Court keeps Görlitzer Park open at night

A Berlin court on October 1, 2026 rejected the Senate's complaint against an earlier ruling and confirmed that Görlitzer Park in Kreuzberg must stay open at night. The Senate under CDU interior leadership had tried to close the notorious park between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. with a fence and private security in order to push back drug dealing and crime. Local residents, the district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and civil-rights initiatives had sued, arguing that a nightly closure of a public green space was disproportionate and would only displace problems into surrounding streets. The judges followed that reasoning, finding that the Senate had not sufficiently proven that closing the park was necessary or effective. The decision is a political setback for Berlin's interior administration, which had made the "Görli" fence a flagship security project. The district greeted the ruling as a confirmation that social work and better lighting are more appropriate tools than locking out park users.