Where Was Sonnenallee Filmed?

The Short Answer

Most of Sonnenallee was filmed at Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam, where a 130-meter street set called Berliner Straße was built to recreate 1970s East Berlin. Some exteriors were shot on the real Sonnenallee in Neukölln, at the East Side Gallery, and at a former school in Köpenick where the famous dance scene was filmed.

Leander Haußmann's 1999 comedy about teenagers growing up on the eastern end of Sonnenallee needed a 1970s East Berlin that had largely vanished. After the Wall fell, the real street had changed too much to pass for its former self, so the production took an unusual route: it rebuilt the whole neighborhood from scratch.

The result was Berliner Straße, a detailed 130-meter backlot at Studio Babelsberg complete with reconstructed tenements, a stretch of wall, a kiosk, and a playground. A handful of genuine Berlin locations appear as well, and several of them can still be tracked down today.

Every Location At A Glance

Location	Where	What was filmed	Access
Sonnenallee street	Berlin	Exterior street scenes including parts near the former border crossing	Free to see
East Side Gallery	Berlin	Opening scene showing the wall adjacent to Sonnenallee	Free to see
Former 30. POS Paul Wengels school	Berlin	Legendary dance/tanz scene and some exterior shots	Outside only
Berliner Straße backlot set	Potsdam	Main street set with reconstructed East Berlin buildings, wall, kiosk, playground	Ticketed

Filming Locations Map

4 locations. The map loads when it scrolls into view.

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Location By Location

The real street in Neukölln stands in for itself in exterior scenes, with footage shot between S-Bahnhof Sonnenallee and Treptower Straße. Scenes involving West packages were filmed near the former border crossing, an area that is now a park with a memorial. The street is public and easy to reach, so visitors can walk the stretch themselves and compare it with what appears on screen.

The film's opening scene, showing the wall adjacent to Sonnenallee, was shot at this heavily touristed section of the Berlin Wall in Friedrichshain. The preserved paintings make it one of the city's most visited sights today. It is freely accessible at any time, but arriving early in the day is the practical way to see the murals without the thickest crowds.

The legendary dance scene and some exterior shots were filmed at this former school in Köpenick's Allende-Viertel II, chosen because it retained original DDR-era fittings. The building has since likely been repurposed or closed as a school, and access is exterior only. Fans can view it from the street, though there is little on-site interpretation connecting it to the film.

The heart of the production: a main street set with reconstructed East Berlin buildings, the wall, a kiosk, and a playground, built because the real Sonnenallee no longer matched its 1970s appearance. The set became permanent and went on to appear in later films such as Herr Lehmann, Mein Führer, and Russendisko. It stands on the grounds of Filmpark Babelsberg and can be visited with a ticket. The yellow newspaper kiosk from the film stood here until autumn 2020.

Where It Is Set Versus Where It Was Filmed

The story is set in 1970s East Berlin on the shorter eastern end of Sonnenallee near the Berlin Wall, but almost none of it was filmed there. The production primarily used a reconstructed set at Studio Babelsberg, with only limited real Berlin exteriors in Neukölln, Friedrichshain, and Köpenick filling in the gaps.

The Studio Side

Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam hosted the bulk of the shoot. The purpose-built Berliner Straße set, 130 meters long, recreated an East Berlin street in detail and later became a permanent, Europe-unique backlot reused by many subsequent productions. Today the studio grounds are partly open to the public through Filmpark Babelsberg, where visitors can see the surviving street set.

Tours That Visit These Locations

Seeing the main filming site in person is easiest with a guided visit that includes Babelsberg Film Studio among its stops.

5-Hour Film History By VW Bus

Potsdam-Babelsberg: 5-Hour-Tour "Film-History" by VW-Bus

This five-hour film history tour by VW bus covers Potsdam and Babelsberg with a stop at the film studio, pairing well with a visit to the Filmpark grounds where the Berliner Straße set still stands. It costs $428 and holds a 4.9 rating from 7 reviews.

4.9 out of 5 · 7 reviews

From$428Check availability

Frequently Asked Questions

Was Sonnenallee filmed on the real street?

Only partly. Some exterior scenes were shot on the real Sonnenallee in Neukölln between S-Bahnhof Sonnenallee and Treptower Straße, including West package scenes at the former border crossing. The bulk of the film was shot on a purpose-built set at Studio Babelsberg.

Why was the Berliner Straße set built?

After the Wall fell, the real Sonnenallee no longer matched its 1970s appearance, so the production built a 130-meter street set at Babelsberg recreating East Berlin buildings, the wall, a kiosk, and a playground. The set later became a permanent backlot used in films like Herr Lehmann, Mein Führer, and Russendisko.

Can you visit the filming locations?

Yes. The Sonnenallee street and East Side Gallery are public, the former school in Köpenick can be viewed from outside, and the Berliner Straße set can be seen at Filmpark Babelsberg with a ticket.

Where was the dance scene filmed?

The legendary dance scene was shot at the former 30. POS Paul Wengels school in Berlin-Köpenick, which retained original DDR-era fittings at the time of filming.

Does the yellow kiosk from the film still exist on site?

The yellow newspaper kiosk stood on the Filmpark Babelsberg grounds until autumn 2020, but it is no longer there. The Berliner Straße street set itself remains part of the Filmpark.

Is there a tour that covers the studio?

Yes, a five-hour film history tour by VW bus includes a stop at Babelsberg Film Studio. It costs $428 and is rated 4.9 from 7 reviews, making it a convenient option for travelers wanting context beyond a self-guided Filmpark visit.

Sonnenallee rewards two kinds of visits: a walk along the real street and border park in Neukölln, and a trip out to Potsdam where the reconstructed East Berlin of the film survives as a working backlot. Combine both and you get the full picture of how 1970s Berlin was rebuilt for the camera.