The Berlin Wall – A Virtual 3D Tour

04.08.2011

Contemporary History Online

Where was the wall, exactly?  How wide was the no-man's land known as the "Death Strip?"  Where were the watchtowers?  And where was Friedrichstrasse located – in the East or the West of the city?  These are questions posed by tourists as well as young Berliners.  Fifty years after the Wall was built, and 22 years after its fall, only a few remnants have been preserved to remind visitors and residents of the edifice where so many died, and which made Berlin a symbol of the Cold War.  The three-dimensional city model in Berlin Partner GmbH's Business Location Center shows the exact course of the wall through the city, the East-facing "Hinterland" wall and the border strip with its watchtowers and crossing points.

Today, anyone with a PC or laptop can see just how much of Potsdamer Platz and Pariser Platz were closed off, how brutally the wall cut off entire streets, and they can place the new Hauptbahnhof train station as lying directly on the former border.  By switching between views that show the state of construction in 1989 and the present, users can see how life has gradually returned to once blighted areas.  This transformation can be viewed from any perspective; users can navigate at will through the cityscape, as the crow flies or on a virtual walk.  With the click of a mouse-button, the wall can be made to appear or disappear.  It is the perfect visual aid for a city tour, a school class or for home-viewing.

A new video clip now takes a viewer on a virtual sightseeing flight.  It starts at the Brandenburg Gate and continues via Hauptbahnhof and Chausseestrasse to the Max-Schmeling-Halle arena.  A brief panning shot over Prenzlauer Berg shows Alexanderplatz, Friedrichshain and the Spree River.  The flight path then leads past the Axel-Springer-Haus and the Berlin House of Representatives back to Brandenburger Tor.

View the clip here:
http://www.businesslocationcenter.de/en/3d-model-of-berlin/the-project/project-examples/berlin-wallhttp://www.youtube.com/blcberlin/
In order to view the three-dimensional model of Berlin in Google Earth, users need to first download a file available at http://www.businesslocationcenter.de/en/3d-model-of-berlin.

More information about Berlin in 3D is available at:

http://www.businesslocationcenter.de/en/3d-model-of-berlin

Comprehensive information about the course of the Berlin Wall is available at:
http://www.berlin.de/mauer/verlauf/index/index.en.phphttp://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/denkmal/denkmale_in_berlin/de/berliner_mauer/