With the big milestone coming up, we’ve compiled a list of 10 ways to explore the history of the Wall, its construction, dismantling, and the reunification of Germany. And good news for budget travelers, almost all of these are free to visit!

1. Visit the Berlin Wall Memorial

Starting point for any deeper understanding of the Berlin Wall is the Berlin Wall Memorial, near S-Nordbahnhof. Before exiting the station, study the informational displays in the stairwell and station foyer telling the story of the Bahnhof and others like it which became “ghost stations.” (The GDR blocked access for its citizens to certain sections of Berlin’s S-Bahn network which could have served as a direct escape route to West Berlin.)

Above ground, you’ll find indoor and outdoor informational displays, including historical films, original documents and numerous broadcasts and interviews detailing the events leading up to the the Wall’s construction, reactions and dramatic events—including numerous escape attempts—around its construction in August 1963, what the division of the city meant for its residents (especially those in the shadow of the Wall, as here in Bernauer Str.), and what the city looked like in the days and months after the Wall came down.

The Memorial also reflects on the short history of its own existence, including the struggle to maintain the existing section of border strip with original Wall pieces given residents’ animosity, the interference of neighboring parishes and the profit-driven desire to develop as much of this newly open land as possible.

From a specially constructed viewing tower, you can look down into the memorial for a better sense of the entire border complex, view the small chapel constructed from the rubble following the 1986 destruction of a church which stood on the same spot, enveloped by the Wall for nearly three decades and imagine the current memorial park landscape in its former militarized state.

The interpretive park ends at U8-Bernauer Str., but you may choose to extend your walk to Mauerpark, the meeting point of three Berlin districts. On Sundays, this lively strip is host to a popular flea market, chock full of original Berlin souvenirs; in the afternoons, free and friendly karaoke steals the show on the amphitheater stage.

Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer, Bernauer Str. 119. Outdoor displays accessible at all times, indoor displays 9:30 AM to 7 PM (summer), to 6 PM (winter), closed Mondays, free admission. S-Nordbahnhof, U8-Bernauer Str.

A memorial dedicated to freedom, the East Side Gallery features restored murals that graced the Wall before the fall. Photo: Antonio Campoy

2. Visit other bits of the Wall

Other places to view original segments of the Wall include Berlin’s East Side Gallery (running along the Spree between S-Ostbahnhof and S-Warschauer Str.) or the Topography of Terror (between Potsdamer Platz and Checkpoint Charlie). There are numerous Wall pieces which have now been sprinkled around Potsdamer Platz and Leipziger Platz, generally not in their original location.

3. Explore the German Historical Museum

To understand better the parallel developments in West and East Germany following the end of World War II, including the events leading to reunification, visit the German Historical Museum’s permanent exhibition. An entire floor is dedicated to this period, and visitors to the well-designed display get an excellent sense of the events leading to the division of Germany, as well as the significance of the erection of the Berlin Wall and the inner-German border for the GDR economy and East-West German relations in the mid- to late-20th century.

Deutsches Historisches Museum, Unter den Linden 2. Open 10 AM To 6 PM daily, admission €8/4. S-Friedrichstr., S-Hackescher Markt, S-Alexanderplatz, bus stop Unter den Linden/Staatsoper.

4. Trace the path of the Wall

Where was the Wall located? Well, in the center of Berlin, the former path of the westernmost element of the Berlin Wall security complex is often marked by a cobblestone line, regularly inset with copper plates stating, “Berliner Mauer 1961-1989.” You can easily pick up this line running behind the Reichstag and around the Brandenburg Gate, past the Holocaust Memorial, up to Potsdamer Platz, then past the Topography of Terror and Checkpoint Charlie to points beyond.

It may be difficult to believe it today, but anywhere you’re standing in the Potsdamer Platz area—now home to the Sony Center and numerous other highrise developments—was once entirely empty, fully contained within the Berlin Wall complex.

In other sections of Berlin, the Wall perimeter wasn’t marked with the cobblestone line. The Wall border followed the sector boundaries between West and East Berlin (which typically followed the borough or Bezirk boundaries which even today divide the city into its various districts), which is why one of the city’s most important stretches can be found in the Bernauer Str., the boundary between the districts of Mitte (East) and Wedding (West).

The truly dedicated can study this map carefully in order to understand whether they are in West or East Berlin at any given moment. If you’ve found a boundary but aren’t sure which side you’re on, you can safely guess that the side closest to the Fernsehturm (TV Tower) on Alexanderplatz is probably the “East.”

5. Cross between East and West Berlin at Friedrichstrasse station

If you find yourself confused and lost by the complicated design of the Friedrichstrasse train station, this is not without reason. One of the city’s transportation hubs, the station was redesigned to maintain separate passenger flows for eastern and western travelers after it became an essential border crossing between East and West Berlin following the Wall’s construction. You can see a giant model of this elaborate system in the bright blue Tränenpalast, or Palace of Tears, just outside the station next to the Spree canal.

