Approach Lighting (1962)
Orientation for safe landing
The term lighting goes back to seafaring, when harbor entrances were marked with beacons. Tempelhof Airport has had an electric lighting system since the 1948 airlift.
It was replaced in 1962. Since then, this system has shown pilots the way to the runway well outside the airfield.

Balloon Hall (1965)
Ascent in the service of science
The Institute for Meteorology at the Free University of Berlin and the German Weather Service prepared weather balloons here from 1965 to 1993. These served as carriers for small measuring devices that measured air temperature, humidity, air pressure and wind at different altitudes.
The world record was achieved here at an altitude of around 52 km, a great success for research into the stratosphere.

Central Airport (Zentralflughafen, 1951–1962) and the GAT General Aviation Terminal (1994–2008)
Finally, civil air traffic
After the end of the airlift in 1949, civil air traffic slowly started up again. The US allies handed over part of the airport to the Berlin Senate. Civil aviation officially began in 1951, operated exclusively by the Allied airlines: Pan American, Air France and British European Airways.
The US Air Force did not yet release the monumental reception hall. Therefore, West Berlin's central airport with departure and arrival areas was housed here in the side wing. The lettering "Central Airport" marked this provisional entrance area.
The main hall went into operation in 1962. The lettering now stands above the main entrance in the courtyard of honor, where it remains to this day.
The GAT went into operation in 1994 as a terminal for passengers on private jets.

CHECK-IN Visitor Center (2020)
Information center of Tempelhof Airport
The visitor center houses an exhibition about the history of the airport and is the starting point for guided tours of the building. Information evenings and conferences with renowned experts take place here.

DVOR rotating beacon (late 1950s)
Invisible lighthouse for aircraft
The rotating beacon sends a main signal that goes evenly in all directions. At the same time, it sends a signal that rotates around the station. By comparing these signals, the pilots can navigate the landing flight safely and precisely.

Fire Department Training Aircraft (1988)
Training for emergencies
The US-based Tempelhof Airways, based in Berlin, used the Nord 262 from the French manufacturer Nord Aviation from 1985 to 1991. One of these short-haul feeder aircraft crash-landed in 1987.
The damage was not great, but the aircraft remained prone to breakdowns and was taken out of service in 1988. From then on, the fire department used it as a training aircraft in order to be prepared for a rapid evacuation of passengers in emergencies.

Hangars with a Covered Apron (1936)
Ambitious roof construction and secret writing on concrete
The ambivalence of monumentality and modernity is characteristic of the airport's architecture. All facades facing the city are clad in natural stone. The modern steel construction of the hall arch is clearly visible at the back.
The pier in the middle of the building and the hangars on either side are covered by a 40 m cantilevered roof construction without columns - a pioneering engineering feat. Stands for 80,000 spectators were planned on the roof, from where they would watch the Nazi air force's air shows. But the stairwells in many of the 13 tower buildings remain unfinished.
Today, refugees are housed in hangars 1 to 3. Events such as the VELOBerlin bicycle festival take place in the other hangars and on the apron.
There are numerous listed markers on the concrete apron. They date from different periods of airport operation, during which they were used to control traffic for aircraft, helicopters, ground vehicles and pedestrians, among others.

KZ Columbia (1935–1936) and the monument (2024)
The only SS concentration camp in Berlin & a memory of a place of Nazi terror
From 1933, the Secret State Police (Gestapo) used a military detention facility in the Prussian barracks complex on Columbiadamm as a prison. Political opponents were imprisoned here. From 1935, the SS integrated it into the concentration camp system.
Until it was closed, 8,000 prisoners were housed in 156 cells under inhumane conditions, often for just a few days. Torture and murder took place.
In 1936, the Reich Aviation Ministry ordered the concentration camp to be closed to make way for the new airport. The prisoners were taken to Sachsenhausen concentration camp.
Since 2024, the lettering has no longer been visible and marks the memorial site for the concentration camp. It complements the monument opposite from 1994, which symbolizes a cell building.

