Berlin news · 21 October 2026
Berlin Coalition Talks: SPD and Greens Vote Yes to Red-Green-Red
Berlin's SPD and Greens voted on 21 October to open formal coalition negotiations with Die Linke, which would give the Left Party a governing mayor for the first time. Die Linke's party congress decides on 31 October.
BVG to Scrap Ticket Vending Machines — Passenger Association Raises Alarm
Berlin's public transport operator BVG plans to replace all traditional ticket vending machines with cashless digital validators by 2029, a move the passenger association IGEB condemns as a threat to elderly and unbanked travellers.
Senate Experts Warned: Berlin's Planned Maglev Is Twice as Expensive as a Tram
Internal Senate documents show that Berlin's own transport experts cautioned that the planned magnetic-levitation line to Siemensstadt would cost up to 888 million euros — nearly three times the scrapped tram alternative — and put 17,000 planned homes at risk.
Berlin's Universities Are Crumbling — Students Plan October 31 Protest at Brandenburg Gate
With 14 buildings closed at TU Berlin alone and an 8.2-billion-euro renovation backlog across the capital's universities, student activists inspired by French protests are organising a demonstration at Brandenburg Gate on 31 October.
Fault Lines Inside Berlin's Planned Red-Green-Red Coalition
Despite the SPD and Greens voting to open coalition talks with Die Linke on 21 October, internal dissent within all three parties — over housing socialisation, antisemitism, and budget plans — threatens the deal ahead of Die Linke's decisive congress on 31 October.
Pro-Israel Advocate Condemns Coalition with Die Linke Over Antisemitism
Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society, called it 'completely incomprehensible' that Berlin's SPD and Greens would form a coalition with Die Linke, citing systemic antisemitism in the Left Party's Berlin branch.
Trial Begins in Berlin for Accused Killer of Three Family Members on Cape Verde
A Berlin court opened proceedings on 21 October against a 19-year-old accused of fatally stabbing three members of his family during a Christmas holiday on the Cape Verde islands.
Group Violence by Youths Rising Sharply in Berlin and Brandenburg
Berlin recorded 80,541 violent crimes in the past year — a third more than a decade ago — with police and researchers highlighting a sharp increase in pack attacks by groups of young people in the capital and Brandenburg.
Mosquitoes Bite Workers Year-Round Inside Potsdamer Platz Station
Staff at shops inside Berlin's Potsdamer Platz station report two or three mosquito bites per day even in October, because northern house mosquitoes have adapted to overwinter in the warmth of the underground tunnels.
Ostpro Fair Brings East German Nostalgia to Berlin's Karlshorst Racecourse
The annual Ostpro sales fair opens at Trabrennbahn Karlshorst from 23 to 25 October 2026, offering three days of Ketwurst, Spreewaldgurken, Rotstern chocolate, Pittiplatsch toys and Erzgebirge candles.
Berliner Bäder Turn 30: Sixteen Pools Open Until 2 a.m. on 30 October
Berlin's public swimming-pool operator celebrates its 30th anniversary with a 'Long Night of Swimming' on 30 October, keeping sixteen indoor pools open until 2 a.m. and staging a light installation at Kombibad Seestraße.
Jacob-Teitel-Park in Berlin-Mitte: Rats, Rubbish and a Neglected Heritage Site
Visitors and local residents report that Berlin-Mitte's Jacob-Teitel-Park — named in 2021 after a Russian-Jewish jurist and sited on the ruins of a destroyed Jewish cultural centre — is plagued by accumulating rubbish, bulky waste and rat sightings.
Berlin-Pankow to Fell 200-Year-Old Oak for Eleven New Apartments
The Pankow district office has approved the removal of a roughly 200-year-old oak tree on Schloßallee in Niederschönhausen to make way for a residential building with eleven flats, prompting a petition signed by 1,178 residents.
Berlin Schools Failing to Monitor Their Own Child-Protection Plans
A Berliner Zeitung investigation found that Berlin's schools are legally required to have child-protection concepts but face no binding enforcement or systematic government oversight of whether the plans are actually followed.
German States Warn Rail-Transport Costs Are Reaching Their Limit
Ahead of a transport ministers' conference, Berlin's regional transport minister warned that German states can no longer sustain the rising cost of funding their rail networks, putting the future of regional train services across Germany in question.