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| Overview |
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For
most of the latter part of the 20th century, Berlin
has stood as a symbol of the division between East
and West, split by the infamous fortified wall erected
to separate the socialist sector from the democratic
district. When the Berlin Wall was pulled down in
1990 the city discovered that it suddenly had two
of everything, most notably two very distinct societies
separated both socially and economically. The past
decade has seen Berlin embracing unification and
rebuilding itself as a modern European capital. |
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| Brandenburg
Gate |
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The
impressive and symbolic Brandenburg Gate that lay
forlorn for so long in the no man’s land behind
the Berlin Wall, is now once again renovated and
accessible, along with the newly reconstructed Pariser
Platz that links the gate to the beautiful Unter
den Linden Boulevard. The gate is Berlin’s only
remaining city gate, built of sandstone between
1788 and 1791 with 12 Doric columns according to
a design by C.G. Langhans. Six columns support an
36ft (11m) transverse beam, similar to the propylaeum
of the Acropolis in Athens. The massive gate is
topped with a stunning statue of the Goddess of
Victory facing east towards the city centre (this
was added in 1794). The gate is closed to traffic,
as is the adjacent Pariser Platz, a gracious square
that was once surrounded with beautiful buildings
sadly destroyed in the Second World War. Since the
fall of the Berlin Wall new buildings have been
built, however, to designs closely following those
of the originals. |
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| Checkpoint
Charlie |
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| The infamous
border crossing point in the wall dividing West and
East Berlin has now become a shrine to the wall’s
memory with the addition of a museum, Haus am Checkpoint
Charlie. For nearly 30 years, between 1961 and 1990,
Checkpoint Charlie in the Friedrichstrasse was the
only crossing point between East and West Berlin.
The soldier’s post can be visited, and tourists can
be photographed under the border sign. |
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| Eastside
Gallery |
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The remains of the infamous Berlin
Wall have now become the largest open-air art gallery
in the world. The longest section of the wall, which
has been preserved, stretches from Ostbahnhof station
to the Oberbaumbrucke, and has been given over to
graffiti artists from around the world. A total
of 118 artists from 21 countries have exerted their
skills on the 4,318ft (1,316m) long section of the
wall, and this collection has become a Berlin landmark
and a tourist attraction. Best known paintings are
Dimitri Vrubel’s Brotherly Kiss and Gunther Shaefer’s
Fatherland. The gallery is billed as an international
memorial for freedom. |
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