Sunday, 9 November 2014

The Berlin Wall fell 25 years ago today, and the city rebuilt it with 8,000 light balloons

A man takes pictures under stands with balloons placed along the former Berlin Wall location at East Side Gallery, which will be used in the installation 'Lichtgrenze' (Border of Light) in Berlin November 7, 2014. A part of the inner city of Berlin will be temporarily divided from November 7 to 9, with a light installation featuring 8000 luminous white balloons to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke (GERMANY - Tags: ANNIVERSARY CITYSCAPE) - RTR4D8A6

After the end of World War II, the Allies took over the fallen city of Berlin—with the US, UK, and France administering control over what would become part of West Germany in 1949 and the USSR taking control of the East. That division was crystallized with the building of a wall dividing the former capital in 1961. In 1989, exactly 25 years ago today, the Berlin Wall finally fell.


The city has marked it with a beautiful temporary art installation called “Lichtgrenze,” which started on Friday 5pm local time and will end on Sunday at 7pm. Developed by Christopher Bauder and Marc Bauder, the city is putting 8,000 luminous balloons along the length of what was the Berlin Wall—from Bornholmer Strasse to Mauerpark and the Berlin Wall Memorial, past the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate and Checkpoint Charlie.



All in all, the installation runs for 15km (9.3 miles) and reminds everyone just how divided the city was only a generation ago:




8000 white glowing balloons draw a line of about 15km long throughout the original path #fallofthewall25 #Lightgrenze pic.twitter.com/JzTXG6pv47


— Luis León (@LuisPucela84) November 9, 2014




Up close, “Lichtgrenze“—or “Border of Light—is stunning.



A person takes a photo of the installation 'Lichtgrenze' (Border of Light) along a former Berlin Wall location at Mauer Park in Berlin November 7, 2014. A part of the inner city of Berlin is being temporarily divided from November 7 to 9, with a light installation featuring 8000 luminous white balloons, following the 9.5-mile (15.3 kmilometre) path the Berlin Wall once occupied, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. REUTERS/Pawel Kopczynski (GERMANY - Tags: ANNIVERSARY ENTERTAINMENT CITYSCAPE) - RTR4DAUN

(Reuters/Pawel Kopczynski)


The installation 'Lichtgrenze' (Border of Light) along a former Berlin Wall location is illuminated next to the Brandenburg Gate, at dusk in Berlin November 7, 2014. A part of the inner city of Berlin is being temporarily divided from November 7 to 9, with a light installation featuring 8000 luminous white balloons, following the 9.5-mile (15.3 kmilometre) path the Berlin Wall once occupied, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY - Tags: ANNIVERSARY ENTERTAINMENT) - RTR4DA9L

(Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch)

But the show really comes alive when the balloons light up the remaining parts of the wall.



People walk under stands with balloons placed along the former Berlin Wall location at East Side Gallery, which will be used in the installation 'Lichtgrenze' (Border of Light) in Berlin November 7, 2014. A part of the inner city of Berlin will be temporarily divided from November 7 to 9, with a light installation featuring 8000 luminous white balloons to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke (GERMANY - Tags: ANNIVERSARY CITYSCAPE) - RTR4D87F

(Reuters/Hannibal Hanschke)

 



A person passes by the installation 'Lichtgrenze' (Border of Light) in front of a painting depicting former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev kissing his East German counterpart Erich Honecker (R) along the East Side Gallery, the largest remaining part of the former Berlin Wall, in Berlin November 7, 2014. A part of the inner city of Berlin is being temporarily divided from November 7 to 9, with a light installation featuring 8000 luminous white balloons, following the 9.5-mile (15.3 kmilometre) path the Berlin Wall once occupied, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke (GERMANY - Tags: ANNIVERSARY ENTERTAINMENT CITYSCAPE TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4DAPP

(Reuters/Hannibal Hanschke)

 



A cyclist stops next to the installation 'Lichtgrenze' (Border of Light) along a former Berlin Wall location at Niederkirchener Strasse in Berlin November 7, 2014. A part of the inner city of Berlin is being temporarily divided from November 7 to 9, with a light installation featuring 8000 luminous white balloons, following the 9.5-mile (15.3 kmilometre) path the Berlin Wall once occupied, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke (GERMANY - Tags: ANNIVERSARY ENTERTAINMENT CITYSCAPE) - RTR4DAEP

(Reuters/Hannibal Hanschke)

Read this next: How 888,246 red ceramic poppies captivated Britain and brought WWI to life




The Berlin Wall fell 25 years ago today, and the city rebuilt it with 8,000 light balloons

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