The Berlin Wall at the Märkisches Museum
The Berlin Wall divided Berlin for exactly 28 years, 2 months and 26 days. Seven original sections of the Wall and an audio station featuring authentic audio recordings in front of the Märkisches Museum serve as a reminder of this symbol of German division.
Image gallery
Berliner Mauer mit Original-Graffiti von Kiddy Citny im Märkischen Museum
Eastern border guards and Western graffiti
From 13 August 1961 to 9 November 1989, Berlin was divided into East and West. The Berlin Wall remains, like no other monument, a symbol of this era to this day.
Two of the Wall segments at the Märkisches Museum, which are accessible round the clock as part of the permanent outdoor exhibition, still bear characteristic graffiti preserved in its original form, typical in particular of the West Berlin side of the Wall in the Kreuzberg district. The ‘Königskopf’ (King’s Head) depicted on them was created by the German artist Kiddy Citny in 1985 as part of a long frieze on Waldemarstraße. The Stadtmuseum Berlin owes its acquisition to a generous donation from a member of the public.
Another section of the Wall in the exhibition features a flap that allowed East German border guards access to the West. The Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship enabled us to display these segments of the Berlin Wall and set up an audio station.
Acoustic and stone witnesses to history
The audio station brings the history of the Wall to life with historical audio recordings, from the construction of the first makeshift barriers to its fall almost three decades later.
You can hear:
- Walter Ulbricht (1961)
- Willy Brandt (1961)
- Chancellor Dr Konrad Adenauer (1961)
- Excerpts from the feature ‘Graffiti on the Berlin Wall’ (1984)
- Günter Schabowski (1999)
- Dismantling by the ‘Wall Woodpeckers’ (1989)
Following the peaceful revolution of 9 November 1989 and reunification on 3 October 1990, the Berlin Wall quickly disappeared from the cityscape. Only in a few places can one still make out the former course of the border.
Around one kilometre north of its original location, the sections of the Wall now on display in front of the Märkisches Museum serve as a reminder of the time when Berlin was a divided city.
The permanent exhibition ‘Pieces of the Wall’ in the outdoor area of the Märkisches Museum is open free of charge all year round, seven days a week. No museum admission fee required!
