CHECKPOINT CHARLIE, Checkpoint Charlie

Hi, my name’s Scott, and I’m your personal guide. Along with MyWoWo, I’d like to welcome you to one of the Wonders of the World: Checkpoint Charlie.

Checkpoint Charlie is one of the best-known and most frequently visited sights in the city, and appears in just about every spy movie set during the Cold War.

The checkpoint was built in 1961, remained operative until the fall of the Berlin Wall, and was the main crossing point between East and West Berlin for soldiers, diplomats, foreigners or ordinary citizens who had relatives on the other side.

On the western side, opposite the wooden booth, there was a large sign that read “You are leaving the American sector”, in four languages, English, Russian, French and German: it appeared as a warning against the risk of leaving behind the free world.

Before crossing the border, which was a highly complex operation, a permit had to be presented, and Deutsche Marks had to be exchanged for East German currency....