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Berlin Wall getting repainted?

Written by Amanda Kendle

I’m a huge fan of Berlin, and since I was lucky enough to be visiting there during the 1990 reunification celebrations, the Berlin Wall has a particularly soft spot in my heart. So when I heard that they were scrubbing it clean, I was more than a little surprised (and concerned!).

Berlin Wall getting repainted?

Image – sainz via CC

It turns out that, since this year is the 20th anniversary of the November 1989 fall of the wall, the Berliners have decided to get what’s left of the wall touched up so that it will be better preserved for future generations. Apparently vandals, car fumes and natural wear and tear have all been damaging the wall. This project involves the 1,300 metres of the wall known as the East Side Gallery, where artists were invited to come and create their own street art masterpieces shortly after the wall fell.

About 60 artists have now been invited to Berlin to repaint their parts of the wall, after it’s been cleaned and recoated. Apparently there have been a few disgruntled artists who wanted bigger fees or to paint something different, but on the whole, it seems like most are on board with the project. Once the wall has been fully renewed, there are plans for a grand reopening in November when the 20th anniversary celebrations hit their peak.

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Berlin Wall getting repainted?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 at 7:55 am and is filed under Germany. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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3 Responses to “Berlin Wall getting repainted?”

  1. That sounds like a really good idea .. I loved the film “Goodbye Lenin” .. about the Berlin Wall .. it’s great .. before and after the fall of the Wall ..

    have you seen it?

    I love the car coming through the wall and those big works of art are truly inspirational I think ..

  2. Oh yes, “Goodbye Lenin” is a great film and a must see before a visit to Berlin! Actually some Berlin hotel (one of the more expensive ones but I forget which) was giving away a copy of this DVD in some deal it had going recently, I thought it was a smart move.

  3. [...] is cleaning the wall. This year is the 20-year anniversary of the Wall falling, and they’re controversially restoring some of the old [...]