Postal and Freight Yard No. 2 (1936)
Separate functional levels
The two symmetrically arranged freight yards are located on the 3rd basement floor, the lowest point of the airport. Here you can see how the building is integrated into the natural slope of the site. The total of 11 floors are only visible from here.
The separation of the traffic flows of passengers, baggage, freight and mail was innovative at the time and set the trend for airport construction worldwide.

Rail and Road Tunnel (1936)
Connection with urban transport | Forced labor
The tunnel was built in 1936 as the first construction phase. The railway tracks, which are lower than the ground, run from Columbiadamm to the Hermannstrasse ring station. Materials for the airport construction are transported via this connection.
From 1944, the underground tunnels, together with the hangars, become a site for armaments production. Forced laborers assemble the Ju 87 dive bomber aircraft, among other things, under miserable conditions. They are housed in several barracks camps that are built around the airport.

South Runway (after 1945)
Runways for candy bombers and civil air traffic
In the 1930s, grass areas were considered the ideal runway for take-off and landing. The propeller planes rolled from the hangars onto a wide path that surrounded the airfield. They then drove to one of the three original semi-circular concrete aircraft parking spaces.
Here they warmed up the engines and drove at high speed against the wind onto the field and took off. It was only after the US armed forces took over the airport that paved runways were built.

The Berlin Air Bridge Monument (Luftbrückendenkmal)
Enemies Become Friends
Hardly any historical event is as closely linked to Tempelhof Airport as the Berlin Airlift of 1948/49. In June 1948, Soviet troops blocked the access routes to West Berlin. At the initiative of the US military, air supplies began immediately.
A transport plane landed almost every two minutes with food, medicine, and fuel. The American planes, which also dropped sweets for children, went down in history as the "Raisin Bombers."
This memorial, also known as the "Hungerrake" (Hunger Rake), commemorates the victims of the airlift. Its three ribs symbolize the three air corridors between West Germany and West Berlin.

The Courtyard of Honor with a sculpture of an eagle's head (1936)
Self-portrayal of the Nazi regime
The courtyard of honor is surrounded by administrative buildings that frame the monumental reception hall. During the Nazi era, the six-meter-high sculpture of an eagle, enthroned on a globe with a massive swastika, was on its roof.
After the end of the war, the US allies initially only removed the swastika. It was not until 1962 that the entire sculpture was dismantled by US troops and later scrapped.
Only the head has survived and has stood in the forecourt since 1985.

The Old "Berlin Airport" (1923)
Europe's air hub
The airport, which opened in 1923 on Tempelhofer Feld, quickly developed into the air hub with the highest passenger volume in Europe. The reception building on Columbiadamm was expanded several times.
Planning for a new airport building further west on Tempelhofer Damm began in the early 1930s. From 1939 to 1945, the old airport building, which was now located in the middle of the runway of the new airport, was used primarily for military purposes.
The building was badly damaged during the war and demolished after the war.

THF TOWER with a rooftop terrace (2023)
Location with a spectacular view
The former air traffic control tower has been open to the public since 2023 under the name THF Tower - renovated in accordance with monument protection and barrier-free. THF was the airport code for Tempelhof.
An exhibition shows the eventful history. There is space for events, concerts and yoga on the roof terrace.

View of the U.S. Army radar tower (1982)
Monitoring the airspace
The filigree design of the radar tower, built in 1982, is a deliberate contrast to the monumental architectural style of the airport. Adolf Behrens developed this radar tower on behalf of the U.S. Army.
The tower head stands on four pillars like a bowl. When it storms, the pillars sway, but the tower head with ring platform and dome does not move a millimeter. A highly sensitive radar device is housed in the dome.
During the Cold War, the Air Force controlled the airspace in the so-called Eastern Bloc from here. Since 1993, the German Air Force has used this radar system to monitor German airspace.
The special design ensures that the radar continues to function properly to this day.

Weather Station (1939–1984) and Community Center (2017)
From the aviation weather service to the house for civic engagement
To this day, in-depth knowledge of weather conditions is crucial for safe aviation. After 1945, the US Air Force expanded the building, which was built in 1939, into an aviation weather station.
The building has been open for civic engagement since 2017. The Haus 104 Tempelhofer Feld association coordinates the public welfare-oriented offers.