The attack took place shortly before midnight on Sunday, when a group of four unidentified men attacked another group of young men, police report.

Both knives and pepper spray were used during the assault. The men who were taken to hospital – aged 19 and 25 – suffered stab wounds to their upper bodies and hips. They were taken to hospital after receiving emergency treatment at Alexanderplatz

The attackers were able to flee before police arrived on the scene.

Despite being one of the main tourist hot spots in Berlin, the centrally located Alexanderplatz, home to the 368-metre Fernsehturm (television tower), has a long record of violent crime.

Figures released in March show that the number of violent offences at Alex – as it's fondly known to Berliners – remained consistent at around 600 per year between 2011 and 2015.

Ever since 20-year-old Johnny K. was beaten to death by six men in October 2012, an extra police team has been in place to watch over the tourist, shopping and travel nexus in the former East of the city.

In 2015, police registered 481 cases of assault, 62 instances of coercion and threats, 51 cases of robbery and three counts of the most serious crimes: rape, murder and homicide, some of them attempted.

Cases of pick-pocketing also increased by 54 percent between 2014 and 2015.

“We need combined supervision at Alexanderplatz; a joint effort of the public order office [Ordnungsamt], federal police [responsible for policing transport infrastructure], and city police,” city representative Tom Schreiber of the Social Democrats (SPD) told The Local in March in response to the police figures.