Michael Cramer
Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2004 until 2019
Recently we commemorated the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and of the Iron Curtain in Europe. The wall around West Berlin was 3.60 m high and 160 km long. Its appearance and location changed over the course of time: the barbed-wire fencing was replaced by pre-manufactured concrete segments, which were in some parts reinforced with metal grid fences. Between the “outer border wall” facing West, and the “inner border wall” facing East was the notorious, brightly-lit “death strip” with the “patrol path”, from where GDR border troops guarded the frontier. On the GDR side only selected people were allowed to live in the neighbourhoods directly behind the Wall; their friends and relatives had to be registered before any visits and needed to obtain a special permit. More than 300 guard towers, 30 headquarters, 20 bunkers, floodlight systems, signal and alarm fences, as well as dog running areas and tank traps were installed to prevent people from escaping to West Berlin.
Before the construction of the Wall, about four million people had successfully escaped the GDR. Afterward, people from the East continuously tried to cross the barricades. One hundred and twenty-eight people lost their lives at the Berlin Wall. Of the 80 marksmen responsible who were identified after the end of the GDR and taken to court, 77 received suspended sentences.
The “Berlin Wall Trail” is an exciting route, full of history. It takes cyclists past many important and famous landmarks. There are also many names that serve as a reminder of past events, such as Checkpoint Charlie and Potsdamer Platz. The route also passes the “Bösebrücke” in Bornholmer Straße, which became famous on 9 November 1989 when the first people crossing the border were greeted with cheers and sparkling wine. The legendary “Oberbaumbrücke”, the “East Side Gallery” or the remaining Wall segments in Niederkirchnerstraße are also well worth a visit. Another interesting site is the “Parliament of Trees against War and Violence” by the artist Ben Wagin, whose work became part of the new buildings of the Bundestag on the Eastern bank of the river Spree shortly after the fall of the Wall.
The “Berlin Wall History Mile” continues on the outskirts of the Wall Trail, where information boards bearing historical photos and texts in German and English direct the attention of passers-by to places that highlight particular aspects of the divided city. The steles – just like the signs saying “Berlin Wall Trail” – are 3.60 m tall, just like the Wall once was. Apart from the information boards there are also steles and commemorative crosses for the fugitives killed, in order to remind the public of their fates.
When people talk about the Berlin Wall they usually refer to the inner city border strip between East and West Berlin. However, the Berlin Wall is in fact much longer; it also includes the 120-kilometre border between West Berlin and the surrounding Land of Brandenburg, which can also be explored by bike. Far away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, this stretch winds through pleasant countryside and woods. Of particular historical interest is the Glienicker Bridge, the site of many spy exchanges between Americans and Soviets.
Thanks to the positive media response, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the construction of the Wall the Berlin Senate decided to put all remnants of the Wall under protection as monuments and to develop the entire length of the route as a signposted and bicycle-friendly pathway. It is an attractive combination of history workshop and bicycle tourism, of recreation and culture. The inner-city section between Bernauer Straße and the Oberbaumbrücke is especially informative and interesting, making it an ideal spot not just for cycling but also for a walk through history and through the politics of an era.
The “Berlin Wall Trail” has become part of Berlin’s Tourism Programme and is the first project that connects city tourism with soft tourism. In recent years it has developed into a tourist highlight. Today, even some five star hotels advertise the route and offer bikes and guides to their guests. In Berlin it is possible to experience history by bike during the day and then enjoy the reunited city in the evening at a concert, at the opera, or at one of the many theatres.
But not just Berlin, but Germany as a whole was divided into East and West by a 1,400 km long death strip with 3,000 km of fences, vehicle traps, 830 watchtowers, flood light systems, walls and bunker complexes. To keep the memory of the former border strip alive, it was necessary to develop it for soft tourism. Additionally, it was planned to protect the flora and fauna through the establishment of a European Green Belt in the former death strip. In December 2004 the German Bundestag voted unanimously in favour of this. The plan was initiated by the Foundation for Environmental and Natural Protection in Germany (BUND) and is now changing of the death strip into a living space for around 5,000 different animal and plant species. In it, there are today 150 nature reserves, numerous flora-fauna habitat areas and biosphere reserves.
But it was not only Berlin and Germany that were divided; for decades, Europe was split in two by the “Iron Curtain”, which ran from the Barents Sea at the Norwegian-Russian border down to the Black Sea at the Turkish-Bulgarian frontier. Today, it no longer divides us. It is a symbol of a common past in reunited Europe. This is another reason why in the autumn of 2005 a large majority in the European Parliament from all the countries and all the groups voted in favour of the motion initiated by Michael Cramer to include the “Iron Curtain Trail” in its report entitled “New perspectives and new challenges for sustainable European tourism”. It is also intended to help build and strengthen a common European identity. The trail includes countless monuments, museums and open-air facilities that remind visitors of the division of Europe and how it was overcome by the peaceful revolutions in East and Central Europe. Twenty countries take part in this project, 15 of which are current member states of the EU.
The route runs along the Western border of the former Warsaw-Pact states. It touches the Norwegian-Russian and the Finnish-Russian border and then passes the coast lines of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Kaliningrad, Poland and the former GDR. The path then leads from the peninsula Priwall at Travemünde until the state-triangle between Saxony, Bavaria and the Czech Republic and follows en route the former inner-German border strip. It then passes over the elevations of the Bohemian Forest, past Mähren and the Slovakian capital Bratislava, where it passes the Danube. After the Austrian-Hungarian border, the trail continues through Slovenia and Croatia. Between Romania and Serbia, the route mostly follows the course of the Danube, finally ending at the Bulgarian Black Sea coast at the northern tip of Turkey, after having crossed Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Greece.
The Iron Curtain Trail is a ride through history, politics, culture and nature. We Europeans can be very happy that Marianne Birthler, Vaclav Havel (1936-2011) and Lech Wałęsa have served as patrons of this project.
Under the slogan “Unbuilding Walls” the Iron Curtain Trail and the Berlin Wall Trail in 2018 were part of the Biennale in Venice. In 2019 the Iron Curtain Trail was certified by the Council of Europe as a ”Cultural Route”.
Michael Cramer wrote the “Berlin Wall Trail” and a five-volume bicycle guide to the 10,000-km long “Iron Curtain Trail” in English and German, published by the Austrian publishing house Esterbauer-Verlag.