If you’re ever visiting Berlin, one of those bucket list items for every business traveler should be to visit the East Side Gallery. It runs about 1.3 kilometers long — the equivalent to roughly four-fifths of a mile — near the center of Berlin. The East Side Gallery includes 105 paintings by artists from all over the world, and serves as a memorial that promotes freedom. If you find yourself in Berlin for business or fun, a visit here is definitely worthy of a check on your bucket list.

It really is an open-air art gallery, and in a matter of a couple of hours you can see its famous murals — some of them have been restored while others have become deteriorated since they were created in 1990 as a result of weather and wall graffiti. In the middle of your walk there’s an outdoor cafe where you can enjoy food, drinks and relax beach-side along the river.

Construction of the Berlin Wall began on August 13, 1961, and served as a barrier between East Germany and West Germany until November 9, 1989, the date for the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

East Germany began construction of a wire fence in the middle of the night, and the people of East and West Germany were surprised by how much was completed the next morning. They created it to serve as a barrier to stop East Berliners from emigrating to West Berlin. Construction on the Wall continued and eventually included the reinforced concrete slabs that most people recall today. Only a limited number of crossings were allowed, including individuals needing to be in East Berlin for official work or government business, as well as limited Visa approvals for day trips to visit family.

Berlin is now a very popular city for business meetings and events, so that provides many business travelers with an opportunity explore areas of the city that were considered off-limits to many people.

The East Side Gallery is constantly a work in progress, and the amount of wall graffiti has been a source of contention with some of the artists over the years.

The Berlin Wall ran 103 miles in length and 12 feet high.

Learn more about business meetings in Berlin.

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