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The Wall Came Tumbling Down - Berlin Hotels for Less

FALL OF BERLIN WALL 20th ANNIVERSARY
2009 Berlin’s Celebration Year

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” American President Ronald Reagan famously demanded in 1987 in front of the Brandenburg Gate. The Soviet leader didn’t exactly rush forward at the controls of a bulldozer, and whether the speech had an effect or was simply an example of surfing on the tides of history, with the collapse of other soviet satellite states and mass demonstrations for reform in East Germany, the Berlin Wall did come down, marked on November 9 of 1989. The Berlin Wall wouldn’t be officially demolished until the summer of 1990, but an off-hand answer to the question of an Italian journalist by a GDR Public Information Officer that “free passage” through all border crossings would be allowed, sent Berliners to test the barriers that evening. The answer was a response to Hungary ending border restrictions, effectively opening a back door to the west. East German hardliner Erich Honecker had resigned after mass public demonstrations a month before and a temporary crossing through the wall was opened at the Brandenburg Gate on December 22, just before Christmas. The wall separating east and west Berlin was first constructed in 1961, went through four generations of reconstruction, but today is almost entirely vanished except for a sometimes recognizable path marked by information stands and a few remaining sections left as an art project. For 2009 in Berlin, a series of special events and exhibitions celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the “peaceful revolution” that lead to the reunification of Germany and a divided Berlin.

Anniversary celebrations include an open-air exhibition on Alexanderplatz, focusing on the events of 1989/90 leading to the wall’s eventual demise. Developments within the German capital during the past 20 years can be observed and experienced at various locations throughout the city. Under the banner “Sites of the New Berlin: 20 years of Change”, government buildings, foreign embassies, and new city centers will become public objects d’art though special projects, light installations, oversized façade art, and exhibitions, spotlighting the dynamic developments in Berlin.

November 9

The celebration year will climax on the date of the anniversary, November 9th with a grand public party at Brandenburg Gate. The "Festival of Freedom" begins with an open-air concert at Pariser Platz by the Staatskapelle Berlin conducted by Daniel Barenboim. After the concert, the fall of the Berlin Wall will be symbolised with the toppling of a domino wall along the entire wall path. by knocking over dominos. Hundreds of thousands are expected to fill the street festivals in one giant party.

Museums such as the House at Checkpoint Charlie Museum (see MauerMuseum Checkpoint Carlie), the German Historical Museum, the Kennedys Museum (see JFK Kennedys) the Allied Museum, the Berlin Film Museum (see Film and Television Museum Berlin), the Stasi Museum, and the DDR Museum (see DDR East German Life Museum) and the Berlin Technik Museum (see Berlin Airlift at Technik Museum) will each feature distinct showings on this important era of German History, allowing visitors to explore all aspects of the division and reunification on Berlin and Germany.

Berlin visitors have a number of ways to actively experience the history of the Wall and what it meant to Berlin and its inhabitants. Take a GPS-guided walking tours on the trail of the Berlin Wall (MauerGuide.com). Even without the audio guide, you can follow the wall where information columns can be found along the former path of the Berlin Wall. Press the button for audio information in eight languages regarding the history of the wall and events related to the specific location of each column.

Take a guided or self-guided bicycle tours on the Wall path (see Berlin Fat Tire Bike Tours), visit the hidden underground Berlin (Berliner-Unterwelten.de), or take a drive into the east of the city in original GDR Trabant cars. Information centers for current Berlin Wall 2009 celebration events are located at the Hauptbahnhof train station and other locations. © Bargain Travel Europe

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