Changes in 1989 and 1990
In the time between the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 and the abolition of all border controls on 1 July 1990, numerous additional border crossings were built for interim use. Because of their symbolic value, the most famous of these were Glienicke Bridge, Bernauer Straße, Potsdamer Platz, and the Brandenburg Gate.
The opening of the Brandenburg Gate was merely a public-relations formality which took place on 22 December 1989 at the request of then-Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Hundreds of television crews from all over the world had anticipated this historic event for weeks.
West Germans and West Berliners were allowed visa-free travel to the East Berlin and East Germany starting 23 December 1989. Until then, they could only visit under restrictive conditions that involved application for a visa several days or weeks in advance and obligatory exchange of at least 25 DM per day of their planned stay. Thus, in the weeks between 9 November 1989 and 23 December 1989, East Germans could travel more freely than Westerners as they have been able to cross into West Berlin with just passport checks.
The controls were abandoned on 1 July 1990, the day of the currency union and before the actual reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990. In the months after the fall of the Wall, border crossings between the East and the West had become more and more irrelevant.
Today, a few portions of the structures have been retained as a memorial.
A chronological list of Berlin border crossings opened until 30 June 1990 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No | Date | Time | Location | Areas linked | Notes |
1 | 10 November 1989 | 08:00 | Kirchhainer Damm | Mahlow/Berlin-Lichtenrade (F 96/B 96) | Already in use for sanitation trucks, was opened to private citizens |
2 | 18:00 | Glienicke Bridge | Potsdam/Berlin-Wannsee | Already in use for Allied personnel, was opened to private citizens | |
3 | 11 November 1989 | 08:00 | Eberswalder Straße/Bernauer Straße | Prenzlauer Berg/Berlin-Wedding | |
4 | Jannowitzbrücke subway station | Berlin-Mitte/Subway line U8 | Previously a ghost station | ||
5 | 13:00 | Puschkinallee/Schlesische Straße | Treptow/Berlin-Kreuzberg | ||
6 | 12 November 1989 | 08:00 | Potsdamer Platz | Berlin-Mitte/Tiergarten | |
7 | 13 November 1989 | 08:00 | Wollankstraße | Pankow/Berlin-Wedding | |
8 | 18:00 | Falkenseer Chaussee | Falkensee/Berlin-Spandau | ||
9 | 14 November 1989 | 08:00 | Philipp-Müller-Allee /Ostpreußendamm | Teltow/Berlin-Lichterfelde | |
10 | Stubenrauchstraße - Massantebrücke | Berlin-Johannisthal/Berlin-Rudow | |||
11 | 11 December 1989 | Karl-Marx-Straße/Benschallee | Kleinmachnow/Berlin-Nikolassee-Düppel | ||
12 | 22 December 1989 | Rosenthaler Platz subway station | Berlin-Mitte/Subway line U8 | Previously a ghost station | |
13 | Brandenburg Gate | Berlin-Mitte/Tiergarten | |||
14 | 3 January 1990 | Karl-Marx-Straße/Buckower Damm | Groß Ziethen/Berlin-Buckow | ||
15 | 13 January 1990 | Ruppiner Chaussee | Hennigsdorf-Stolpe Süd/Berlin-Heiligensee-Schulzendorf | ||
16 | 22 January 1990 | Griebnitzsee station | Was already in use as a transit crossing, then was opened for the newly inaugurated commuter train Potsdam-Wannsee | ||
17 | 30 January 1990 | Potsdamer Chaussee | Groß-Glienicke/Berlin-Kladow-Groß Glienicke | ||
18 | 17 February 1990 | Berliner Straße/Oranienburger Chaussee (F 96/B 96) | Hohen-Neuendorf/Frohnau | ||
19 | 3 March 1990 | Oranienburger Chaussee/Berliner Straße (through "Entenschnabel" F 96/B 96) | Glienicke-Nordbahn/Hermsdorf (Berlin) | ||
20 | 17 March 1990 | Rudolf-Breitscheid-Straße/Neue Kreisstraße | Potsdam-Babelsberg/Berlin-Wannsee-Kohlhasenbrück | ||
21 | Böttcherberg | Potsdam-Klein-Glienicke/Berlin-Wannsee | |||
22 | 23 March 1990 | Lindenstraße | Berlin-Mitte/Berlin-Kreuzberg | ||
23 | 31 March 1990 | Zehlendorfer Damm/Machnower Straße | Kleinmachnow/Berlin-Zehlendorf | ||
24 | 6 April 1990 | Lichtenrader Straße/Groß Ziethener Straße | Groß Ziethen/Berlin-Lichtenrade | ||
25 | Arcostraße/Beethovenstraße | Mahlow/Berlin-Lichtenrade | |||
26 | 7 April 1990 | Brunnenstraße | Berlin-Mitte/Berlin-Wedding | ||
27 | Kopenhagener Straße | Berlin-Niederschönhausen-Wilhelmsruh/Berlin-Reinickendorf | |||
28 | 12 April 1990 | Schilling Bridge/Köpenicker Straße | Berlin-Mitte/Berlin-Kreuzberg | ||
29 | Elsenstraße | Treptow/Berlin-Neukölln | |||
30 | Bernauer Straße subway station | Berlin-Mitte/Berlin-Wedding | Previously a ghost station, it was opened without border controls, with direct access to West Berlin | ||
31 | Rudower Chaussee/Groß-Ziethener Chaussee | Groß Ziethen/Berlin-Rudow | |||
32 | 27 May 1990 | Torweg | Staaken-West/Berlin-Staaken | ||
33 | 8 June 1990 | Dammweg | Berlin-Baumschulenweg/Berlin-Neukölln | ||
34 | 11 June 1990 | Behmstraßen Bridge | Prenzlauer Berg/Berlin-Wedding | ||
35 | 17 June 1990 | Wilhelmsruher Damm | Berlin-Rosenthal/Berlin-Wittenau-Märkisches Viertel | ||
36 | 23 June 1990 | Berliner Allee/Schönwalder Allee | Schönwalde/Berlin-Spandau | ||
37 | Knesebeck Bridge | Teltow/Berlin-Zehlendorf-Schönow | |||
38 | 30 June 1990 | Großbeeren-Heinersdorf/Marienfelder Allee (F 100/B 101) | Berlin-Marienfelde |
Read more about this topic: Berlin Border Crossings