Berlin Photo Gallery - Cold War Landmarks

The Berlin Wall physically divided the city for 28 years. After reunification, much of it was torn down with segments sent to museums and around the world. There are pieces of it still visible today in Berlin but you need to go look for them. Brandenburg Gate was built long before World War II and the city's division, but it became a symbol during the Cold War as it was located in the restricted area that neither East or West Berliners could visit. King Frederick William II commissioned the gate as a grand finish line for Unter den Linden. Built between 1788 and 1791 with inspiration from the Acropolis, the gate became a symbol of reunification after the Berlin Wall fell. Checkpoint Charlie on Friedrichstrasse was the border crossing between East and West Berlin. It's a bit of a tourist trap today as the original crossing was torn down after the wall fell. Just outside the Nordbahnhof train station is a park incorporating remnants of the wall, which ran along Bernauer Strasse. Known as the Berlin Wall Memorial, there is a visitor's centre that is a good starting point to learn about the history. Here, the border ran right up to buildings and during the early days, East Berlin residents jumped out of their apartment windows onto rescue nets from the West Berlin fire brigade. Shortly after the wall went up, remaining residents were taken out and the windows bricked up. 10 people died in this area when trying to escape, all during the 1960s. Nordbahnhof station is also worth a visit in itself. During the division, 3 West Berlin U-bahn and S-bahn lines ran under East Berlin. Trains did not stop here but passed slowly with armed guards watching, hence it was referred to as a "ghost station". Underground facilities also had various types of barricades to prevent escape. A number of exhibition panels document these stories just upstairs from the train platform. The Topography of Terror focuses on the Nazi government departments that used the site and carried out their campaign of persecution and terror. However, the area also has another historic purpose as the wall crossed the area. Also check out my East Side Gallery page for more photos of the wall.