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New Year’s Eve in Germany begins 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall
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The fall of the ball in Times Square palls compared to Berlin’s New Year’s Eve celebration kicking off the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Berlin’s New Year’s Eve festivities, touted as the world’s largest, will stretch almost two miles from Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate to the Victory Column, and draw more than a million celebrants. The hoop-la includes fireworks, international pop and rock bands, dancing, food tents, and even a Ferris wheel.
Official observances, including a re-enactment of the Fall of the Wall, will be held in 2009 (stay tuned) to mark the November 9 anniversary of tearing down the infamous structure that had divided East and West Germany since the 96-mile-long Berlin Wall was erected in 1961.
The fall of the wall in 1989 ended the Cold War in Germany. The Berlin Wall had been a key part of the Communist “Iron Curtain”. Among Berlin's fascinating museums dedicated to this history are the Mauer Museum at the former "Checkpoint Charlie" (see photograph above from Mauer Museum) and the Stasi Museum of the East German security police.
At least 136 people were killed at the wall between 1961 and 1989.
Today, you can tour the wall on foot, on bicycle, or even in an old East German car, Trabant, called "Trabi". Almost a mile of the wall is emblazoned with commemorative paintings by 106 artists from around the world. Dubbed the "East Side Gallery", it is one of the world's largest open-air galleries.
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New Year's Eve ·
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Berlin ·
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Trabant ·
Trabi ·
East Germany ·
"East Side Gallery" ·
2009 Anniversaries
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