information

It doesn’t matter what side of the Wall they live on, Berliners everywhere love their summerhouses and gardens. The Fichtewiese allotments are unique because they occupy an exclave, which means they’re in West Berlin but surrounded on all sides by East Berlin territory. To reach their gardens, the owners have to walk through the death strip and can only make the trip at certain times of the day.

Marianne Schemmel had one of the allotments. She still has vivid memories of the routine, and talks about how it just became a part of normal life.

locations

• Kolonie Fichtewiese, Uferpromenade, 13587 Berlin

  showtime

  5

  latitude

  52.58547

  longitude

  13.211059