A quarter of a century November 9, 1989 remains a major turning point in world history. That day, the leaders of the GDR announced the opening of border posts, causing the fall of the Berlin Wall. It is the beginning of the end for the Soviet bloc and the prelude to the reunification of Germany, which will take place on October 3, 1990. So many reasons for this country to celebrate, 25 years later, this historic event as it happens must.

And the Wall fell

It was on the night of August 12 to 13, 1961 that this wall was erected, the purpose of which was to stop traffic between the sectors occupied by the Western allies and the party under Russian domination. Berlin finds itself cut into two zones, East and West.

The city is then located in the heart of the territory of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), its western part being an enclave giving access to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the East belonging to the GDR. A situation that will last 28 years …

In 1989, in the weeks leading up to the fall of the “Wall of Shame”, demonstrations of Democrats took place across the GDR, while thousands of East Germans managed to flee through Hungary and the Czechoslovakia.

On the evening of November 9, 1989, just after the surprise announcement of the unrestricted issuance of exit visas, crowds of East Berliners flocked to border posts.

In front of the cameras of televisions around the world, some begin to strike with a hammer or a pickaxe in order to knock down the cursed wall … and to write a new page of history.

Celebrations in Berlin

From November 7 to 9, 2014 will be suspended 8,000 light balloons along a path following the layout of a 15 km section of the old wall, between Bornholmer Straße and Oberbaumbrücke, passing through the Brandenburg Gate, Potsdamer Platz and Checkpoint Charlie.

Along this installation entitled Lichtgrenze, terminals tell happy and unhappy facts about the history of this cursed wall.

On the 9th at 7 p.m., after a day of official ceremonies, the balloons will be unhooked and take off in the air shortly before the Staatskapelle conducted by Daniel Barenboïm perform the final movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No 9 which includes “The Ode to joy”.

But the celebrations are not limited to this weekend: find the whole program on the website of the Berlin tourist office (in German and English).

Also consult the dedicated site wall.visitBerlin.com (in German and English) where you can find downloadable apps.

Places to visit in Berlin

About the Wall

The Berlin Wall Memorial inaugurates its new permanent exhibition on November 9, 2014. The Wall Museum tells the story of the city during the Cold War.

In terms of visual arts, the Panorama Asisi created by Yadegar Asisi evokes life in Berlin in the 1980s until March 31, 2015, while the East Side Gallery presents street art works on 1.3 km from the preserved Wall.

On daily life in the GDR

The GDR Museum and the Kulturbrauerei Museum house objects made in East Germany – you can find them at the Ostpaket supermarket.

See also: the Trabant Museum, which pays homage to the emblematic car of the country, and the Museumswohnung , a typical preserved apartment (Hellersdorfer Strasse). As for the Ostel Hostel, it offers rooms decorated in the East German style.

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