The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to separate the city of Berlin into the eastern and western halves. Its purpose was to keep people from escaping Eastern Berlin. To ensure this, the policemen of East Germany were ordered to shoot to death anyone who attempted to flee to the west. So for 28 years, the 168-km long wall had witnessed between 125 to 206 deaths of the people trying to cross the border.
Finally, in 1989 (my birth year!), the Berlin Wall fell down. Thousands of East Berliners crossed over, to be welcomed by crowds of West Berliners already waiting for them on the other side. The Reunification of Germany took place one year later, on October 3rd 1990.
It was a mere coincidence that my first visit to Berlin fell on that date last month. Since it was a public holiday in Germany, my host decided to spend her day off showing me around her city. Her house was only about 15-20 minutes walk to the Berlin Wall.
As expected, there were already a lot of people there, locals and tourists alike. Some roads were closed and the police were everywhere as there was rumored to be a demonstration in some parts of the city later in the day.
Today, only a few sections of the wall remain, the longest one being the East Side Gallery, where we went. It runs for 1.3km along the River Spree. In 1990, the eastern side of the wall was painted by 118 artists from 21 countries, making it the longest open-air gallery in the world.
The wall is a major tourist attraction in Berlin and a canvas for graffiti artists.
