Gates remain open, barbecues remain prohibited: Berlin’s Görlitzer Park will not be closed on May 1st

The Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and the Environment has now decided not to close the park from April 30th to May 2nd. The reason for this is stated in the current official gazette of the city of Berlin: Since several thousand people are expected to attend the rallies and celebrations, the Senate administration has lifted the closing times for security reasons.

“Due to the expected high density of groups and gatherings of people, increased safety precautions are required in order to exclude the risk of injuries, mass panic or other dangers as far as possible and to minimize the consequences as much as possible in the event of a risk being realised,” says the Official Journal.

If the park were to close on those two nights, “the options for avoiding or leaving potential crowd-related danger zones around Görlitzer Park would be significantly restricted.” Last year, the police counted 15,000 to 18,000 participants in the traditional May Day demonstration. In addition, numerous other gatherings such as celebrations and gatherings are expected in and around Görlitzer Park on May 1, 2026.

For example, there will be the techno demo “Free Görli – Rave against the Zaun”. “Experience shows that these meetings last well into the night on both days,” says the Berlin state administration.

Thousands of people are already expected for Walpurgis Night. A “queer-feminist” women’s demonstration entitled “Take back the night” will move through Kreuzberg.

The organizers of the May 1 demo are also expecting more than 10,000 participants this year. In protest against the night-time closure of Görlitzer Park in Kreuzberg, the demonstration is scheduled to pass through Wiener Straße directly in front of the park.

Police want to have an increased presence at Görlitzer Park

Apparently they don’t want to completely rule out attacks on the fence and the entrance gates: “And then we’ll see what steel and concrete can withstand against the resistance of tens of thousands,” the left-wing radical scene said back in February. “Or to put it poetically: No wall stands forever, no fence lasts forever and this order is also built on sand.”

When asked by the Tagesspiegel on Friday, the Berlin police told the Tagesspiegel that the planning had not yet been completed, but that they were “keeping an eye on the situation” because of the various registered meetings. Like every year, several hundred people will be there, this year more at Görlitzer Park.

After more than two years of discussion, the Berlin Senate decided to close the park at night. This is intended to combat the massive drug and violence problem.

The park has been fenced off and has been closed by security from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. since March 1st. He patrols the park with dogs and sends visitors out. The Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district is against this measure. Several groups, some of them radical, as well as initiatives from local residents have been protesting against it for years and have also filed a lawsuit against the closure, on which the Berlin administrative court has not yet made a final decision.

There were repeated targeted actions against the fence. At the beginning of the year, parts of the fence and entire swing gates were stolen, the locking mechanisms of the gates were sabotaged again and again, and replica keys for them were distributed at Easter.

The district announced in a public notice on Friday: “Barbecuing on the barbecue area in Görlitzer Park is not permitted.” Approved celebrations, parties and other events in the green areas are also prohibited. Park runners will be out and about “making sure that the green spaces are not overused”.