Berlin Attractions(Part 3): Checkpoint Charlie, Oberbaum Bridge, East Side Gallery, Berlin Wall Memorial, Charlottenburg Palace

Berlin

There are so many places to see in Berlin that it's impossible to cover them all. This article will cover a few of the sights that are a bit further from the city center, including Checkpoint Charlie, Oberbaumbrucke, East side gallery, Gedenkstatte Berliner Mauer, Schloss Charlottenburg, and more. (Schloss Charlottenburg.) If you take public transportation to all of these sightseeing spots, you will need at least a day and a half to two days for sightseeing. We rented a car for the last day, so we drove to all of them.

Charlie Checkpoint.

 
In the past, Checkpoint Charlie was an Allied checkpoint during the division of Germany, and was the only place you had to go to get into and out of East-West Berlin, usually only Allied soldiers or diplomats were allowed to enter. The adjacent Checkpoint Charlie Museum displays a wide range of historical material from the period of the division of East and West Germany. Checkpoint Charlie refers to the small white house in the middle of the road with a sign depicting a Soviet Red Army soldier and a U.S. Army soldier on the other side, warning of entering hostile territory.
 
Charlie Checkpoint.
Checkpoint Charlie, Oberbaum Bridge, East Side Gallery, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin Wall Memorial Park 1

Berlin Wall Museum

 
Next to Checkpoint Charlie, there is a souvenir store and a small museum showing the history of the Berlin Wall, and some of the remains of the Wall are on display here. I am particularly interested in this period of history, and I have seen the special exhibition at the Washington D.C. Museum of Journalism before, and I have recorded some of the information and insights I have gained from the exhibition here.Museum of JournalismIn the travelogue.
 
The split between East and West Berlin came about after World War II, when East Berlin became a Soviet-occupied area and West Berlin was occupied by the United States, Britain and France. At the beginning of World War II, there was no Berlin Wall, so Berliners could move freely between the two sides, for example, some people lived in East Berlin and worked in West Berlin. However, due to the increasing number of defections to West Berlin and the fact that West Berlin itself was within the borders of East Germany, the Soviet Union began a blockade of West Berlin to force the Western Allies to give up West Berlin. The East Germans drew up a blockade line and later built the famous Berlin Wall.
Checkpoint Charlie, Oberbaum Bridge, East Side Gallery, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin Wall Memorial Park 2

Apart from some of the remains of the wall, the majority of the small museum is dedicated to historical material, which requires patience to read. One of the most impressive aspects of the museum is the variety of ways in which the people living in East Berlin escaped. Simple as hiding in train compartments, more drastic such as installing thick steel plates on the cars to break through the blockade lines, more complex such as forging documents, or in many cases, bribing American soldiers or diplomats stationed there to carry out their plans. There were successes and failures, and most of those who failed were sentenced to death.

Checkpoint Charlie, Oberbaum Bridge, East Side Gallery, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin Wall Memorial Park 3
 

Oberbaum Bridge


The Oberbaum Bridge is located over the River Spree, and is geographically connected to the two districts that used to be divided by the Berlin Wall, which was part of the West Berlin border during the division of Germany, and is now one of the symbols of Berlin's unity. Originally, the bridge was a wooden suspension bridge, "Baum" meaning wood in German. In the 19th century, it was built as a stone bridge for transportation purposes, integrating vehicular, pedestrian and railroad lines. The two Gothic towers in the center are distinctive, but have no practical use.

Oberbaum Bridge

East Side Gallery

The East Side Gallery was originally part of the Berlin Wall, most of which was demolished after the reunification of Germany. The East Side Gallery's section of the Berlin Wall is 1.3 kilometers long and is the longest surviving section. On the wall are 105 paintings made in 1990 on the eastern side of the Berlin Wall, many of them satirical or politically charged, and one third of the surviving works are said to be from the original.

East Side Gallery
 
On the west side of the east gallery, some photographs and historical materials are currently on display.
 
Checkpoint Charlie, Oberbaum Bridge, East Side Gallery, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin Wall Memorial Park 4

 

 

Berlin Wall Memorial Park

 
Among all the attractions related to the Berlin Wall, the Berlin Wall Memorial Park is one of my favorites. This is also the site of the Berlin Wall, and unlike the eastern gallery, it is largely preserved in its original state, so you can especially feel the historical atmosphere of the time. In the green area of this outdoor memorial park, there are panels static displaying various stories of the 30 years before and after the division of East and West Germany, as well as some documentaries. There are some remnants of this history on the site, such as stone floors on the ground showing the route of the tunnels dug by the workers to escape, and in some places there are still remnants of the lines of the blockade before the concrete walls were built, which show the signs of the blockade of the GDR, which became more and more stringent with the passage of time.
Berlin Wall Memorial Park
Checkpoint Charlie, Oberbaum Bridge, East Side Gallery, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin Wall Memorial Park 5
Checkpoint Charlie, Oberbaum Bridge, East Side Gallery, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin Wall Memorial Park 6

Some bullet holes can still be found on the walls. Visiting the ruins of an East German watchtower is like stepping back in time to the murderous atmosphere of the past, with people peering in through the cracks in the wall.

Checkpoint Charlie, Oberbaum Bridge, East Side Gallery, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin Wall Memorial Park 7
Checkpoint Charlie, Oberbaum Bridge, East Side Gallery, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin Wall Memorial Park 8
 
There is a Church of Reconciliation in the park, the original site of which used to be a Gothic church, which was demolished by the GDR in 1989 because it was located in an unregulated area at the time of the Secession. The Church of Reconciliation was built after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Checkpoint Charlie, Oberbaum Bridge, East Side Gallery, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin Wall Memorial Park 9

Charlottenburg Palace


Charlottenburg is the largest surviving palace in Berlin, a baroque palace built in the 17th century. It was originally built as the summer residence of Frederick I, Charlotten after his queen. The main building, the Old Palace, and the New Wing, which was later expanded by its successors, are the main attractions. Admission is separate. The French-style garden outside is free.

Checkpoint Charlie, Oberbaum Bridge, East Side Gallery, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin Wall Memorial Park 10
The statue in the center of the square at the main entrance to the palace is of Frederick I on horseback.
Charlottenburg Palace

Checkpoint Charlie, Oberbaum Bridge, East Side Gallery, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin Wall Memorial Park 11
 

Further reading



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