Marking 57 years since the Berlin Wall was constructed
August 13, 2018
Berlin and Germany will commemorate the victims of the construction of the Berlin Wall 57 years ago. On August 13,1961 the East German leadership under Walter Ulbricht began constructing the Wall.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
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Wreaths and flowers will be laid in the central Berlin Wall Memorial on Monday August 13th. Before that, a service will be held in the Chapel of Reconciliation on the former death strip of Bernauer Strasse. Guided tours through the otherwise closed former East German police prison on Keibelstraße will also be on offer. The construction of the Wall was organised there in 1961.
Berlin Wall Trail: 10 must-see locations
Following the path of the former Berlin Wall, which divided the German capital for nearly 30 years, this trail offers a great opportunity for exploring Berlin and its history.
Image: Sabine Lubenow/DUMONTpicture alliance
Berlin Wall Trail
The Berlin Wall divided West and East Berlin for 28 years. Since German reunification in 1990, the city is finally whole again. Still, one of the best ways to explore the last traces of this Cold War past is to cycle or hike along the Berlin Wall Trail. The 160-kilometer tour is well signposted.
Berlin Wall Memorial
The tour can easily be started anywhere you want. An interesting place to begin is the Berlin Wall Memorial. Following the wall's former location on Bernauer Street, it shows how the border fortifications were set up and pays tribute to those who fled or died trying to escape East Berlin.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Gambarini
Cobblestone markings
These cobblestones will help you recognize where the Berlin Wall once stood. However, only certain parts of the former frontier are marked out in this way. When the wall came down on November 9, 1989, East and West Germans were eager to get rid of all traces of it.
Image: DW/E. Grenier
Brandenburg Gate
Following the Berlin Wall Trail toward the center of town, it will lead you to the government district, Spree River and the iconic Brandenburg Gate — which stood in a kind of no man's land when the city was still divided.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Checkpoint Charlie
Checkpoint Charlie remains the most famous former crossing point between East and West Berlin. Tourists now stop there to snap a picture, under a replica sign reading: "You are leaving the American sector."
Image: Britta Pedersen/ZB/dpa/picture alliance
Watchtower near Potsdamer Platz
More than 300 watchtowers used to overlook the Berlin Wall, allowing East German border guards to catch people trying to flee. Only a few were left standing, such as this concrete structure near Potsdamer Platz, now listed as a historical monument.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/W. Steinberg
East Side Gallery
Another classic attraction that can't be missed on the Berlin Wall Trail is the East Side Gallery. International artists painted an array of colorful murals on this 1.3-kilometer (0.8-mile) long stretch of the wall in 1990, making it one of the largest open-air galleries in the world. This depiction of Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker kissing is one of its most famous murals.
Image: Reuters/F. Bensch
Glienicke Bridge
The route continues through the city proper until it reaches the suburbs and finally Potsdam's Glienicke Bridge, where spies used to be exchanged in Cold War times. In 1962, a KGB agent and an American pilot were swapped at this very place. The story served as inspiration for Stephen Spielberg's 2015 movie "Bridge of Spies."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Hirschberger
Hennigsdorf Watchtower Museum
Large parts of the route pass through forested areas surrounding the city. Right on the bank of the Havel River, this watchtower in Hennigsdorf, about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) northwest of Berlin, houses a small museum on the history of the frontier. It's free to visit.
Image: DW/M. Fürstenau
Pankow's cherry tree avenue
Returning to the city, you'll be greeted by a cherry tree avenue in Pankow, which is most spectacular toward the end of April, when the trees are in full bloom. The Japanese donated some 10,000 trees "to bring peace in the hearts of the people." They were planted in different sections of the former wall. This avenue is right by Bösebrücke, the first crossing to open on the day the wall came down.
Image: DW/E. Grenier
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Just a few weeks before August 13, East German leader Walter Ulbricht had stated: "No one has the intention of building a wall." This audacious lie went down in history. For more than 28 years, the approximately 155-kilometer (96 mile) long rampart cut through Berlin. The division ended only with the fall of the Wall on November 9, 1989.
The Berlin Wall Memorial is the main place of remembrance of the division of GermanyImage: picture-alliance/dpa/Wolfgang Kumm
Bernauer Strasse is considered a symbol of the German division. The world-famous photo of the East German soldier, who jumped over the barbed wire to reach the West shortly after August 13, 1961 was taken here. The same goes for pictures of people jumping out of apartment windows while fleeing the Communist regime.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
When the wall was erected, the house fronts on this street were located in the East while the sidewalk was in the West. Today, a large open-air exhibition, including an originally preserved piece of the wall, commemorates the victims of the division.
