Germany
Berlin
1990, a year after the hated Berlin Wall fell, and the remaining wall
sections in the city center are being hacked into pieces as souvenirs.
2003.  Only one large, intact section of the Berlin Wall remains, the East Side
Gallery, located far from central Berlin.  Artists have painted many panels.
This artist's panel at the East Side Gallery shows how the Berlin Wall used to
divide the city at the Brandenburg Gate.  The Gate was in East Berlin.  The
Berlin Wall was intended  to prevent East Germans from escaping into West
Germany.  The wall stood from 1961 until it fell in 1989.  Germany was
reunited in 1990 and Communist East Germany, which built the wall, ceased to
exist.
The Brandenburg Gate, all that survives of Berlin's medieval walls and gates, is
probably Germany's best known symbol.  It once represented German military
power, with the Goddess of Victory in her chariot at the top.  Now, with the
Berlin Wall gone and free passage restored under the gate, it stands for German
reunification.  
The Reichstag is again the German Parliament Building, with Berlin regaining
its status as Germany's capitol in 1999.  A modernistic glass dome has been
added to represent open government.  From the dome, which people line up to
visit, the Bundestag (Parliament) can be seen at work below.  The former West
German flag in this picture is once more the flag of a united Germany.
Index of Germany Pages
If you have a high speed internet connection, watch the
Intrepid Berkeley Explorer's new video on Germany
"Septemberfest" and the 1990 film "Berlin and Paris" by
clicking on
AdventurePics.com .