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 Remains of Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz - Berlin, Germany
N 52° 30.564 E 013° 22.590
33U E 389819 N 5818936
The deepest scar in divided cold-War Berlin
Waymark Code: WMMM48
Location: Berlin, Germany
Date Posted: 10/06/2014
Views: 77
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Potsdamer Platz (Potsdam Square) is the business center of the German capital. It is in walking distance from Brandenburg Gate, right in the center of town.
There are many things making this quare a "must" for anybody visiting the German capital. first and foremost, the square illustrates, how the Berlin Wall literally cut the city in half.
At the end of the war, Berlin was completely destroyed by allied bombs and Russian artillery and Potsdam Sqaure too was in ruins. Berlin was divided into four sectors, and the border between the Soviet sector and the British sector went right across the square.
In 1961, the Berlin Wall permanetly isolated Berlin's western sectors from the rest of the country and Potsdam Square - by then completely leveled - became part of the infamous "Death Strip", made of mine fields and barbed wire.
for the next 28 years, a deadly silence lay over a square, that once was one of the busiest and most alive parts of the town.
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Today, a line of paving stones shows where the wall used to be.
Pieces of the Wall at Potsdam Square
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Throughout the Cold War, life had all but abandoned the square. On the eastern Side, the death strip was wider here than at any other place of the 98-miles long Berlin Wall (below, left). On the western side, the only business were a bunch of hot dog stands.
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Everything changed in 1989. On November 11, East Germany opened the borders and right away, people started chipping away pieces of the wall. Potsdam Square did not have an official border crossing (like Checkpoint Charly), but within days, bulldozers removed parts of the Wall, making this the first makeshift-border-crossing in the reunited city.
Only a year later, the square hosted the biggest live concert in the history of the town, Pink Floyd's "The Wall" (see picture "1990" below).
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In the 1990s, the square received a complete makeover. Today, a number of high rise buildings define the skyline. Check out or waymarks on the PwC-Tower, the Kollhoff-Tower, the Bahn Tower and the Sony Center.
Especially the generation born after reunification feels at home in the coffee shops and reataurants around Potsdam Square. As one told us: The is the only place in Germany, that was neither East nor West, - just like us!
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Potsdam Square today source: berlin-info.de |
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For those of us more interested in history, it is still fascinating to see how the wall literally cut the city in half.
And though there was no border crossing at Potsdam Square, a young entrepreneur in an old East german uniform will gladly stamp you passport today with an "original" East German visa.
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This truly is a place full of history. If you haven't gotten enough yet, here are pictures of 200 years of Potsdam Square. You can find them all - together with even more history - at Wikipedia.
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The "Official Tourism" URL link to the attraction: [Web Link]
The attraction’s own URL: [Web Link]
Hours of Operation:
24/7
Admission Prices:
remains are free to visit, they're on pedestrian zone
Approximate amount of time needed to fully experience the attraction: Up to 1 hour
Transportation options to the attraction: Personal Vehicle or Public Transportation
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