Berliner Mauerweg - Berlin Wall Way
| Sun, 22 Mar 2015 17:00 Germany Colin |
Following is a selection of photographs taken in stages along the corridor of the Berlin Wall that split apart East Berlin and West Berlin 1961-1989. These images were mainly taken just before the 25th commemoration of the fall of the Wall [Mauerfall] . This long distance path is well signposted and also often has lines of setts in the ground marking the actual alignments.     The Wall was hastily thrown up by the East German authorities, supported by Soviet Russia, on the night of 13th August 1961. Firstly barbed wire fences were erected, surrounding the West German exclave of West Berlin, and these were almost immediately replaced by an actual wall which was then strengthened and fortified over the next years. 43 kilometres of Berlin Wall separated West Berlin from East Berlin and a further 112 kilometres separated West Berlin from the then Potsdam District of East Germany. It quickly became not just one concrete wall, but two walls. A parallel Hinterland Wall was built too and between the two walls a "Death Strip" was developed with barbed wire fences, sandy strips, dog runs, command / observation towers, bunkers, lamp posts, search lights, armed patrols, hard-surfaced military road, trip wires). The Wall was declared in 1961 to be an "Anti-Fascist Barrier" to protect the Communist East from the Federal West but it was built in such a way that it was to forcefully, and often lethally, stop people in the East from moving to the West [East Germany was steadily losing its population through emigration to the more prosperous and less oppressive West Germany]. This Wall became a most obvious sight of the "Iron Curtain" and "Cold War" for 25 years. The "Mauerfall" unexpectedly happened late evening on the 9th November 1989. Then many thousands of East Berliners flooded into West Berlin as gates were opened by border guards after a sudden television announcement was made by Gunter Schabowski, an East German politician, that the Wall was to be opened "immediately". 25 years later, Berlin still has much evidence of the infamous Berlin Wall with obvious physical scars remaining in some areas, new buildings erected where many stretches of the barrier stood, and many monuments built to preserve and often honour history. |
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| Sun, 22 Mar 2015 17:29 Germany Colin |
STAGE 1 - Tegeler Fliess Tripoint to Wilhelmsruh (Nordgraben). Koeppchensee which covers former peat cuttings on the northern edge of Berlin near Luebars.   Mauerweg / Wall Way east of Luebars [part of "West Berlin"] - an obvious and wide sandy strip that today is a pleasant countryside walk. It passes close to a spring named the Osterquelle.   Luebars Heights lie west of the Wall Way - an 85 metres high grassed hill that used to be a rubbish tip and is now a recreational area and viewpoint.   Alte Bernauer Heerweg is an old military road that was cut by the Wall.  Blankenfelde lies within the former East Berlin and still has a rural feel to the village. It was the site of a WW2 collection camp for medically ill and has a railway station on the old Heather Railway [Heidekrautbahn].   West of the Wall Way is now the Maerkisches Viertel, a high rise housing development, built 1963-74 to house 50,000 West Berliners.  Further south, the Wall Way continues alongside the Heather Railway line, between Maerkisches Viertel to west and Rosenthal to east. Rosenthal has an interesting old village centre and a village green.      Finally, this stretch of the Berlin Wall Way reaches the insignificant Nordgraben [North Ditch], a drainage channel channel connecting Panke River and Tegel Lake [part of the Havel River system]. Here also is the new rail bridge at Heinz-Brandt-Strasse.    |
| Mon, 23 Mar 2015 21:34 Germany Colin |
