I spotted this fence in a suburb of Potsdam called Pirschheide, which is very close to Lake Templin. This is a standard GDR-era fence design, which crops up all over the former East. I particularly liked this one because of its colour (no doubt a post-Wende addition) and context, a dilapiated square flanked by 60s/70s-era bars and shops. The square’s centrepiece is a striking building that I initially mistook for a cinema. A bit of research revealed that this is actually Potsdam’s former main station (1961-1993) and that the square was a pretty bustling place a few decades ago. After the Wende, however, most trains were re-routed to what is now Potsdam’s main station, and only one level of the Pirschheide station now remains in operation. There are plans to increase traffic through the station once again, and any attempt to modernise the station will inevitably be accompanied by a demolition/renovation frenzy, which means the GDR structures may not be long for this world. Which I think lends this odd space a sort of transient, romantic appeal. I digress….
Potsdam Pirschheide Station – Potsdam’s main station in the GDR era
GDR design 
There is a book on GDR fence making, often done by residents themselve as a bit of creative work. Ill try and find the reference. Thanks for all your interesting posts.
Your fence stands in front of the only one famous farmer Grilletta station of Potsdam… The GDR hamburger … As I know there was one more on Alexanderplatz … But as you see it was pretty fast replaced by hamburger and indeed coca cola ….which was in the GDR in contrary to other socialist countries not available … We used to go there as kids the long way from Pdm by tram only to get one of those east hamburgers…
Nice blog by the way (;
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grilletta
Hey Carsten- thanks! so great to get some proper info about the history of the place