Inside Teufelsberg
Tap through the four layers of Berlin's strangest hill: the buried Nazi college at the base, 26 million cubic metres of wartime rubble, the forest that grew over it, and the Cold War spy station on top.
A free interactive cross-section of Teufelsberg, Berlin's man-made spy-station hill, showing its four layers: a buried Nazi college, wartime rubble, forest, and the Cold War listening post on top.
Use this free Berlin tool to see what Teufelsberg is really made of before you visit. Tap each layer of the hill to uncover the buried Nazi building, the rubble of a bombed city, and the abandoned Cold War spy station on the summit.
What this tool does
Teufelsberg looks like a normal wooded hill with strange white domes on top, but almost nothing about it is natural. This interactive cross-section lets you tap through the four layers of the hill, from the buried Nazi college at the base to the Cold War spy station on the summit, so you can see what is really under your feet before you make the trip out west.
Best use
Use it to decide whether Teufelsberg is worth a half day for you, and to understand the story before you go. Tap each layer, or use the era buttons, to see the buried unfinished Nazi military college, the roughly 26 million cubic metres of wartime rubble, the forest that grew over it, and the abandoned Field Station Berlin listening post with its radar domes.
Local guide note
Teufelsberg sits in the Grunewald forest in the far west of Berlin, a world away from the historic centre where my free walking tour runs. Getting there means an S-Bahn ride to Grunewald and about a 2 km walk uphill through the trees, so treat it as its own Cold War day out rather than a quick add-on, and wear proper shoes.
Related BerlinWalk guides
Pair this with my full Teufelsberg guide for 2026 tickets, opening hours and directions, and with the viewpoint finder and the East or West Berlin map if you are chasing views and Cold War history across the city.