It was here that many West Berliners exited the GDR; the name refers to the tears that were shed as families affected by German division were forced to say their goodbyes. The building now houses an excellent historical exhibition on border crossings, with eyewitness accounts from those who left East Germany legally and illegally, those who visited and passed through rigorous controls, those who smuggled, and those performing the controls.

Grenzerfahrungen – Tränenpalast at Bahnhof Friedrichstr., Reichstagufer 17. Open 9 AM to 7 PM weekdays (closed Mondays), 10 AM to 6 PM weekends and holidays, free admission.

6. Look away from Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie remains, however, the most infamous of all Berlin crossing points. The third of three around the city nicknamed by Allied soldiers after the first letters of the military’s phonetic alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie), Charlie was reserved for foreigners and military personnel entering East Berlin and thus played a role in nearly every East-West spy novel or movie set during this period.

To gain an accurate picture of the crossing, don’t gawk at the replica booth flanked with sandbags and men in costume uniforms; stand instead with your back to the spectacle and stare down Friedrichstr. This entire intersection—everything between the Zimmerstr. to where the highrise buildings begin—made up the historical checkpoint; you’ll note this is an area far larger than the tiny booth would lead you to believe. Today, much of this area is surrounded by fencing covered in an informational historical exhibit which is worth reading further.

Checkpoint Charlie, corner of Zimmerstr. and Friedrichstr. Accessible all hours, no admission. U6-Kochstr.

7. Visit an East German apartment

Traveling on the U5 subway line eastward from Alexanderplatz, you will find yourself driving into the deepest heart of GDR Berlin: through the districts of Lichtenberg and Marzahn, buildings take on the characteristic heights and pre-fab construction styles once (and still) ubiquitous across the GDR. Your ride ends in Hellersdorf, at U-Cottbusser Platz, where one of Berlin’s housing management companies has maintained an original—once highly coveted—three-room apartment with authentic furnishings.

The apartment was typical for the area; more than half of the 42,000 apartments built in Hellersdorf, developed quickly to meet the needs of young families with small children, were perfectly identical to the one on display.

Museumswohnung in der Platte, Hellersdorferstr. 179. Open Sundays from 2-4 PM (other times by arrangement), free admission. U5-Cottbusser Platz.

8. Consider everyday life

Through traditional and multimedia displays, including original media and recent interviews with former GDR citizens, a museum in the Kulturbrauerei in Prenzlauer Berg highlights the chasm between the Socialist utopia promoted by the GDR government and the everyday realities of life for those on the ground, with a special focus on the way the government exerted control over its citizens. The display includes a large collection of original GDR-designed products, including, of course, a pristine Trabi automobile.

Alltag in der DDR – Museum in der Kulturbrauerei, Knaackstr. 97. Open 10 AM to 6 PM (to 8 PM Thursdays), closed Mondays, free admission. U2-Eberswalder Str.

9. Study the Stasi files

To understand the degree to which the GDR exploited its own citizens in the maintenance of control and the methods used to repress and monitor suspected dissidents, you may appreciate the informative exhibition on the state security apparatus known as the Stasi, housed near Checkpoint Charlie. The information center at BStU-Bildungszentrum is curated by the state agency which maintains the Stasi file archive; here historians, researchers, and citizens can request access to the information painstakingly collected and documented by the SED apparatus.

Stasi Exhibition – Bildungszentrum BStU, Zimmerstr. 90. Open daily 10 AM to 6 PM, free admission. U6-Kochstr.

10. Take a guided tour of the Berlin Wall

Rent Mauerguide, a GPS-guided audio tour providing comprehensive information on the Berlin Wall and nearly every location discussed in this article. €10/day (€8/4 hours), students receive €3 discount. Pick up/drop off at Bernauer Str., Brandenburg Gate, or Checkpoint Charlie.

Berliner Unterwelten e.V. offers a two-hour Under the Berlin Wall (M) underground walking tour for €13/€10. Starts near S-Gesundbrunnen at 3 PM on Fridays and Sundays, with tours every weekday at 3 PM during the summer.

Fat Tire Bikes offers a five-hour Berlin Wall and Cold War tour for €24. Starts from S-/U-Alexanderplatz at 10:30 AM on Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays (summer).

Berlin on Bike offers Berlin Wall or Wall Eyewitness tours—the former €19, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 11 AM; the latter €25, Saturdays at 10 AM Both 3.5-hour tours start at the Kulturbrauerei (U2-Eberswalder Str.).

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Horst Sindermann, one-time member of the GDR politburo, recalled the events of fall 1989 in Leipzig a few years later. “We were prepared for everything,” he said. “But not for candles and prayers.”

Related: Leipzig budget travel guide

Leipzig city center with the tower of St Nicholas’ Church in the background.

Praying for change

The peace prayers at Leipzig’s St Nicholas’ Church have a history that dates back over 30 years, but it was only in late 1989 that they caught the attention of the international media. Here was a grass-roots revolution in the making. On successive Mondays there were arrests of activists and others involved in the peace prayers. On October 7, 1989, the GDR celebrated the fortieth anniversary of its foundation. Two days later, the Leipzig evening vigil with candles and prayers attracted huge crowds as never before.

