_Berlin Marathon – Berlin’s Fastest Property Viewing

The route begins on the avenue Strasse des 17. Juni, and passes the Victory Column and the University of Technology before it hits Ernst-Reuter-Platz, the second-largest roundabout in Europe. For the first kilometre and a half, the runners remain exclusively in the parklands of Grosser Tiergarten, a leafy sanctuary in the heart of the city, with nothing but trees, meadows and ponds on 210 hectares. 

After passing beneath the elevated rapid transit tracks, the Landwehr-Kanal comes up on the left, administrative buildings and a hotel on the right. Next, the route takes the runners through Charlottenburg Gate – marking the city limits of the formerly independent city of Charlottenburg – and past campus buildings. These more or less block the view of exclusive residential locations, such as the estate No. 1 Charlottenburg directly on the riverbank. Among the 14 houses here, two tower blocks of nine storeys overlook the Spree River. Prices for the 172 condominiums average €7,000 per sq m. The greenery of Tiergarten lies within walking distance from here, and the central railway station is just two stops away on the rapid transit line.

^{Above: No. 1 Charlottenburg}

All of this comes before Ernst-Reuter-Platz, and once they reach the square, the runners turn north, heading down Franklinstrasse toward Alt-Moabit. For several years now, Moabit has been one of Berlin’s up-and-coming districts – with substantial changes in the gastronomy and retail landscape already visible, and the new status reflected in the property prices. The district’s perks include its central location close to the government district, and the beautiful Belle Époque period buildings, where flats remain rather affordable at about €4,000 per sq m. Going past these time-honoured buildings and the spanking new structure of the central railway station, the runners cross into the district of Mitte after six km.

Among new arrivals to Berlin, Mitte is one of the favourite places to live. This explains why the number of exclusive residential development projects is particularly high here, and why residential rents are among the highest anywhere in Berlin. You would be hard pressed to find a condominium with a price tag of less than €5,000 per sq m anymore. And the high-end apartments that are available will sell in no time at all. A case in point are the 73 condos at the SAPPHIRE, the first residential building Daniel Libeskind designed in Germany. Square-metre prices here averaged more than €6,000 and still the exclusive residences were completely sold off after 18 months. Demand is also very keen for period flats and industrial lofts. At this time, Knight Frank’s residential associate in Berlin; ZIEGERT, still has a few residual units left at the A Space, a former wheat beer brewery very close to Bernauer Strasse where the Berlin Wall used to run, and some late-nineteenth-century flats on Torstrasse, directly next to the “cat walk” of Mitte, if you will. 

^{Above: A Space}

By the time the runners reach Torstrasse, the runners have already covered a distance of 8-9 km. The route through Mitte initially goes down Reinhardtstrasse, passing the famous art bunker by Christian Boros and Friedrichstadtpalast, Europe’s largest vaudeville theatre, then on toward Tacheles a former department store that became a creative sanctuary for artists who installed studios, galleries, a cinema and a club in the ruins, and whose surroundings will soon be developed into exclusive apartments and offices. From here, the field pushes on toward Torstrasse, a street that has turned from a through-road into a trendy nightlife and shopping street for the hip crowd over the past ten years.

After 10.5 km, they cross the intersection of Torstrasse and Prenzlauer Allee. On the left towers a defunct department store, now home to the posh Soho House Berlin, while on the right, a quick look between buildings affords a view of Alexanderplatz with the TV tower, and the runners head down for it to circle it in an enormous loop that is not completed until they are 14 km into the marathon. At kilometre 12 they pass across the fascinating Straussberger Platz, where Frankfurter Allee begins. The houses here represent the showpiece architecture of 1950s communist East Germany, and to this day, their generous staircases and flats continue to impress. 

At around kilometre 16 and 17, the marathon route passes Hermann square and turns west. Going uphill until around kilometre 21; runners will come by the so called Kreuzberg61, a more laid back area of the popular district. Here, everything is still a little more civil, greener and calmer than at Kottbusser Damm. At kilometre 21, runners are led through the York bridges, the remains of a train station which was destroyed during World War 2 and is now home to one of the most beautiful parks in Berlin.

