Читать книгу Where in the World is the Berlin Wall?. 170 Sites around the World онлайн
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These miniature replicas can all be seen in the Mini Europe Park at the foot of the world famous Atomium. The miniatures, which were financed by the European Union and the city of Brussels, have all been painstakingly made to a scale of 1:25 and include famous structures from all over Europe.
The park, which was opened in 1989 by Prince Phillip of Belgium, is one of Brussels’s biggest tourist attractions. “The Spirit of Europe” – an interactive exhibition, initiated by the European Parliament, awaits guests after they have been on a tour of the park. The exhibition concentrates on the memorable events that took place in Berlin on 9th November 1989.
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The Wall in front of the European Commission headquarters in Brussels
© Mauro Bottaro / Europäische Union
A piece of the Berlin Wall called the “Kennedy Segment” stands on the esplanade of the Berlaymont building, the headquarters of the European Commission in the so-called European Quarter on the eastern edge of Brussels. To commemorate the fall of the Wall and to mark the 25th anniversary of German reunification, the Wall segment was ceremoniously unveiled on November 9th, 2015 by EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Commission Vice President Kristalina Georgieva, EU Commissioner Günther Oettinger and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble. Since 2009, the piece of the Wall, painted by Leipzig artist Alban Seyboth, had initially stood on the nearby Place du Luxembourg, where a replica of the former Checkpoint Charlie border crossing had been erected to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. This was supplemented with a photo exhibition and original segments of the Berlin Wall. The initiative came from the Belgian authorities in partnership with the Prime Minister, the Representation of the European Commission in Belgium, the Information Office of the European Parliament and the Municipality of Ixelles in the Brussels Region. In 2012, the segment came into the possession of the European Commission and was subsequently restored. Since then, it has been protected from weather and damage by glass panels.