Wall pieces

The Berlin Wall at the Märkisches Museum

The Wall divided Berlin for exactly 28 years, 2 months and 26 days. Seven original wall segments and an audio station with authentic sound documents in front of the Märkisches Museum remind us of the symbol of German division.

Berliner Mauer mit Original-Graffiti von Kiddy Citny im Märkischen Museum – Berliner Mauer mit Original-Graffiti von Kiddy Citny im Märkischen Museum © Stadtmuseum Berlin | Foto: Heiko Noack

East border guards and West graffiti

From 13 August 1961 until 9 November 1989 Berlin was divided into East and West. The Berlin Wall still symbolizes this period like no other monument. Two of the Wall pieces at the Märkisches Museum, which are accessible around the clock as part of the permanent exhibition outside, still show characteristic graffiti preserved in the original, which was especially typical for the West Berlin side of the Wall in the Kreuzberg district. The "King's Head" depicted on it was created by the German artist Kiddy Citny in 1985 as part of a long frieze on Waldemarstrasse. The Stadtmuseum Berlin owes it to the generous donation of a citizen.

Another piece of the wall in the exhibition features a flap that allowed the GDR's border guards access to the West. The Stiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur (Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship) made it possible for us to present segments of the Berlin Wall and set up a listening station. Acoustic and stone contemporary witnesses

The listening station brings to life the history of the Wall from the construction of the first temporary structures to its fall almost three decades later with historical audio documents. You can listen to:

Walter Ulbricht (1961)Willy Brandt (1961)Chancellor Dr. Konrad Adenauer (1961)Excerpts from the feature "Grafitti an der Berliner Mauer" (1984)Günter Schabowski (1999)Dismantling by the "Mauerspechte" (1989)

After the peaceful revolution of November 9, 1989 and reunification on October 3, 1990, the Berlin Wall quickly disappeared from the cityscape. Only in a few places can the former course of the border still be guessed at.

Around one kilometer north of their original location, the Wall pieces on display in front of the Märkisches Museum now recall the time when Berlin was a divided city.

The permanent exhibition "Wall Pieces" in the outdoor area of the Märkisches Museum is open to the public free of charge seven days a week all year round. No museum admission required!

Runtime: from July 2013

Price: €7.00

Reduced price: €4.00

Reduced price info: (incl. audioguide) | up to 18 years free of charge

Takes place here:

• Märkisches Museum