Visit the former Berlin Wall, which is one of the main tourist attractions in Germany and was created to separate West Germany from East Germany. The Berlin Wall divided the city into two parts and was a symbol of the division of the world: the western part was the capitalist bloc and the eastern part the socialist bloc. It was 155 kilometers long and about 3.5 meters high. Fortunately, the wall started to be demolished in 1989. But to this day, a section of the wall remains, to the delight of tourists and history buffs. Only today, it is filled with paintings by artists from different parts of the world, expressing the political events related to the history of the wall. Since they are on the east side, the wall is called the East Side Gallery. This remaining section of the Berlin Wall is one of the main tourist attractions in Berlin.
History of the Berlin Wall
It was built after World War II, when Germany, defeated by the Allies, was divided into four parts, controlled by the Allies (United States, France, England and the Soviet Union). Berlin, was in the zone of occupation of the Soviet Union, but was still divided into four. Later, the Cold War began, an ideological war between East and West. As a result of various conflicts, the three zones controlled by the capitalist blocs were united and became part of the capitalist Federal Republic of Germany, and the part controlled by the Soviet Union became the socialist German Democratic Republic. In 1961, the government of the eastern part decided to close the border with Berlin. From one day to the next, workers were active in closing the border.
The Wall and the escapes
Many people tried to escape from the eastern side to the western side, so the wall underwent several adaptations until it became impossible to escape. Along the wall there were several observation towers and bunkers, as well as patrols of guards and dogs, who would shoot at any attempt to escape. It is said that there were over 5,000 escape attempts.
The fall of the Berlin Wall
From 1989, the Berlin Wall began to be demolished thanks to various historical and political events, such as the opening of the border between Hungary and Austria, which allowed many East Germans to flee to the West through it. Other reasons were the protests and demands of the Eastern population. Through a press conference, it was announced that the travel restrictions for East Germans had been lifted, which created great euphoria and made East and West Germans celebrate together.
Video
Tourist attraction
Today, a strip of the wall remains at Muhlenstrabe, along the river Spree. The 1316 m long wall is a colorful place thanks to the paintings of different artists that depict the history of the wall. In addition, at various places in the city, you can see iron plates on the ground that indicate where the wall passed.
Mühlenstraße 3-100, 10243 Berlin, Germany
https://goo.gl/maps/DAnZSV3QHgjJjNyAA
