Archaeologists have unearthed Berlin’s oldest street, and it is actually pretty cool. Even though it was likely built in the 13th century, the wooden planks look surprisingly fresh.
Berlin’s oldest street, located on what is today Stralauer Straße. This view is looking east, with the Altes Stadthaus visible on the left hand side of the image. © Landesdenkmalamt Berlin, M. Malliaris
Redeveloping Molkenmarkt
Anyone who has traveled through Mitte in the past couple of years has likely been annoyed by the construction project taking place directly behind the Rotes Rathaus (City Hall).
The project is more than just a simple road resurfacing: it is part of a complete redesign of the Molkenmarkt, one of the oldest squares in the city. The goal is twofold: recapture some of the historic aspects of the square, and make it a more welcoming place for pedestrians and residents, rather than the enormous, horrible, slightly terrifying crossroads it has been since the end of World War II.
Archaeological Dig Unearths Berlin’s Oldest Street
As part of the project, archaeologists have had the first crack at the excavations. This is one of the oldest areas of the city, so planners wanted to make sure that they were able to capture and catalogue any cool stuff that they found.
Stuff like, as it happens, super old streets.
The wooden planks have been covered by dense layers of dirt for centuries, which is why archaologists believe they are still in such good shape. © Landesdenkmalamt Berlin, M. Malliaris
The planks consist of oak, birch, and pine trees, and are about 2.5 meters below today’s street level. Historians believe that it is the first constructed road ever built in the city, and this location in particular was apparently quite wet and muddy at the time. It allowed people and carts to more easily travel from Mühlendamm towards Stralauer Tor.
Approximate location of Berlin’s oldest street, overlayed on a contemporary map.
The road is approximately 6 meters wide, and 50 meters have been uncovered so far. It consists of at least two layers of wood: the bottom layer consists of roughly cut logs that run in parallel to the direction of the street, and the upper layer is perpendicular to the bottom layer.
Looking west along the plank road towards Nikolaikirche. Archaeologists believe that the lack of worn tread marks means that the road was covered up rather soon after it was first constructed. © Landesdenkmalamt Berlin, M. Malliaris
To learn more about the redevelopment of the historic Molkenmarkt, I highly recommend heading to the official website to check it out: https://molkenmarkt.berlin.de/planung/