are due to spirits of a different kind, we cannot say.
However, for a truly frightful experience, we recommend a visit to the Friedhof-Grunewald Forst, in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. This was a 'Cemetery of the Nameless', so called because it was very near the spot that bodies lost in the nearby Havel river, including suicides, would wash up.
Cemetery of the Nameless in Grunefeld. Photo: DPA
Visitors have described the overwhelming feeling of being watched as they walk among the graves, an icy atmosphere even on warm days and strange, smoke-like entities floating by the tombstones.
Considering the sad fate those interred there, we can't blame them for expressing themselves in those ways.
There are many, many more spirits said to haunt the streets of Berlin. To learn more, we recommend 'Die Gespenster von Berlin' by Sarah Khan, if you feel confident with your German.
Have you had a frightful, paranormal encounter in the German capital? Email us and we will post some of the best we receive!
READ ALSO: VIDEO: What are Germany's most haunted places?
DISCOVER
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Berliner Schloss / Schloßplatz 1, 10178
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Franziskaner Klosterkirche / Klosterstraße 73a, 10179
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Künstlerhaus Bethanien / Kottbusser Str. 10/d, 10999
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Friedhof Grunewald-Forst / Schildhornweg 33, 14193
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If there's any city in the world that has reason to be haunted, it's Berlin. Devastated by war, divided in two for fifty years, it's been host to countless tragedies.
Indeed, in its over eight hundred years of history, one can only imagine the number of unquiet dead with cause to wander.
The most famous spirit associated with the city would have to be the White Lady of the Berliner Schloss. Long, long before its current reconstruction, the halls of the palace were said to be roamed by a female wraith - the first reports hail from the mid-17th century.
The Berliner Schloss during construction in 2018. Photo: DPA
If a terrifying spectre haunting one's halls weren't enough, sightings of the figure were meant to signify the impending death of one of the ruling Hohenzollern dynasty! Speculation as to the identity of the spirit ranges from a medieval member of the family who murdered her children, to a spurned lover of a family heir - the truth is, well, hard to make out.
Less obscure is the spectre said to roam the ruins of the Franzisker Klosterkirche in Berlin-Mitte. In life, the medieval Friar Roderich was a mean, stopped figure with a limp. Unlucky in love, it is said, he became a monk and took out his frustration in a number of sadistic ways.
READ ALSO: Weekend Wanderlust: Discovering the original medieval Berlin Wall
In death, his presence is said to make itself known as a terrifying spirit, determined to scare the wits out of passersby - although these days he might mistaken for a lost clubber!
The Franzisker Klosterkirche. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Over in Kreuzberg, the Künstlerhaus Bethanien is said to be positively crowded with apparitions - and fair enough too, since it was once one of the city's busiest hospitals, specifically dealing with the poor and destitute of the growing 19th century city.
Whether the figures artists claim they've seen lurking in their studios are actually the dead lurking where they once drew their last breath, or are due to spirits of a different kind, we cannot say.
However, for a truly frightful experience, we recommend a visit to the Friedhof-Grunewald Forst, in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. This was a 'Cemetery of the Nameless', so called because it was very near the spot that bodies lost in the nearby Havel river, including suicides, would wash up.
Cemetery of the Nameless in Grunefeld. Photo: DPA
Visitors have described the overwhelming feeling of being watched as they walk among the graves, an icy atmosphere even on warm days and strange, smoke-like entities floating by the tombstones.
Considering the sad fate those interred there, we can't blame them for expressing themselves in those ways.
There are many, many more spirits said to haunt the streets of Berlin. To learn more, we recommend 'Die Gespenster von Berlin' by Sarah Khan, if you feel confident with your German.
Have you had a frightful, paranormal encounter in the German capital? Email us and we will post some of the best we receive!
READ ALSO: VIDEO: What are Germany's most haunted places?
DISCOVER
-
Berliner Schloss / Schloßplatz 1, 10178
-
Franziskaner Klosterkirche / Klosterstraße 73a, 10179
-
Künstlerhaus Bethanien / Kottbusser Str. 10/d, 10999
-
Friedhof Grunewald-Forst / Schildhornweg 33, 14193
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