I stand in front of the colorful graffiti wall of the East Side Gallery. I am far too young to remember the day the Berlin Wall fell. I was born can only imagine the feelings of East and West Berlin as the city was reunited for the first time since World War II. It was a symbol of the Iron Curtain between the Capitalistic West and Socialistic/Communist East.
The wall was built between 1961 and 1989. It was built by the German Democratic Republic, aka East Germany. The wall enclosed West Berlin and cut the western half of the city from the surrounding East Germany. The wall was designed to stem the flow of emigration and defection from East Germany to West Germany. The wall made it hard to escape East Germany but didn’t stop it completely.
The East side of the wall was a bleak and dismal symbol of oppression. The wall is just that a brick wall when viewed from the east. The West side of the wall shows a different story. It became a mecca for artisans and musicals. The West side of the wall was quickly turned into an exhibition of protest art. On November 9, 1989, the gates on the wall were opened after unrest and other factors lead to a change in East German policy.
Destruction of the wall didn’t start until the following June. Some larger section of the wall were saved and are on display throughout the world but most of the wall was demolished by the government or souvenir hunters. Today, only a small sections of the wall is still standing in its original position. One of these section is the East Side Gallery. This 1.3 km section has 105 paintings painted in the days and weeks after the wall fell.
I took the subway from my hostel down to East Side Gallery. I walked from the subway station over to the start of the Gallery. It is an open air gallery that free to the public. In recent years, there has been some restoration done on the wall to repair the weather damage and other graffiti. It is very easy to see which pieces have been restored.
It took me about two hours to walk the length of the gallery. I stopped to enjoy the art work as well contemplate the meaning and feelings behind each painting. I could feel the joy and hope each artist put into their work along the wall. It was disappointing to see some visitors writing their names on the wall.
I loved getting to walk along the wall and see the history and see some of the famous works of art int he East Side Gallery along the Berlin Wall.
Have you been to the Berlin Wall or walked along the East Side Gallery? What is your favorite piece of art on it?
Check out the Path of Remembrance where I walked from the train station to Dachau.
I’ve been there! In fact, I have a picture of the same car as you – interesting how the graffiti has changed. Clearly someone cleans it up once in a while because there’s stuff in my picture that isn’t in yours, and stuff in yours that isn’t in mine! Fascinating (and also really annoying – of all the places to graffiti, you think they’d leave this alone!)
They have been working on restoring things. Some of the artists are upset by this. Personally, I agree with the restoration. I have given up on being surprised where people want to write their names. I do enjoy seeing the changes in the pictures.
Thank you for this blog. I was stationed in Berlin, US Army, during the fall of the wall. This provided me with great memories of my time there.
Did you work at Checkpoint Charlie? Even if you didn’t, I bet you have some great stories.
What a significant part of history. The wall has really become a display of art in such honesty from the public.
It is and I am glad they have preserved some of it.
What fabulous street art. There’s a lot going on in Berlin in the next couple of years and I think I need to find my way there!
I can’t wait to go back to Berlin. It is an amazing city.
Very cool that you could see much of this from your hostel. Also that they have been working to restore the wall and keep it up. The graffiti is pretty cool
Yea. I loved how close I stayed to the wall. It is an amazing piece of history.
I’m crazy about street art, especially when it comes to something as importantly historical as this. Two hours is a meaty time! Love your photographs and getting a peek into what you saw. I hope to see it with my own eyes soon.
It is worth taking you time on the walk down the wall. Some of the art has smaller things hidden in them.
I haven’t been to see the Berlin Wall, but the history is just fascinating. I’m sure it must have been such an incredible experience to see it come down. I was just in Budapest and there is a piece of the wall on display there, as well.
There are pieces of the wall on display around the world, but the best perspective is in its original location. I am glad you have at least seen a peice of it.
With so much history, I really wish they’d keep it intact for as long as possible. You’ve got some pretty awesome shots here!
I missed this when I went to Berlin late last year. I only saw the one near Checkpoint Charlie. How ironic is it that an inanimate object could be so powerful to divide a nation…
Very true. It split a country but its fall helped reunited Germany in more that just politically.
I never knew that there was so much street art on the Wall. Thank you so much for sharing the pictures and your experience. Truly a historical site and one I would love to see for myself. Thanks for a great post!
The western section of the wall was covered in it. The east side didn’t get any until after it fell.
Unfortunately I am old enough to remember the Berlin Wall and actually stood on the western side looking at Guards on the other side. I haven’t been back to that area since but maybe I should.
Bet that was an interesting visit. It would be interesting to compare the different between then and now.