HAVE GERMAN WILL TRAVEL rh·1s wee k ·m Histor FAMOUS EVENTS: What happened on ... ? Was ist am 9. November 1989 geschehen? world-renown mu­ released simultaneously at five points, allmving these "sym­ seums, has been bols of hope for a world ,virhout walls" to gently glide into reconstrncted in the freedom of the night sky. Artist Ben Wagin's project -- a spectacular way. "Mauer keine Dauer" (VVall - no duration) will re-create Star architect David Chipperfield transformed the "Neu~s the Wall with office files, symbolizing its origin as an idea Museum," home of famous Nefertiti, into a Lmique blend developed in the offices of the East Berlin regime. In an­ of old ~d new, praised as an architectural masterpiece. other project called "Widerstandsrdume: Friedliche Revolu­ Others _like the Pergamon Museum are still undergoing tion" (places of opposition, peaceful revolution), there will renovation, and a new building being added as a visitor be panels, church services, and exhibitions throughout the center and underground connect.ion. year in East Berlin's Zion Church, which had played an The Gendarmenmarkt, considered one of the most important role as a safe meeting place for the dissenters. beautiful architectural ensembles in Europe, has been re­ So much has changed that tourists may quickly be at a loss stored to its former splendor, and the poor, run-down where to go first: Potsdamer Platz, the busiest traffic circle in areas of Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg, and Friedrichshain Europe 199 years ago but turned into a wasteland in 1945, - ~ove~ty having prevented the architectural eye sores of untouched for decades, is now a showcase of glass-fronted umnsp1red post-war buildings - regained their turn-of­ high-rises bordering tl1e Sony Center, a huge white tent-like the century beauty and are now sought-after ne.igl1bor­ structure in the middle, colorfully illuminated at night. hoods. However, they are also examples of gentrification, PriedrichstraBe, the main party venue in the "Roar­ a bone of contention among investors and Berliners, who ing Twenties," tl1en laid in ruins, is now marked by the can no longer pay the rising rents. French high-end department store "Galeries Lafayette" On_ce again, Berlin can be experienced as an open, we1- with its huge curved glass front - only one of the many corrung, creative, and tolerant city. There even seems to new international fashion stores, which set up shop here. be some kind of invisible magnet.ism. As 30 year-old Sven Many big trade shows like "Bread & Butter" in tl1e for­ Barth, a new resident, put it: "I love Berlin, because it mer Tempelhof airport building, were drawn to Berlin; constantly reinvents itself. VVhenever I step into the street and the annual foternat.ional Tourism Fair ITB is the larg­ there is something new: perhaps a newsstand a fast food est such show in the world. joint or coffee shop, a freshly renovated b1;ilding or a Although cultural life had tlrrived on both sides of the flower stand. Berlin changes literally overnight. And I es­ Wall as each tried to outdo the otl1er with hirrh-rankinrr 0 0 pecially enjoy the tolerant atmosphere in a city of 3.5 mil­ concerts and tl1eater performances, Berlin's rebirth as a l.ion, in which half a million attend a peaceful Christopher whole has led to an enormous growth in cultural venues. Street Day parade, and the Mayor is openly gay." Most notably, the run-down Museum Island, with its five . After 100 !ears, Berlin regained its place among the ma­ ~or players We~ Lon_don, Paris, and New York, mainly due, 1t appears, to its nuxture of high culture and subcultures contemporary history and entertainment, making it a joy~ ous, young, and lively city. Understandably, such a devel­ opment also generates conflicts, but the dividing lines are THE FALL OF THE no longer of political systems; instead, they now disunite BERLIN WALL IN 1989. COURTESY locals an~ foreign investors, as in the case of a 600-apart­ WIKIMEDIA COM­ ment pro1ect ?Y the Mauerpark, where Berliners try to de­ fend the reclaimed land against plush condominiums. GL MONS/UNKNOWN PHOTOGRAPHER, For more information, please visit the following websites: REPRODUCTION BY www.visitberlin.de. LEAR 21. www.mauer.visitBerlin.de/en. www.berliner-mauer-gedenkstaette.de/. .