Berlin Backyards

Between everyday life, labour and encounters

   

Berlin is a city of backyards: dense, diverse, lively. Who meets here? How are these spaces changing? And what is going on there?

Location
Museum Ephraim-Palais
Poststraße 16
10178 Berlin

Opening Hours
Tue – Sun | 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (also on public holidays)
Mon closed

Tickets
7 euros (single ticket) | 15 euros (combi-ticket*) | free admission (under 18 years or with reduction)

* Valid for our three museums in the Nikolaiviertel (Museum Nikolaikirche, Museum Ephraim-Palais, Museum Knoblauchhaus) on two consecutive days .


Berlin backyards have a lot to tell. Since the industrial revolution in the 19th century at the latest, Berlin has been a center of attraction for people from other regions of Germany and from other countries. The history of the city has therefore always been a history of migration.

Due to enormous population growth, spatial expansion and structural densification, Berlin is characterized by backyards like no other city. They are used for residential, educational, commercial, artistic, culinaric and many other purposes. Their history is diverse, just like the people who live there. With the special exhibition “Berliner Höfe” (Berlin Backyards) on the 3rd floor of the Museum Ephraim-Palais, the Stadtmuseum Berlin invites you to explore these urban spaces between past and present.

The backyards are exemplary of urban coexistence with all its contradictions. They show how people shape space. And they encourage us to take a closer look: What can backyards tell us about Berlin? What about ourselves? In short: What is going on there?

Entrance to a Berlin backyard in Kottbusser Straße, Kreuzberg, ca. 1975-77
© Stadtmuseum Berlin | Foto: Ludwig Binder

Graphics, photography and history

The special atmosphere of the Berlin backyards has repeatedly inspired graphic artists, draughtsmen and photographers to create images. In the exhibition, highlights from the museum collection meet the artistic works of urban researchers Duygu Örs and Sinthujan Varatharajah, which were created especially for “Berliner Höfe”. Using sounds and light, they deal with different sensory impressions from backyards that Örs and Varatharajah encountered in Wedding.

In addition, the junior curators from the Refik Veseli School in Kreuzberg and their mentor Yella Hoepfner present their own spaces in the permanent exhibition “BerlinZEIT” on the first and second floors of the museum. Their individual stories interact with objects from the collection.

You are also in demand: our photo call “Berlin now!” invites you to send in your personal pictures of the Berlin backyards. This will create new, unexpected views of seemingly everyday places.

Permanent exhibition

Also visit our large Berlin exhibition on the 1st and 2nd floors of the Museum Ephraim-Palais!

Das Plakatmotiv zur Ausstellung
© Stadtmuseum Berlin | Fotos: Philip Myrtop auf Unsplash, Rolf Goetze, Cecil F. S. Newman, Marlene Leppänen auf Pexels, Harry Croner, Raimund Franke, unbekannte:r Fotograf:in, Cottonbro Studios auf Pexels, Walter Schulze, Leonore Schwarzer und Vindhya Chandrasekharan auf Pexels | Lithografie: unbekannte:r Künstler:in | Druck: Groupe Dejour

BerlinZEIT

The city makes hitory!

Visit our comprehensive exhibition on Berlin’s city history in the Museum Ephraim-Palais.

Info & Service

Opening Hours

Tue – Sun | 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (also on public holidays)
Mon closed

The visitor rules of the Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin apply.

Directions

Poststraße 16
10178 Berlin

Tickets

Admission

Combi-Ticket
15 euros
Valid for our three museums in the Nikolaiviertel (Museum Nikolaikirche, Museum Ephraim-Palais, Museum Knoblauchhaus) on two consecutive days (please note opening hours)

Single Ticket
7 euros
Day ticket for the Museum Ephraim-Palais

Free admission
With proof of reduction

For children & young people under 18, students, trainees, FSJ/FÖJ/BFD volunteers, Berlin-Ticket-S holders, severely disabled persons (with mark B) & accompanying person, refugees (with valid work or residence permit /eAT and Ukrainian passport or valid residence permit from Ukraine), recipients of residence permit /eAT and Ukrainian passport or valid residence permit from Ukraine), recipients of transfer benefits (citizen’s allowance, ALG I), holders of the Berlin-Brandenburg volunteer card, holders of the Super Holiday Pass / Berlin Family Pass, ICOM members, members of the German Museums Association, members of the Verein der Freunde und Förderer des Stadtmuseums Berlin e. V., KulturPass holders, media representatives with a valid press card

Contact

Infoline
+49 30 240 02 – 162
Mo – Fri | 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Write E-Mail

Accessibility

The Ephraim-Palais is accessible without steps. All exhibition areas are accessible via an elevator. There are barrier-free toilets in the building.

Frequently Asked Questions