The German capital we all know and love wasn’t always like this. You know this, wars happened, things got rebuilt, and we even have several articles showing the past. But did you know that once Berlin had several market halls? And now we only have a few Berlin’s Historic Market Halls left? This is their story.
Berlin’s Historic Market Halls – the beginning
Market Hall in German is Markthalle, and by the year 1900, Berlin had 14 Historical Market Halls. Most of Berlin’s Historic Market Halls were designed following the plan of a dude called Hermann Blankenstein. He was a famous German architect who was for over 20 years the city councilor and planned the construction of all urban buildings.
Unfortunately, life sucks and many of Berlin’s Historic Market Halls were destroyed during the wars we had here. But we still have some left, and this post will show you some of the remaining Berlin’s Historic Market Halls you can see and visit today!
Why Berlin’s Historic Market Halls are a thing?
Berlin’s Historic Market Halls are a thing because back in the days the city of Berlin had a fantastic idea: give people easy access to fresh food. The city then built what we call Berlin’s Historic Market Halls all over. In other words, each borough in Berlin had a few of them.
Berlin today, like many other cities, have more supermarkets, so some of the remaining Berlin’s Historic Market Halls are being used for something else. The most famous Berlin’s Historic Market Halls are, of course, The Markthalle IX in Kreuzberg and Arminioushalle in Moabit. But there are a few more of them, and today you’ll find out all about it!
Markthalle Neun
Markthalle IX, or Markthalle Neun for those not familiar with Roman Numbers, is an old friend of Fotostrasse. We added it to our Berlin’s Underground Guide.
This Berlin Market Hall is without a doubt the most famous market still in use.
The name goes because all the 14 Berlin’s Historic Market Halls had actual numbers on their official names. The Markthalle Neun, or Market Hall nine, is the number 9 out of 14.
This market, along with ten others, we built back in 1891, with the construction of three more market halls following shortly after.
The windows of this Market Hall were painted black during WWII, and the whole building was severely damaged. After the war, it briefly served as a black market and in 1951 got a new everything for its 60th anniversary. Today Markthalle IX have food festivals, craft beer, a supermarket and other food-related events happening almost every day. Our favorite is the Street Food Thursdays, so try to visit this incredible place on this day of the week.
Markthalle Neun, Eisenbahnstrasse 42-43, Berlin, Germany, +49 030 61073473
Arminiushalle in Moabit, or Markthalle X
Arminiushalle in Moabit is what it was once called Markthalle X, the 10th market hall in Berlin. It was also built back in 1891 together with it’s “friend” Markthalle IX.
Arminiushalle is huge! The whole thing has over 3.500sqm. You can save an entire day for getting to know it all and drink al the beer you can!
About ten years ago, Berlin Großmarkt took over the operations of Arminiushalle and now you can mainly find gastronomic delights and artisanal goods. Of course, you can still find organic and fresh products just like the old days, but there are more stands selling arts and crafts now. Go there for the food and the burgers and stay for the craft beer! I mean it!
Arminiushalle is open six days a week and is closed only on Sundays. For more photos of the place, check Instagram!
Markthalle X, Arminiusstraße 2-4, Berlin, Germany, +49 01511 5307908
After the 9 and 10, comes the 11 – Marheineke Markthalle
This Berlin’s Historic Market Hall is located on the pretty side of Kreuzberg, Bergmannkiez. If you’re familiar with Berlin’s areas and neighborhoods, it is close to Viktoriapark. Viktoriapark is one of our favorite parks in Berlin, by the way!
Marheineke Markethalle is also from 1891, also destroyed in WWII and reconstructed in 1951. But this time they added a refurbished cellar to it. Markthalle XI is a bit smaller than its brother, the #10. With only 2500sqm it is considered one of the most modern of Berlin’s Historic Market Halls.
We truly recommend a visit if you like octopus and other delights from the sea. You can eat some fantastic seafood over there sometimes. And I sometimes say because since it is very fresh, somedays we are luckier than others.
Marheineke Markthalle is open on Sundays, which makes it perfect if you’re planning your week. Thursdays you go to the #9, Friday or Saturday you head down to Moabit, and on Sunday you can spend a beautiful day in the modern #11!
Marheineke Marthalle, Marheinekeplatz 15, Berlin, Germany, +49 030 50566536
Those were the ones you can visit and now the ones you can see
The Berlin’s Historic Market Hall number 1 was in Mitte. Its facade remains but the place is a residential space now. It is worth a visit if you’re in the area but keeps it in mind that is only for photos and nothing more — the same for the one on Dresdner Strasse in Kreuzberg, the Markthalle VII. But the last one has a restaurant, so maybe you can fit on your Friday or Saturday plan as we discussed above.
The Markthalle IV is a Government building, and the Markthalle VI is a modern supermarket. Both were in Mitte. And the Markthalle VI, a.k.a Ackerhalle, is the only one whose appearance is still in its original state.
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