Mikhail Gorbachev was instrumental in the fall of the Berlin wall and the end of the cold war.


"The Anti Fascist Protection Barrier".


The Berlin wall was used as a canvas for many artists.

Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint C or Checkpoint Charlie was the name of the Western Allies best known border crossing through the Berlin Wall between East and West Berlin during the Cold War.

In order to stop Eastern Block emigration westward from East Berlin to West GDR leader Walter Ulbicht gained permission from the Soviet Union to construct The Berlin Wall. Checkpoint Charlie fast became a symbol of the cold war after Soviet and American tanks staged a face of during the Berlin crisis of 1961.

The sign, which became a symbol of the division of Cold War Berlin and read as a warning to those about to journey beyond the Wall, “YOU ARE NOW LEAVING THE AMERICAN SECTOR” in German, English, Russian and French and - stood here. Today it is an iconic marker of former territorial boundary and political division.

Before the fall of the Berlin Wall on the 9th November, 1989, it marked the border between West and East Berlin and between Capitalism and Communism.

The spot remains a popular tourist destination in Berlin with historical and emotional significance to those all over Germany and beyond. Much discussion went into deciding what should be left in this spot for Berliners and visitors to see in the future. For decades, 1961-1900 the site functioned as the main point of entry and departure for anybody allowed a visa to enter East Berlin whether they be journalists, diplomats or high ranking officials, they all had to pass through this checkpoint. In October 1961 one of the highly charged events of the Cold War happened at this point as US and Soviet tanks faced off at Checkpoint Charlie just one gunshot away from WW3.

As the need for such a checkpoint eroded the wooden hut where visitors to the East passed through for vetting was taken away, a US army guardhouse and a copy of the original border sign now mark the spot and the original booth can be found at the Allierten Museum in Berlin. The nearby café Adler is a favourite spot for tourists now as it used to be for journalists and spies. If you are looking for some educational tourism then the museum Haus am Checkpoint Charlie is a great recourse and is the home of some great artefacts including the original signage.

In New Berlin this area has been changed in an entry point rather than exit to a different kind of capitalist sector. The Friedrichstraße is a cosmopolitan area with buildings by international designers and architects and an office district which would seem perfectly at home in New York. This area was heavily redeveloped and invested in by the corporate powers in the west. For information on the Berlin Wall or the cold war as a whole keep in touch with us on social media.