Trabiwerkstatt
Unfortunately the Trabiwerkstatt is no more, long live the Trabiwerkstatt. It shall live on in our hearts, but can no longer be accessed in this world. Below is the original post from 2017 for archival purposes.
Fossil-fueled fossils
Of all the Casanovas out there, East Germans were the worst for leaving broken hearts on the scrapheap.
Easily distracted by the sight of anything new and shiny โ bananas were exotic in the DDR โ they would drop loyalties quicker than hot snot at the thought of something different, as most unfortunate Trabants can tell you.
Trabis were discarded in their thousands after Mauerfall, denigrated, belittled, humiliated and scorned, as they were abandoned for fancy western motors with unfriendly names like Volkswagen.
All the good times were forgotten, the smoke-filled Trabi trips to Ostsee, FKK nudist beaches, nudist forests, the nudist voyages to the Czech Republic or even Hungary, FKK visits to the in-laws in Karl-Marx-Stadt (Yay, East Germany!), the endless days, the endless roads, the endless nudity.
Well, it all ended when the Berlin Wall came down. East Germans put their clothes back on for Bavarian cars.
Some Trabis survived the great Trabi Treason but their numbers are lamentably low. I donโt have figures for exactly how many were simply thrown away like Trump apologistsโ or Brexit cheerleaders’ brains.
To be honest, I couldnโt bring myself to check. Facts donโt seem to matter these days anyway.
One poor Trabi prototype โ just one example! โ lies covered in the residue of time in a forgotten garage no longer tended by humans. Only mice and perhaps the odd passing fox bother checking in on it now. Owls hoot at it at night but thereโs no response.
Itโs a pre-1959 AWZ P70 Zwickau or Sachsenring P70, the forerunner to the Trabant P50, and its silent suffering can be heard if you listen closely enough.
A thick layer of dust covers its roof and bonnet, tries to shield it from the outside world, but still it yearns to be free, roaming the roads as it did before, setting off on great new adventures. Every Trabi and their ilk dreams of new adventures.
At least itโs not alone. It has several other vehicles for company, Moskvitch 412s or later models, all in a sorry state, worse even than the poor P70. Theyโre all in a garage that needs fixing.
However, no mechanics have been here or in the adjoining house for years, possibly since Mauerfall, when the owner might have taken his lieblings Trabi over to the West in search of yellower bananas, maybe even swapping it for a banana when he got there โ these were crazy times, people did crazy things.
The fossil-fueled fossils are still dealing with the consequences nearly 30 years later, the ones that were left behind. Who knows what happened? I was unable to find the true story. One thingโs for sure โ a real Trabi tragedy (a Trabedy) has taken place.
LOCATION AND ACCESS (HOW TO FIND GUIDE)
- What: Trabiwerkstatt, an old garage from DDR times, maybe even before DDR times. Before, during or after, theyโre no more. Home to several old cars in varying states of decay, including a Trabi prototype from before 1959, long idle, waiting for a beautiful princess to come and wake it from its slumber.
- Where: Schรถnerlinder Str. 5, 13127 Berlin.
- How to get there: Get the No. 50 tram to Franzรถsisch Buchholz Kirche (Berlin) and walk from there. Or just cycle from wherever you happen to be. Sure, the weatherโs lovely.
- Getting in: No trouble here. Just have a quick scoot for nosy neighbors or passing Polizei and then walk through the front door once youโre sure the coast is clear. The garage and cars are out the back.
- When to go: Go during the day so you can see things. Itโs not a party location.
- Difficulty rating: 2/10. No trouble at all. Getting here is the only hurdle.
- Who to bring: Bring a mechanic with a toolbox fool of tools to see if he can resurrect any of these old beauties, especially that magnificent old P70. Save the Trabi prototype!
- What to bring: Well, apart from the toolbox, bring some beer for lubrication, a camera for the memories your brain will forget due to the lubrication, and a torch to see where youโre stepping so you donโt get injured in your lubricated state.
- Dangers: There are neighbors very, very close by, so watch out for them and stay discreet or they will call the Polizei. And if you get nabbed by Polizei because you were being a loudmouthed jackass, then youโve only yourself to blame. Stay quiet, be respectful, and everything will be fine. In fact, apply that no matter where you go and everything will be fine.
