Maps of Movies

Good Bye, Lenin! (2003)

Where Good Bye, Lenin! says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

A flat in a prefab block, a Coca-Cola building, a boulevard without a statue: the Berlin that Alex keeps alive for his mother was filmed in a handful of places, and not all of them are where the story says.

Scenes and places

The 40th anniversary at the Palace of the Republic (1989)

On the 40th anniversary of East Germany, Christiane goes to the celebration of the party faithful she has devoted herself to. Her son Alex scorns it, and the two see the same day very differently.

Set in Palace of the Republic, East Berlin — The East German parliament and culture house where the party leadership celebrates the republic's 40th anniversary. Google Maps · Apple Maps

The palace stood on the site of today's Humboldt Forum in central Berlin; the sources name no filming place for this scene.

The demonstration of 7 October 1989 (1989)

Alex joins the demonstration and meets a girl, Lara, before the police pull them apart. Christiane sees her son arrested and beaten, and that moment sets the whole film in motion.

Set in Demonstration, East Berlin — Alex joins an evening protest against the government and is separated from a girl he has just met.

The exact site of the demonstration is not given in the sources.

The hospital where Christiane lies in a coma (1989)

Visiting his mother, Alex finds that her nurse is Lara, the girl from the demonstration. Months later, when Christiane wakes, he is told that any shock could be life-threatening and sets out to hide what has changed.

Set in Charité hospital, Berlin — The hospital in central Berlin where Christiane is treated and where Alex sees his mother and the nurse Lara. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A large university hospital in the centre of Berlin. According to German Wikipedia the real Charité was not used for these scenes.

The Kerner family flat in the Plattenbau (1990)

Alex brings his mother home to the flat and rebuilds her old East German room, hiding the West that has arrived outside. Every new object and every noise has to be explained away.

Set in Kerner family flat, East Berlin — The 79 square metre prefab flat where the family lives and where Alex keeps the old East alive around his mother. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A prefab apartment block near Alexanderplatz; the original plan placed it on Leninplatz.

Filmed at Berolinastraße 21, Berlin (Mitte, Berlin, Germany) — German Wikipedia says the flat was moved to Berolinastraße 21; the interiors were shot in a studio. The coordinate is the street, not the building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Near Alexanderplatz, a short walk from the Alex.

The Coca-Cola headquarters (1990)

Western brands pour into the East, and a giant Coca-Cola banner appears opposite the flat. Alex has to invent a story fast to keep his mother from seeing what it means.

Set in Coca-Cola headquarters, Berlin — The Coca-Cola company building that stands for the West arriving in the East. Google Maps · Apple Maps

An office complex far from the Alexanderplatz area, filmed on its real location.

Filmed at Former Coca-Cola headquarters, Lichterfelde (Lichterfelde, Berlin, Germany) — German Wikipedia lists the former Coca-Cola headquarters in Lichterfelde as an original location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: In the south of Berlin, in Lichterfelde.

The Lenin statue flown away (1990)

While Alex sleeps, Christiane walks out and sees furniture in the street, Western adverts and a Lenin statue flying by on a helicopter. The world she knew is plainly gone, and Alex has to invent an answer.

Set in Karl-Marx-Allee, East Berlin — The boulevard where Christiane, wandering out alone, sees a Lenin statue carried off by helicopter. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A long Soviet-era boulevard lined with prefab blocks, central to the film's look.

Filmed at Karl-Marx-Allee, Berlin (Friedrichshain, Berlin, Germany) — German Wikipedia says the title scene was moved to the Karl-Marx-Allee. The statue is a computer composite. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: U-Bahn Schillingstraße or Strausberger Platz, then walk along the avenue.

The family dacha (1990)

Alex drives his mother to the family's country house, the only trip outside Berlin. In this calm place, Christiane tells her son something she has kept quiet for years.

Set in The Kerner family dacha — The family's weekend house outside Berlin, where the family spends the summer of 1978 in the opening images and returns to later. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A small town in Brandenburg, outside the Berlin radius where the rest of the film takes place.

Filmed at Finsterwalde (Finsterwalde, Berlin, Germany) — German Wikipedia says the dacha episode was filmed in Finsterwalde. The coordinate is the town, not the house. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Finsterwalde is in southern Brandenburg, about 100 km south of Berlin.

Filmed at Alexanderplatz, Berlin (Mitte, Berlin, Germany) — The Alex Google Maps · Apple Maps

Filmed at FEZ Wuhlheide, Berlin (Köpenick, Berlin, Germany) — The leisure centre Google Maps · Apple Maps

Filmed at Flea market at Nordbahnhof, Berlin (Mitte, Berlin, Germany) — The open-air flea market Google Maps · Apple Maps

Characters

• Alex — A young East Berliner who works to keep the fall of East Germany from his sick mother.
• Christiane — Alex's mother, a devoted East German socialist who wakes from a coma into a changed country.

Questions answered on the map

• Where is the Kerner family flat in Good Bye, Lenin! really?
• Where was the Lenin statue scene in Good Bye, Lenin! filmed?
• Which Berlin building plays the Coca-Cola headquarters in Good Bye, Lenin!?
• Where is the family dacha in Good Bye, Lenin!?