Checkpoint Charlie
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It’s hard to imagine a city like Berlin with a huge wall running down the middle. But between 1961 and 1989, that’s the way it was.
The Berlin Wall was built during the Cold War and covered a distance of 29 miles. It was put up to stop people from Communist East Germany fleeing to the West in search of a better life – and Checkpoint Charlie was the only crossing point in Berlin.
It is located in the Friedrichstadt neighbourhood and for the 28 years it was active, Checkpoint Charlie was manned by Allied armed forces.
These days, the checkpoint itself isn’t much more than a replica wooden hut, a memorial and a few sandbags. But if you don’t fancy fighting your way through swathes of tourists to get the perfect photo with a soldier, try exploring the area around the crossing as it’s far more worthwhile.
You’ll be able to see a small section of the 12ft wall that’s still standing and follow the bricks to see where the streets were split up. An open-air timeline documents all the stand-offs, escape attempts and deaths at the crossing and the nearby Haus am Checkpoint Charlie museum has everything else history fanatics could possibly want to know.
Cost Free
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