East Side Gallery: Berlin’s Open Air Gallery

The East Side Gallery in Berlin is around 1.3 kilometres long, which stands as evidence of what the wall has witnessed throughout the years, and you can rediscover the history of the Berlin Wall, located on the banks of Spree Friedrichshain. 

East Side Gallery History

The Berlin Wall existed till November 9, 1989, when it was announced by the East German Communist Party’s head that the German Democrats could cross the border whenever they wanted. 

Upon the announcement, the crowd became so ecstatic that some crossed freely but some brought hammers and picks, as a result of which the wall was brought down. Today the Berlin Wall stands as an enduring symbol of the Cold War. 

A section of the Berlin Wall that remained was painted by some 118 artists from 21 different countries, which is now known as the East Side Gallery in Berlin.

The East Side Gallery in Berlin officially opened on 28th September in the year 1990, and just after opening for a year, it was given the protected memorial status. 

The Berlin Wall Art was made from February to September 1990, and a total of 106 unique motives have been created by the artists, expressing their happiness in the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9th November 1989, and also marking the end of the Cold War in Europe. 

There are almost a hundred paintings on what was on the East Side Gallery, where some of the works of the East Side are particularly popular, including Dmitri Vrubel’s Fraternal Kiss, which is one of the most photographed places and Birgit Kinders’s Trabant Breaking Through the wall. 

In the year 1996, the East Side Gallery was founded by Kani Alavi, an artist’s initiative to preserve and restore the works. By the year 2000, a 300-meter stretch of this wall had already been restored and almost 33 pictures had been painted. 

In 2009 the whole East Side Gallery was restored and ever since, it has been a major draw for tourists. A total of 87 artists took part and 100 paintings were restored. In 2018, the State of Berlin transferred the East Side Gallery to the property of Stiftung Berliner Mauer, which is responsible for the monument preservation of the Street Art Berlin.