Cold War & Wall

The last remaining section of the Berlin Wall preserved in its full depth — inner wall, death strip, watchtower, and outer wall. Bernauer Strasse became infamous on August 13, 1961, when the Wall split the street down the middle. Residents in buildings on the eastern side jumped from upper windows to reach the West; some died trying. The Chapel of Reconciliation, rebuilt in 2000 on the site of a church dynamited by the GDR in 1985, holds daily prayers for the Wall's victims. Over 140 people died attempting to cross.

The Documentation Center next door has a viewing platform that lets you look down into the preserved death strip — the perspective makes the Wall's brutality visceral.

The most famous crossing point between East and West Berlin during the Cold War, operational from 1961 to 1990. In October 1961, American and Soviet tanks faced off here just meters apart — the closest the superpowers came to direct armed conflict in Europe. The name comes from the NATO phonetic alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie for the third checkpoint). Peter Fechter, an 18-year-old bricklayer, was shot and left to bleed to death near here in 1962 while East German guards watched. The original guardhouse is now in the Allied Museum.

Skip the tourist trap replica guardhouse and visit the Mauermuseum at Friedrichstrasse 43 — it documents the most creative escape attempts, including a hot air balloon and a modified car.