Photos (2017)
Filed 11/6/2017 | Updated 12/6/2017
Stopped in their tracks
Tempelhof
West Berlin’s lifeline during the Soviet Blockade, Tempelhof Airport has since become the cityโs biggest park. Berliners will fight to keep it that way.
Flugplatz Schรถnwalde
Germany’s Luftwaffe used Flugplatz Schรถnwalde for the war. The Soviets took over afterward and left their traces after abandoning the airfield in 1992.
Flugplatz Brand
Flugplatz Brand was strategically important for the Soviet Air Force. Thankfully its battalions of flying fighters remained on ice for the duration of the Cold War.
Well done, Irish Berliner ๐ The Trabant, however, is none. It’s an AWZ P70 “Zwickau”, “a car which was produced in East Germany by VEB Automobilwerke Zwickau (AWZ) between 1955 and 1959. It succeeded the IFA F8 using the same 684 cc two cylinder, two-stroke engine but with a completely new glass fibre body. The saloon was introduced in 1955, followed by an estate version in 1956 and a coupรฉ in 1957. In 1958 AWZ was united with the former Horch factory to become the VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke Zwickau and the AWZ P70 became the Sachsenring P70. The P70 was replaced by the Trabant P50 in 1959 after 36,151 examples had been produced.” (Q. f. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AWZ_P70_Zwickau) And the other three vehicle wrecks seem to be Moskvitch 412 or later models, at least the white one, produced by Soviet manufacturer MZMA/AZLK in Moscow from 1967 to 1975 (Cf. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moskvitch_412)
Vielen Dank anonymous tipster!
Over at komoot there is a bike tour to get there: komoot.com/tour/18018741
Update:
What to bring: Machete
Hello Spudnik!
Always gives me a smile on a dark and rainy winter day to read your posts!
Luckily it’s summer now.
I’m visiting Leipzig next week and I can find very little info about abandoned places there… I know I know.. u are AbandonedBerlin but maybe u can make an tiny little “exotic” trip and give me some tips!
Hope to hear from u soon.
Tschussi,
Nick
ps. I didnt find an other way to contact u so it had to be here.
True story. Without a machete it’s def a no go
Me and my friend went there a few weeks ago, all cars were there and looked awesome and the door is closed so we went through the window just in case someone wants to go
Hey! I love this page!! And abandoned places of course
Is there anyone interested in go here or any other abandoned place? Too lazy to go alone haha my mail is lis.17[at]live.com.ar if somebody want
We’ve been there today. We got in through the window. Everything is pretty much overgrown. We were actually looking for street art and found two or three good ones. Worth coming back from time to time ๐
Went here last weekend. Its a nice small abandoned place. Climb in through the window on the street site. Is it worth +1hr cycling to this location? Propably not. Still a nice excuse to explore the city.
I went yesterday, access still easy ๐ Nice little place to go. Although I’m not sure about the second floor anymore, looks like it could be really unsafe, so please take care.
Went here a few days ago and even though nature has claimed some more of it back it’s still all there. Plates on the table, cars in the garage. Super cool. There is a Bauhaus on the other side of the street where you can park, before you slip through the bent open gate. Easy as a piece of cake ๐
Heyy laila, you went in through the gate at number 5 directly or through the big gate on the right site nearby the parking at bauhaus. thanks in advance … cheers mallaya
right through the gate at number 5
Perfect , thank a tone – cheers Mallaya
Not very diffucult to get in. Just watch the street for kids and other people. Park your car at the gas station and just walk to the front door of the house. It’s in between the gas station and the Bauhaus on the left side of the road. To the right of the door there is a open window. Just climb in. Lots to see but just don’t make any noice. There is a garden next to of a normal house.
No entrence anymore.
The front door and the window are closed, but you can climb over the fence.
In deepest sadness I have to announce that this cozy little place has gone forever.
Well, I think I should explain my previous message: In fact, the main building, an old farmhouse, is still standing. Likewise, the stables on both sides of the property, which later served as auto repair shops. However, the trees were felled and the bushes were cleared in the yard and in front of the house. One part of one of the green ะะพัะบะฒะธั now lies next to the gate, along with other vehicle parts. Gate and front of the house are now surrounded by a hoarding. Yesterday afternoon I decided not to climb over this fence – there was too much going on the road. And in the yard one is now visible to the neighbours on both sides.
Its no more… no wrecks, boards on windows, the whole place was cleaned out…