The Berlin Wall cut through the center of Berlin from August of 1961 to November of 1989, separating the Soviet Union from Western powers. More than just a wall though, it was a complex military system that rose more than 12 feet high and had 302 towers, 12,000 guards and countless kilometers of barbed wire.
The Location of the Berlin Wall
IEG-MAPS, Institute of European History, Mainz / © A. Kunz, 2004
Countless numbers of people attempted to cross the wall in the 28 years that it stood, trying to escape Soviet soldiers, many of which were shot before they could even scale it's sturdy, gray, concrete facade.
When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, 118 artists from 21 different countries came to create spontaneous works of art on a remaining, still-standing section of it. It officially opened as an open-air gallery in September of 1990.
This section is now the longest surviving stretch of the wall and its 1.3 kilometers located on the banks of the Spree in Friedrichshain, are covered in approximately 106 paintings, making it the largest outdoor gallery in the world.
Becuase it is exposed to the elements, and vandals, there have been many efforts over the years to restore the artworks.
According to the tourist information website for the gallery, "In 1996, Kani Alavi founded East Side Gallery e. V., an artists’ initiative to preserve and restore the works. By 2000, a 300-metre stretch of the wall had already been restored and 33 pictures repainted, and in 2009 the whole East Side Gallery was restored. 87 artists took part and 100 paintings were restored."
Location
Admission
None! The Gallery is open-air and open to the public for FREE!
Opening Hours
The gallery is always open, as it is just a part of the street. Visit whenever you like!
