Friedrichshain Public Park

The popular Friedrichshain public park in Berlin lies in the north of the district of the same name. As long ago as 1840 the municipal authorities decided to construct a park here, and it took shape during the second half of the 19th C. After the Second World War the 52 hectare/130 acre park had to be laid out afresh. The two hills were formed by pouring rubble over two former air-raid bunkers (popularly known as "Mont Klamott" or "Rubbish Mountain"; beautiful panoramic views).

At the western entrance near the Königstor (Royal gate) stands the Fairy Tale Fountain with figures taken from Grimms' fairy tales. In the northern half of the park there is a leisure center, and in the eastern part an open-air stage with seats for 3,000 patrons. There are also several political memorials, such as the graveyard in the south on Landsberger Allee for those revolutionaries who perished in the 1848 Revolution.

On the eastern side of the park can be found the city's first municipal hospital, the Friedrichshain Municipal Hospital, built in 1868-77.

Behind it, in the Neuer Hain (New Grove), as it is known, is the Karl-Friedrich-Friesen Swimming Stadium (seating for 8,000 spectators) and the Sport and Health Center.