STAGE 2 - Wilhelmsruh (Nordgraben) to Bornholmer Strasse This section parallels the North Railway Line [Nordbahn] from Nordgraben, heading SE to the former Bornholmer Strasse border crossing which was used by West Berliners and Federal German citizens. The Berlin Wall Way in this section passes between Reinickendorf & Gesundbrunnen on the Western side and Schoenholz & Pankow on the Eastern side. Wilhelmsruh Railway Station where the former E-W boundary cut across Kopenhagener Strasse, severing Berlin bus routes.   Schoenholz on the Eastern side is noted for the large Soviet War Memorial and the wooded parkland of Schoenholz Heath [Schoenholzer Heide].     The Wall Way continues past Wilhelmsruh, Schoenholz and Wollankstrasse Stations, all S-Bahn stops. To the east is the large suburb of Pankow, once an independent village.     Further south is Bornholmer Strasse, today a busy and important arterial road which was divided by the Wall. Again, East and West local transport had termini on each side of the wall - tram loops on the Eastern side at Bjoernsonstrasse are still used today during peak hours.   Bornholmer Strasse is particularly noted for its road bridge spanning the railway lines - Boese Bridge [Bösebrücke]. This was the first border crossing to be opened on the night of 9 November 1989 when guards stood down in the face of thousands of East Berliners wanting to go into West Berlin. A variety of memorials stand today at the eastern end of the bridge.        This stretch ends at Bornholmer Strasse Railway Station which was closed when the Wall existed.   |
| Mon, 23 Mar 2015 22:36 Germany Colin |
STAGE 3 - Bornholmer Strasse to North Harbour [Nordhafen] This section passes through more densely populated areas, getting closer to the city centre. The Berlin Wall Way here passes between the Western areas of Gesundbrunnen & Humboldthain and the Eastern areas of Prenzlauer Berg & Mitte. The initial stretch heads southwards to the Mauerpark [lit. "Wall Park"], a grassy area popular with young people, particularly at weekends. To the east of the Mauerpark are the Max Schmeling Hall [music & sports venue named after a world famous German boxer] and the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn Stadium, once East Berlin's largest football ground where Dinamo Berlin & East Germany games were played.       Beyond is Bernauer Strasse where new apartment blocks and offices now stand. The Wall was erected along the southern side of this street and many important memorials and visitor centres are here.     It is interesting to compare photographs taken by K-H Lipp in 1962 with views taken 2009-2014. The once bleak scene has today been transformed by lawns, murals and memorials where the Church of Reconcilation [Kapelle der Versohnung] once stood. A long section of Wall still remains with its "death strip", hinterland wall and watch tower.                    Acker-, Berg- and Gartenstrasse crossings still carry visible memories of the Wall - murals and railway relics.     North Station [Nordbahnhof] was also closed when the Wall stood but today's station hall has a display about Berlin's "ghost stations".     Gartenstrasse has a Wall remnant beside the French Cemetery on Liesen Strasse which contains the grave of the famous German writer, Theodor Fontane.       At the former border crossing on Chaussee Strasse [for West Berliners] is a memorial set in a small park. Chaussee Strasse continues as Mueller Strasse beside the Erika Hess Ice Stadium and enters Wedding, a large West Berlin industrial & residential district.    The final stretch of this section turns westwards to reach the North Harbour [Nordhafen] on the Berlin-Spandau Navigation [Berlin-Spandauer Schifffahrtskanal]. This is where the River Panke flows into the canal.   |
| Tue, 24 Mar 2015 19:32 Germany Colin |
STAGE 4 - North Harbour [Nordhafen] to Potsdamer Platz This follows the Way into central Berlin, passing many internationally recognised locations. On the eastern bank of the Berlin-Spandau Navigation, the Wall passed Kieler Bruecke and Kieler Strasse. Here is one of the three remaining watch towers - there were 302.     [46070]]]Then it leads to the Invalids Cemetery [Invaliden Friedhof] which has graves of many of Imperial Germany's most celebrated military officers and then to Sandkrug Bridge / Invalidenstrasse. Here is the old Hamburg Station [now a modern museum] and the Federal Ministry of Works [Wirtschaft].       