Checkpoint Charlie · Audioguía

Historia

Two cows tried to steal the Checkpoint Charlie booth. They pulled, pushed, mooed desperately. They didn't make it.

But let me tell you why this booth is so important that even these cows wanted it.

In nineteen sixty-one, East Germany was dying. Three million people had fled to the West in fifteen years.

Ulbricht knew his government would collapse if he didn't stop the exodus. The Wall was survival.

Two days later, engineers began erecting a concrete wall. Ordinary workers poured cement into what would become a prison for millions.

The Allies installed a checkpoint on Friedrichstraße. They called it C. Checkpoint Charlie. A wooden booth. A barrier. A line drawn in history.

The Allies had three crossings: Alpha in Helmstedt, Bravo in Dreilinden, and Charlie here on Friedrichstraße. This was the only one where diplomats could pass into the Soviet sector.

East Germans tried everything to escape. One man drove through in a car.

Another slipped underneath in a convertible with no windshield.

In October nineteen sixty-one, Soviet and American tanks faced off across this checkpoint. Cannons aimed. The world held its breath.

The Wall fell in November nineteen eighty-nine.

The booth was removed nine months later.

They put up a replica so people would know what it looked like and where it stood.

Visitar Checkpoint Charlie

Cómo llegar

La parada de bus más cercana es U Kochstraße/Checkpoint Charlie a 69 metros. La estación de metro más cercana es Kochstraße/Checkpoint Charlie a 101 metros.

Duración de la visita

No hay una duración específica, ya que es un área pública al aire libre.

Entrada y precio

El acceso es gratuito y no se necesita entrada.

Horario

Está siempre abierto, puedes visitarlo en cualquier momento.

Qué ver en el lugar

Observa la caseta blanca en el centro de la calle, el antiguo punto de control entre Berlín Este y Oeste.

Preguntas frecuentes