...the symbolic person shown on traffic lights at pedestrian crossings in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR - East Germany). Prior to the German reunification in 1990, the two German states had different forms for the Ampelmännchen, with a generic human figure in West Germany, and a generally male figure wearing a hat in the east.
The Ampelmännchen is a beloved symbol in Eastern Germany, enjoying the privileged status of being one of the few features of communist East Germany to have survived the end of the Iron Curtain with his popularity unscathed. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Ampelmännchen acquired cult status and became a popular souvenir item in the tourism business.
You may have already spotted him in two of my photos of my last post, Autumn in Berlin.
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B is for the Brandenburg Gate....
The Brandenburg Gate is one of the most well-known landmarks of Berlin and Germany, located west of the city centre at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße. It was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace and built by Carl Gotthard Langhansfrom 1788 to 1791. Having suffered considerable damage in World War II, the Brandenburg Gate was fully restored from 2000 to 2002 by the Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin (Berlin Monument Conservation Foundation). During the post-war Partition of Germany the gate was isolated and inaccessible immediately next to the Berlin Wall, and the area around the gate featured most prominently in the media coverage of the opening of the wall in 1989.
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C is for Checkpoint Charlie....
Checkpoint Charlie (or "Checkpoint C") was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War.
GDR leader Walter Ulbricht agitated and manoeuvred to get the Soviet Union's permission for the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 to stop Eastern Bloc emigration westward through the Soviet border system, preventing escape across the city sector border from East Berlin to West Berlin. Checkpoint Charlie became a symbol of the Cold War, representing the separation of east and west. Soviet and American tanks briefly faced each other at the location during the Berlin Crisis of 1961.
After the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc and the reunification of Germany, the building at Checkpoint Charlie became a tourist attraction.
Photos my own. Text adapted from Wikipedia.
Great captures... especially The Gate.
ReplyDeleteB is also for BEER ... I'm not really a
beer drinker unless I am in Germany and there
it tastes better than the water..:-))
I remember the little Ampelmännchen character on your traffic lights in the previous posting from Berlin. Interesting to find out more about it.
ReplyDeleteIt looks utterly wonderful. My brother can't stop telling me about it. x
ReplyDeleteI agree with Faye. B is for beer as well. I liked the German beers when I was there.
ReplyDeleteYup, spotted him Nat. The Brandenburg Gate is quite something to see, the sculpture atop so dramatic. Methinks your trip to Berlin was a blast right!!
ReplyDelete