The Messedamm underpass

One of Berlin’s most iconic film locations is an abandoned pedestrian tunnel. It has appeared in Atomic Blonde, Captain America, and The Hunger Games, serving as a backdrop for far more action than an ordinary day

Passerelle, ICC Pedestrian Tunnel, Tunnel of Horror (Tunnel des Grauens). The abandoned Messedamm underpass has many names.

Today, the Messedamm underpass is primarily used by locals looking to cross the busy Messedamm, despite the occasional smell of urine and the presence of homeless people seeking shelter.

Sometimes it’s used as a background for films and music videos.

The Messedamm Tunnel is also home to graffiti taggers.
The Messedamm underpass is also home to graffiti taggers.
Photo by Chrissie Sternschnuppe@Flickr. CC BY-SA.

Designed by architect Rainer G. Rümmler in the 1970s, the tunnel served as a link between the S-Bahn station Messe Nord and the International Congress Centre, ICC Berlin. Additionally, it includes a connection to the U-Bahn station Theodor-Heuss-Platz, which has never been used.

The escalators to the Messedamm underpass hasn't worked for a long time.
The escalators to the Messedamm underpass hasn’t worked for a long time.
Photo by Chrissie Sternschnuppe@Flickr. CC BY-SA.

The section of the underpass leading to the U-Bahn station is currently used for storage. Additionally, the tunnel segment which serves as the entrance to the International Congress Centrum has been closed and sealed off since 2014.

The entrance to ICC Berlin from the Messedamm tunnel.
The closed entrance from the Messedamm underpass to International Congress Centrum.
Photo by Chrissie Sternschnuppe@Flickr. CC BY-SA.

You can still descend one of the three staircases out of six and pass Messedamm below street level, where you can admire the orange tiles and the circular lamps on the ceiling.

The orange tiles above the stairs to the Messedamm tunnel are worn and broken.
The orange tiles above the stairs to the Messedamm underpass are worn and broken.
Photo by Chrissie Sternschnuppe@Flickr. CC BY-SA.

So too did the Swedish band Ashbury Heights in 2022 to record a music video. Scenes for their song “Is That Your Uniform?” is recorded in the underpass.

Filmmakers from Hollywood and Europe have also frequently ventured down the stairs to the Messedamm Tunnel. The most iconic scene shot there is likely from the fourth Hunger Games installment, “Mockingjay Part 2,” where the heroes emerge dramatically from the sewers.

They have arrived in Panem and fallen into one of President Snow’s traps hidden within the tunnel.

Collage from The Hunger Games.
Scenes from the Messedamm Tunnel as featured in Hunger Games “Mockingjay Part 2”.
The bottom image shows the tunnel section, which serves as the entrance to the ICC Berlin.

“Captain America: Civil War” and “Atomic Blonde” have also used the location as a film set, in both cases for car chases.

Collage from Captain America and Atomic Blonde.
Above, a scene from “Captain America: Civil War.”
Below, a scene from “Atomic Blonde.”
A short video recorded inside the Messedamm underpass.
The Messedamm underpass

Where:
ICC-Füßgängerunterführung
Masurenallee,
14057 Berlin

Family friendly: Yes
Price: Free

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