The Complete Guide to a Kosher Trip to Berlin

Berlin's Jewish community, one of the fastest-growing in Europe in recent decades, centers around the Mitte district and Oranienburger Strasse — within walking distance of the Brandenburg Gate and Germany's central Holocaust memorial. Here's a short guide to planning your visit.

Synagogues and Chabad House

The New Synagogue on Oranienburger Strasse, with its striking golden dome, is Berlin's most recognizable Jewish landmark and today also serves as a cultural center (Centrum Judaicum). Rykestraße Synagogue, the largest in Europe, holds regular services. Chabad Berlin, on Münstersche Strasse, hosts the community with prayers, Shabbat meals and a mikveh.

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Where to eat

Beth Café on Tucholskystrasse, in the heart of Mitte, and Hummus und Friends on Oranienburger Strasse are two central options. Eivgi's in Schöneberg and Brammibal's Donuts (Mitte branch) add variety. KosherLife on Brunnenstrasse covers grocery shopping.

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The Holocaust Memorial — the underground exhibit

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, a field of 2,711 concrete pillars near the Brandenburg Gate, is always open and free to enter. Less well known: beneath the field of pillars is an underground Information Center with personal documentation of murdered families — free admission, and worth setting aside at least an hour on its own.

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Brandenburg Gate — most beautiful at dusk

The 18th-century Brandenburg Gate, which for decades symbolized the divide between East and West Berlin, is today the symbolic meeting point of the reunified city. Practical tip: arrive at dusk, when the warm lighting highlights the sculptures atop the gate and its Doric columns, and the square is far less crowded than during the day.

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Between the living community in Mitte, the Holocaust Memorial and the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin offers a deep encounter with Jewish history alongside a vibrant, ever-renewing European city.