Sandkrug Bridge was a crossing point for West Berliners and here is a memorial stone for Guenter Litfin, the first fatality of the Berlin Wall, shot while trying to flee from East Germany on 24 August 1961. The Wall continued along the canal, into Humboldt Harbour [Humboldthafen] and then reached the River Spree at Hugo Preuss Bridge. This stretch passes between the modern Main Station [Hauptbahnhof and which was known as Lehrter Stadtbahnhof] to the West and the Charite Hospital complex to the East.     The Wall Way has now reached the Spree Bend [Spreebogen] which is crossed by the Government Quarter [Regierungviertel], a modern ribbon of office buildings centred on the Reichstag. Memorial crosses line the riverbank by the Reichstag.        The Wall Way now leaves the river, heading south along Ebert Strasse to Potsdamer Platz. On the Western side is the Reichstag & Soviet War Memorial while the Eastern side has the Brandenburg Gate, US Embassy and several Federal State [Land] HQ buildings. Again, historical contrast is provided by a photograph taken by K-H Lipp in 1962.               The final section is also noted for passing between the Tiergarten [former Royal hunting park] to the West and the Holocaust memorial to the East.          |
| Wed, 25 Mar 2015 17:42 Germany Colin |
STAGE 5 - Potsdamer Platz to Schillingbruecke This stretch roughly runs W-E between Mitte, the old East Berlin centre, and Kreuzberg, a traditional working class area of West Berlin which latterly received a large influx of Gastarbeiter and their families from Turkey. Potsdamer Platz itself was a busy pre-WW2 crossroads and then became a wasteland between East and West. Today this square has been much redeveloped since the "Change" [Wende] and has towering skyscrapers over the Sony Centre, a covered entertainments area. The railway station has been re-opened too. However there is still a Cold War relic to see, a watch tower which has been re-sited close to its original position. Notable again is the historical difference in this area since K-H Lipp's photographs of 1962.          The alignment ran SE along Stresemannstrasse then E along Niederkirchnerstrasse & Zimmerstrasse, passing government buildings and former Gestapo HQ [then Albrechtstrasse] before reaching the celebrated Checkpoint Charlie. Here was the crossing point between East and West Berlin on Friedrichstrasse, used by foreign nationals and the location of the stand-off between American & Soviet Russian tanks in 1961. Other recent photos by S Ballard and C Whippet.            Checkpoint Charlie is now a tourist magnet with a museum, replica hut and uniformed photo opportunities - the original hut currently stands in the Allied Museum [Clay Allee in Zehlendorf-Dahlem].      At the east end of Zimmerstrasse is the Axel Springer Publishing House, a skyscraper purposely built there on the West side of the Wall. Beyond is Kommandantenstrasse and the Federal Printing Office.     Beyond Sebastianstrasse was the Prinzenstrasse Border Crossing [now on Heinrich-Heine-Strasse] which was used by Federal citizens. Then comes Alfred-Doeblin-Platz [named after the author of Berlin Alexanderplatz] and Waldemarstrasse.    The final stretch here passes Luisenstadt, Engelbecken, St Michael's Church and Bethaniendamm, reaching the Spree at Schillingbruecke. The border followed the embankment of the former Luisenstadt Canal.      |
| Thu, 2 Apr 2015 23:10 Germany Colin |
STAGE 6 - Schillingbruecke - Treptow The alignment of the Wall followed the River Spree upstream from Schillingbruecke to the mouth of the Landwehrkanal, dividing Kreuzberg [West] on the left bank from Friedrichshain [East]on the right bank. Then it basically paralleled the Landwehrkanal N-S and then Harzer and Heidelberger Strasse W-E to Treptower Strasse. The first stretch is well known for its East Side Gallery - a 1,200 metre long segment of the Berlin Wall which has been left standing along Muehlenstrasse on the north bank of the River Spree. This wall remnant has been painted by many international artists, making it the world's longest open air art gallery.          Notable buildings beside the Gallery are the modern O2 Arena and the local railway station Warschauer Strasse which is undergoing massive redevelopment [2015].    