The Flutgraben channel has marked the border between
Treptow and Kreuzberg since 1920. After 1945, this adminis-
trative boundary became the border between the two systems
in the East and West. It was barricaded by the GDR govern-
ment during the night from 12 to 13 August 1961, but the bus
depot and state-owned bus and truck repair facility located
between the Flutgraben, were left standing and are where
Arena Berlin offers a variety of cultural programs today. As
companies of the border, they were barricaded and guarded
around the clock. Only workers were allowed to enter through checkpoints. One of the repair facility buildings was right on
the Flutgraben and therefore directly on the border. Although
many of the East Berlin buildings on the border were replaced
by border barriers, this workshop building directly on the Flut-
graben was left standing although several people used it to
escape. It now serves as artist studios for Flutgraben e.V., but
traces of the GDR border system are still visible there today.
Prominent relics of former border installations – the
watchtower in Schlesischer Busch and the Osthafensteg –
are also close by.