The Gleisdreieckpark is a synthesis of greenery and sporting zones between railway tracks and in sight of the skyscrapers of Potsdamer Platz. Many new quarters have been developed here in recent years with prices starting from €5,000 and €9,000 per sq m.

After 23 km, the runners reach Rathaus Schöneberg, which served as West Berlin’s city hall in the days of the Cold War. It was here that John F. Kennedy spoke his famous words that declared everyone living in freedom a Berliner: “All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words ‘Ich bin ein Berliner!’” The route continues toward Steglitz, one of the most bourgeois districts of Berlin. If you appreciate security and comfort, you will feel right at home in this southwestern part of the city. Good schools, high income brackets, and a wide variety of up-scale residential buildings old and new form the foundation of high-end living. Moreover, the district lies within easy reach of local recreation areas like the lakeshore of Wannsee or the Botanical Garden. 

After kilometre 29, the itinerary circles back from the tranquil residential neighbourhoods of southwest Berlin toward downtown until it reaches Kurfürstendamm, the high-street boulevard of West Berlin. On the way there, runners traverse the district of Wilmersdorf. Initially, coming from Steglitz, the streets are still lined by generously dimensioned garden plots before the cityscape becomes more densely built-up after kilometre 30. A number of embassies and private banks indicate the well-heeled constituency of these neighbourhoods. Residential developments in any of the side streets here will not sell below €10,000 per sq m. The posh ambience contrasts starkly with the 1970 architecture around Fehrbelliner Platz. 

Having covered 33 kilometres, the runners hit Kurfürstendamm proper, and head for the Memorial Church. Kurfürstendamm is the prime high street pitch of West Berlin and one of its central business streets. But the splendid Belle Époque mansions also house private residences. Fancy stairwells, plenty of stucco, floor-to-ceiling heights of more than 4 metres, apartments of 200 sq m, historic lifts – these are typical features along Kurfürstendamm that have stood the test of time. Never before or after, were houses as lavishly built in Berlin as during that time. However, some developers have lately modelled their own designs on these historic precedents, and are putting exclusive town house apartments on the market. One such project is Am Hochmeisterplatz directly next to a park and only 100 metres from Kurfürstendamm. The up-market condominiums here have an average price tag of €10,000 per sq m. 

^{Above: Am Hochmeisterplatz}

At the Memorial Church, Kurfürstendamm turns into Tauentzienstrasse. As they reach Wittenbergplatz, the runners have put 35 kilometres behind them and are re-entering Schöneberg district. On their right lies KADEWE, the biggest department store in Continental Europe and a must-do stop on the agenda of any shopping tourist. Locals like it most for its luxurious delicatessen department, which extends over an entire floor. At the 37 kilometres mark, the route turns north, going up Potsdamer Strasse which has retained some of its rough charm even though it is now considered a hot spot of Berlin’s art and gallery scene. Here, too, the prices for attic apartments with a view of Potsdamer Platz now run as high as €10,000 per sq m. 

After 38 kilometres, the runners reach the museum cluster known as Kulturforum and Potsdamer Platz just beyond it. Here, in the former no-man’s land of the Berlin Wall, an entirely new urban sub-district with high-rises, shopping arcades, office towers, hotels, cinemas, a casino and a vaudeville theatre was created around the turn of the millennium. Rental flats here are let at rate of €19 per sq m or more. Having crossed the square, the runners come across the octagon-shaped Leipziger Platz just east of it, before the street widens into a broad stretch of boulevard fringed by high-rises along Leipziger Strasse. You can tell that the marathon is back in the eastern part of the city. 

The route passes through the historic town centre, past Gendarmenmarkt, one of Berlin’s finest squares, and across Unter den Linden, the grand avenue of downtown East Berlin. At present, the most expensive flats anywhere in Berlin are sold in this part of the inner city. Square metre prices can go far beyond the mark of €20,000. But for this kind of money you get unique views, e.g. of the rebuilt City Palace, the Cathedral or the historic Schauspielhaus by Friedrich Schinkel. 

Crossing the Brandenburg Gate marks the finish of the Berlin marathon, and it is no doubt its highlight, too. Nowhere else in the world do you get to finish a marathon by passing through the host city’s signature monument.