The Wall then passed the famous Oberbaumbruecke, said to be Berlin's most beautiful bridge. This was a border crossing point for West Berliners and now is once again open for U-Bahn trains as well as normal road traffic.   [  Where the Wall turned N-S, away from the Spree, it followed the Landwehrkanal to Lohmuehlenbruecke. Several historic buildings and monuments remain here, including warehouses, a 1929 filling station and an old East German watch tower at Schlesischer Busch.           The Wall turned eastwards from Lohmuehlenbruecke and ran W-E along Harzer Strasse, Bouchestrasse and Heidelberger Strasse. Treptow was on the East side and Neukoelln on the West side. Some modifications to the alignment were agreed by the governing authorities and a few celebrated escapes occurred in this area.      The final stretch runs close to Treptow Park on the Eastern side of the Wall course. Here is the large Soviet War Memorial.    |
| Sat, 4 Apr 2015 22:08 Germany Colin |
STAGE 7 - Treptow to Rudow This penultimate stretch of the Wall Way between the former East Berlin [now Treptow-Koepenick District] and West Berlin [now Neukoelln District] starts with a NE-SE alignment along Kiefholzstrasse which still has a wide grassy corridor. Then the route follows the Heidekampgraben [a drainage channel] to the Britz Branch Canal [Britzer Zweigkanal]. The boundary line then runs E-W along the south bank of this canal to Rudow East Harbour and the junction with Teltow Canal. After this it follows the canal southwards to Adlershof and Rudow. Kiefholzstrasse has an elongated and wide grassy strip of parkland where the death strip once was. This passes allotments [Kleingarten] on the Neukoelln [West] side and the Plaenterwald district on the Treptow [East] side.    The path then follows Heidekampgraben with Koellnische Heide on the West side and Baumschulenweg on the East side. It also crosses Sonnenallee where there was a Border Crossing point - now dominated by the towering Estrel Hotel. The Wall Way enters an industrial area with many factories, mills and warehouses as it reaches the canals. Close is the Spaeth Arboretum on Baumschulenweg [lit. "Tree School Way"] which is now managed by Humboldt University.     The Britz Branch Canal also has an industrial estate on its north side [former West Berlin] and allotments on its south side [former East Berlin]. The path then runs NW-SW following the wide Teltow Canal which connects the Havel & Spree river networks. The Wall followed the east bank of this canal for ca 5 miles (8 km) but today there is now a wide cycleway and the thundering motorway [Autobahn 113] beside the path. Rudow, a large residential area, lies to the west. Eventually the university research and science parks at Adlershof are reached.           |
| Mon, 6 Apr 2015 21:28 Germany Colin |
STAGE 8 - Rudow This final stretch of the Berlin Wall Way following the former East Berlin - West Berlin boundary runs for about 4 kilometres N-S from the Teltow Canal at Adlershof to the Rudow-Altglienicke-Schoenefeld tri-point (just north of Schoenefeld Airport). It is paralleled by the busy motorway [Autobahn 113] - twice in a tunnel - on the eastern edge of the boundary. This section has Rudow [old West Berlin] to the west and Altglienicke [old East Berlin] to the east. First of note on the western side are the Rudow Heights [Ruedower Hoehe], a park built in the 1950s on a 70 metre high hill based on rubble from a ruined Berlin. This has good views in all directions.     The path continues southwards, passing residential areas and weekend houses to reach the modern Rudow-Altglienicke Landscape Park. This is flat with paddocks and wet grasslands which are overlooked from the East by the towering Altglienicke housing estate.     The last steps take the walker to the tri-point where once East Berlin, Potsdam District [East Germany] and West Berlin came together. Today, access is free in all directions and the adjacent Schoenefeld Airport caters for all. The Wall Way continues westwards but now it follows the former West Berlin - East Germany boundary.      References: Link  Link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_Mauer |