Didn’t soft cherries give the Murellenberg its name? The Murellenberg is part of a hilly landscape. It formed during the Weichselian Ice Age. This landscape sits in Berlin’s Ruhleben area. It is in the Westend part of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.
The Murellenberg is often called simply Murellenberg. It was formerly known as Morellenberge. It forms part of the Teltow plateau’s northernmost spur. This spur reaches toward the Berliner Urstromtal. Urban development largely severed the original natural area.
These mountains reach up to 62 meters high. The basin is incised up to 30 meters. They host diverse flora and fauna. Dry grassland areas are especially important. For over 150 years, the area served military and police purposes. This allowed the Schanzenwald forest stands to develop undisturbed.
In 1936, the Waldbühne was built in the ravine’s eastern part. Architect Werner March directed the construction. The National Socialists established an execution site in the mountains. This was for deserters and so-called “Wehrkraftzersetzer”.
Patricia Pisani’s Installation Memorial stands on the Murellenberg. It commemorates the victims. Pisani created it in 2002. The Murellenberg extends to where the Spree flows into the Havel. Beyond today’s nature reserve, it includes a police training area. The Ruhleben Cemetery is to the north.
The Spandau suburban railroad borders the area to the west. It was built in 1907. This railroad line marks the border between Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Spandau. The Murellenschlucht gorge and Ruhleben meadow border the site to the south and east. To the north, the Hempelsteig borders the area. Its course roughly follows the Elsgraben. The Elsgraben once separated the area. It has since been filled in.
The name Murellen comes from the Morelle. Morelle means soft cherry. The Brandenburg Name Book confirms this. An encyclopedia of Berlin street names also contains an entry. It’s under Murellenweg. Murellenweg leads from the Ruhleben meadow to the Ruhleben housing estate. The entry reads: “Murellen, overgrown cherries that gave the Murellenberge their name.” A derivation from moraine cannot be verified. Moraine refers to the area’s geological structure.
Geologically, the Murellenberg belongs to the Teltow plateau. The Havel separates the Teltow plateau from the Nauener Platte. The Spreeniederung separates the plateau from the Barnim. The Grunewald features thick meltwater sands. Around Schildhorn, Pichelsberg and the Murellenberg, ice compressed the sands. This created a thrust and terminal moraine landscape.
Today’s dry valley, Murellen Gorge, is a former dead ice channel. It cuts up to 30 meters deep. The gorge runs along the southern edge. It separated the Murellenberg from the Pichelsberg. The drainage channel stretched to the Stößensee. In the other direction, it continues in the Fließwiese Ruhleben. The Schanzenwald forest is part of the Spreeniederung valley sand area.
Numerous erratic boulders show the ice’s landscape-shaping power in the Murellenberg. Two blocks are protected as natural monuments. One is in the Murellen Gorge. The other was moved to the Ruhleben subway station in 1968. The Murellenberg and Schanzenwald are in a temperate climate zone. This zone transitions from Atlantic to continental climates. The climate matches Berlin’s outskirts. Parts of the Murellen Gorge are considered inner-city “cold islands”.
Increasing development has caused the Murellenberg to lose its connection to the surrounding landscape. The northern boundary of the Grunewald excludes the Murellenberg. In the past, the mountains belonged to the Grunewald forest. The Prussian Kartenaufnahme of 1835 describes the Murellenschlucht as a valley within the Spandauer Heide.
The Waldbühne was built in the Murellenschlucht’s eastern part. This happened during the 1936 Summer Games construction. The Waldbühne is an open-air stage for 22000 spectators. The southern slope was filled with rubble between 1948 and 1950.
Interventions in the Schanzenwald’s northern area began in 1840. Barracks and shooting ranges were built. After World War II, British forces used the area as a training ground. Since 2007, it has been open to the public again. Part of it was included in the Murellenschlucht und Schanzenwald nature reserve.