Berlin Wall - East Side Gallery

 

The Berlin Wall Trail was completed in 2006 and runs along the original borders. Storyboards of events are set along the route giving an insight into the division that occurred in Germany and the rise and fall of the Wall.

As I journey on the trail, I am touched by the courage shown by the men and women who fought for their freedom. Of those who have fallen, nearly half of the deaths took place in the first five years of the Wall’s existence and nearly 60% of them were in their early 20s. The escapees during these early years were from a generation who experienced freedom and open borders. Many of them used to commute to West Berlin for work and to visit their families.

With tightened border controls and enhanced fortifications, by the late 1960s, the number of escapees dropped significantly.   People were so driven to find a better life that all manners of escape were undertaken. Some braved the ‘death strip’, attempting to climb the walls, others swam or dived the Spree River. Cars, trucks and trains were used to ram through borders or attempt to smuggle people across. Even more daring escapes were in a hot air balloon, tightrope walking and zip lining.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, a section of the concrete wall was preserved and turned into an open-air gallery. At 4,300ft (1,300m) long, it is the longest outdoor gallery in the world. In 1990, a group of artists from 21 countries were invited to paint the wall with 106 works of art. The original artworks were an expression of the changing political times and joy over the fall of the Wall. A year later the gallery was designated a historical monument. 

Time and vandalism damaged the Wall until 2009 when it was completely restored and the original artists were invited to return and repaint their works in more resistant colours. The other side of the wall was repainted white, restoring it to its pre-1989 condition when the colour, casting shadows of potential escapees, was supposed to alert border guards on watch. 

Today, the gallery is one of the most visited landmarks in Berlin, drawing 800,000+ visitors per year.