Grenzmuseum Sorge, Germany
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Bernd das Brot Team
N 51° 41.693 E 010° 41.151
32U E 616515 N 5728449
A display of the fortification of the Iron Curtain that once divided East- and West-Germany.
Waymark Code: WMPTGV
Location: Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany
Date Posted: 10/18/2015
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member MikeGolfJ3
Views: 5
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When it comes to the Iron Curtain, most people think of the Berlin Wall. However, the curtain as described by Winston Churchill stretched over a thousand miles "...from Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic."

The border consisted of barbed wire, mine fields, and watch towers. The small town of Sorge in the former eastern part of Germany managed to preserve a part of that inhumane border between East- and West-Germany.

The exhibit is called Grenzmuseum, which is German for Border-Museum.

The museum consist of two parts: A small indoor exhibition is located at the town's train station at N 51° 41.599 E 010° 41.855. (Picture right).

The larger part is an open air exhibition at the location of the former border.

All following pictures and the main coordinates refer to the open air part, which requires a 30-minute hike.

The outdoor exhibition showcases all the major parts of the former fortification: watchtowers, two fences with dogs running between them and watch bunkers.

Watch Tower (above)

Interpretive signs describing the bunkers, the water barriers and the "signal fence", which triggered alarms when touched (left).

Next to the signal fence were two smaller fences, between which dogs were running. Water barriers were put into streams and creeks to prevent people from diving through them.

Small observation bunkers were placed along the border and guard were ordered to shoot anybody trying to cross. This is, what your world looked like if you were an East-German border guard.

1,000 miles of barbed wire divied the people of Europe for 30 years.

Theme:
Cold War

Street Address:
Grenzmuseum Sorge e.V. Försterbergstraße 5b 38875 Stadt Oberharz am Brocken OT Sorge

Food Court: no

Gift Shop: no

Hours of Operation:
Museum Hours are Wed-Sat 11AM - 4 PM The open-air part is open 24/7

Cost: 0.00 (listed in local currency)

Museum Size: Medium

Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]
Visit Instructions:
In order to log this waymark in this category, you must be able to provide proof of your visit. Please post a picture of yourself or your GPSr in front some identifiable feature or point of interest either in the museum, or on the museum grounds.
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Recent Visits/Logs:
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GEOrgCACHING visited Grenzmuseum Sorge, Germany 08/07/2023 GEOrgCACHING visited it
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