The "real" wall
Standing inside the "death
strip" looking at the second security wall.
A modern version of a
visitor's tower in West-Berlin, where tourists used to look over the
wall into the East.
|
|
Bernauer Straße
Bernauer
Straße
is one of the four places in Berlin where there still are large parts
of the wall, the other three being Niederkirchner Str., Eastside
Gallery and Mauerpark.
Except for Niederkirchner Straße the other three remains of
the
wall are not really located in central Berlin. There would have been
more central places for tourists, but thanks to the Eastern German
government there are no walls anymore. In the year from November 1989
up to the German reunification in October 1990 the completely broke
German Democratic Republic simply sold most parts of the wall to
tourists, rich americans and arabian oil princes, prices in the end
coming up to 50.000 dollars for a single segment of the wall.
Bernauer Str. is the only existing part of the wall with all
its
original fortifications, barriers, no-man’s land, death strip,
floodlights and a second security wall to slow down would-be fugitives.
Though everything looks very original, it isn't. Large parts of the
wall had to be renovated in 2001 because for a period of ten
years folks had arrived with chisels all over Berlin and
chipped out private souvenirs. So the wall had a lot
of holes which of course weren't pre-1989.
In Bernauer Str. the wall had a very dramatic effect because
the houses on the
southern side of the street were in the Soviet sector, while the
pavewalks in front of their windows belonged to the French sector. The
windows on the ground floor were walled up and people were trying to
escape through the upper floor windows. Later the tenants were evicted
and the houses torn down.
More details: Wikipedia
How to get there:
Although
there is a U8-station called Bernauer Straße it is not
advisable to go there because it's a fifteen minute walk to the
memorial along the quite ugly street. You better go to Nordbahnhof with
S1, S2 or S25. That's much closer.
|
|
|