Alfred Döblin: Berlin Alexanderplatz (1929)
The key novel of the Weimar Republic. Franz Biberkopf, a small-time crook, leaves prison and tries to become a decent man – and fails. The Alex is more than setting: it embodies the modern metropolis.
To understand Berlin, read the novel. If you can't manage that, watch Fassbinder's adaptation.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder: Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980)
15-part television series, 15 hours long. Criticised on first broadcast, now recognised as one of the most important works of German television. Günter Lamprecht as Biberkopf: one of the great roles in German film history.
Burhan Qurbani: Berlin Alexanderplatz (2020)
New adaptation that moves Biberkopf's story into the present and turns the crook into a West African refugee. Worth seeing for cineastes.
The Alex in pop culture
Songs, films, series: "Weißensee", "Deutschland 83/86/89", Bruce Springsteen's Berlin concerts nearby – the square keeps returning. Not as a beautiful place, but as a striking one.
Street art and public art
Directly on the Alex, street art density is low – advertising surfaces dominate. On the side streets toward Rosenthaler Platz and in Friedrichshain things get more interesting.