Demonstrations on the streets of Leipzig

Amid an atmosphere of remarkable calm and intense concentration (but coupled with anxiety about how the authorities would react), thousands of Leipzig citizens peacefully demanded a new future for their country. The fragile flame of democracy and change was tended in the small candles carried by each participant.

If there was one turning point in the fate of their country, it was that Monday evening in Leipzig. Violent confrontation was averted, and the more intelligent members of the politburo quickly realized that power was slipping inexorably from their hands.

Recalling the peaceful revolution

Light filled the streets of Leipzig that Monday evening, and the events of 9 October 1989 are nowadays recalled each year in Leipzig’s Festival of Lights. This evening will be something special in Leipzig, but as nothing compared with 9 October 2014 when the GDR’s peaceful revolution will be recalled 25 years on. The city’s inner ring road will be closed to traffic and a series of performances and processions will recall the strong sense of community daring that characterized October 9, 1989.

An echo of 1989: the Monday demonstrations in Leipzig still take place.

For more details about the 2014 events, go to www.leipziger-freiheit.de/lichtfest.

Monday evening demonstrations continue

This evening’s events in Leipzig will be more modest in scale. If you cannot make it today, you can still catch the spirit of protest in Leipzig by visiting Leipzig any Monday evening. The peace prayers still take place at St Nicholas’ Church, perpetuating a long Leipzig tradition. It is a strong reminder that social injustice was not eradicated by the events of 1989.

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Some look back now and have misgivings about how events unfolded. Many commentators suggest that East Germany disappeared too quickly and that the life experiences of an entire generation were dismissed as worthless.

Dismantling the Berlin Wall

Another memorial along the Berlin Wall Trail

History is made up of individuals and not merely the schemes of governments. And August 31, 1990 was a day of personal tragedy in the community in which we live on the outskirts of Berlin. The Wall has now long gone, but in summer 1990 local kids were busy chipping away at the structure. Where once the Wall stood, now there is a beautiful cycle route that tracks round the outer edges of Berlin. Susan Buzzelli highlighted the merits of that bike path in a posting earlier this month here on EuroCheapo.

A tragic accident

On August 31, 1990, 14-year-old Christoph-Manuel Bramböck from Lichterfelde (Berlin) became the victim of a terrible accident. He was chipping away at the bottom of the Wall, keen to get some fragments of the fast disappearing structure. He did not notice that his efforts had loosened a slab of concrete higher up the Wall. The block crashed down on Christoph-Manuel’s head, killing him instantly. He was the last victim of the Berlin Wall.

The Berlin Wall trail

The Berlin Mauerweg cycle route has many memorials along its route, recalling episodes connected with the Wall that for almost three decades divided Berlin. Among them is the memorial to Christoph-Manuel. who would have celebrated his 35th birthday this October. The Berlin Wall trail is an engaging tour of Cold War history and a reminder of the human dimension of international politics.

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Mayday across Europe

This year more than 140,000 well-behaved protesters marched in the streets of Istanbul, while over a million marched in Russian cities. While many protesters highlighted grievances over wages and working conditions, traditional Communists were out in force too, reminding the world that peace and socialism still deserve a place in the global agenda.

Mayday in Berlin

Our home city of Berlin has a fine history of Mayday protests on both sides of the old Wall. Participants represent the full gamut of the political spectrum—and many are of no fixed political opinions but merely enjoy the opportunity to taunt the police, burn a few cars and drink copious quantities of alcohol.

Rose-tinted views

“But it is not like the old days,” said one of our neighbors, recalling the mighty Mayday parades in Berlin of yesteryear. “Then the streets of Berlin’s central district were full of the party faithful, and I was proud to be there.”

Scratch the surface of Berlin life, and you’ll still run across outbreaks of nostalgia for the good old days of the German Democratic Republic. A time when life was altogether simpler. For many older Berliners who grew up in East Germany, the new order is associated with uncertainty in the labor market, consumerism and rising prices, and many look back with evident affection on some aspects of life in East Germany. Not all of course, and films like Das Leben der Anderen (“The Lives of Others”) act as a sharp reminder that life wasn’t always quite so rosy in East Germany.

The German word for this phenomenon—”Ostalgie” (“EASTalgia”)—nicely captures this peculiarly eastern fad, in which some folk look back wistfully on their lives in a country that had fabulous gherkins, no bananas, some of the most ghastly wallpaper in the world and lots of engagingly old-fashioned trains. Berlin even has a hotel that picks up the EASTalgia theme. Perhaps East Germany just disappeared too quickly for its citizens to mourn its passing.

Susanne and Nicky run a Berlin-based editorial bureau that supplies text and images to media across Europe. Together they edit hidden europe magazine. You can read more of their writing in their regular e-brief and in the Notes section on their website.

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