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In the south of Spandau on the former Berlin-Gatow airfield you’ll find the Military History Museum (MHM), dedicated to the history of military aviation in Germany since 1884. The runways are also a popular spot for inline skaters and cyclists.

In the spacious hangars and the open-air exhibition, aircraft with a history spanning more than a century of flight tell their stories. From replicas of the tethered balloons used for enemy reconnaissance in the First World War, to the legendary Messerschmidt Me 163, to helicopters, rocket launchers and fighter planes. Enemies from the Cold War – the American Starfighter F-104 and the Soviet MiG-29 – stand side-by-side on the runway peacefully rusting away as a reminder of an arms race should never happen again.

The British Royal Air Force was stationed at Gatow airfield for almost 50 years. During the blockade in 1948/49, transport planes calles Rosinenbomber landed here to supply West Berlin with food. The Queen’s plane also flew to Gatow when she visited Berlin.

The huge open-air grounds of the MHM are open to all for cycling or inline skating and are the perfect place to do it.

The MHM in Gatow is a branch of the Bundeswehr Military History Museum in Dresden.

At a glance

Am Flugplatz Gatow 33, 14089 Berlin

  • Free tours every sunday at 2 p.m.
  • Annual airfiled festival held in september
    (not in 2020 due to corona restrictions)
  • Go skating and biking at the airfield and outside areas
  • Close to Berlin Wall Trail

open Tuesday to Sunday 10 am - 6 pm

closed on Mondays, except for public holidays

closed on 24. Dec.-26.Dec. and 31.Dec.-01.Jan.

www.mhm-gatow.de

Around the corner

Dorf Gatow

Gatow village

Originally a roadside farming village directly by the Havel

Dorfkirche Kladow

Kladow village

In the very south – between the Havel and Groß Glienicker See

Hafen Kladow

Kladow harbour

Riverside promenade and ferry station