Editing Potsdamer Platz (section)

== The fall of the Wall ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2023}}
[[File:891121c berlin potsdamer platz.jpg|300px|thumb|The Potsdamer Platz crossing, seen here from the west into East Berlin, opened days after the first breach of the Berlin Wall in November 1989.]]

After the initial opening of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989, Potsdamer Platz became one of the earliest locations where the Wall was "breached" to create a new [[Berlin border crossings|border crossing]] between East and West Berlin. The crossing began operating on 11 November 1989.

The crossing required the dismantling of both the inner and outer walls and the clearance of the ''death zone'' or ''[[no man's land]]'' between the two. A temporary road, lined with barriers, was created across this zone and checkpoints were set up just inside East German territory. Proper dismantling of the entire wall began on 15 May 1990 and all border checks were abolished on 1 July 1990 as East Germany joined West Germany in a currency union.

=== Roger Waters' ''The Wall'' concert ===
{{main|The Wall – Live in Berlin}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0722-402, Berlin, Aufführung der Rockoper "The Wall".jpg|thumb|''The Wall – Live in Berlin'' performance in the former no man's land of Potsdamer Platz]]

[[File:Roger Waters Berlin Wall concert arena overlaid on 2024 map.svg|thumb|upright|The 1990 concert arena overlaid on a 2024 map. ‡ = stage.<ref>Map based on reverse of concert ticket, at: {{cite web |title=The Wall live in Berlin |url=https://www.pinkfloydhyldest.dk/waters/wallberl.shtml |website=Pink Floyd Hyldest |access-date=25 December 2024}}</ref>]]

On 21 July 1990, ex-[[Pink Floyd]] member [[Roger Waters]] staged a gigantic charity concert of his former band's rock extravaganza ''The Wall'' to commemorate the end of the division between [[East Germany|East]] and West Germany. The concert took place at Potsdamer Platz&nbsp;– specifically an area of the former no man's land just to the north of the Reich Chancellery site, and featured many guest superstars. It was preparations for this concert, rather than historical interest, that brought about the first detailed post-Cold War survey of the area with a view to determining what, if anything, was left of Hitler's bunker and any other underground installations. Although sections of the main [[Führerbunker]] were found, partially destroyed or filled in, another bunker complex was found further north that even the East German authorities had apparently missed, plus other cavities beneath land bordering the east side of Ebertstraße, although these turned out to be underground garages belonging to a former [[SS]] accommodation block.

=== Routes through Potsdamer Platz after reunification ===

After major refurbishment, the S-Bahn line and station reopened on 1 March 1992, followed by the U-Bahn on 13 November 1993. An additional station on the U-Bahn, called [[Mendelssohn-Bartholdy-Park (Berlin U-Bahn)|Mendelssohn-Bartholdy-Park]], was opened immediately north of the Landwehrkanal on 1 October 1998. A new U-Bahn station has also been built at Potsdamer Platz itself, although a decision is still{{when|date=December 2024}} pending on whether to proceed with completion of the line passing through it; in the meantime the station area serves as an impromptu art gallery and exhibition space. A new underground main-line station or ''Regionalbahnhof'' ([[Berlin Potsdamer Platz railway station|Bahnhof Potsdamer Platz]]) has also been constructed, opened on 26 July 2006. There are also plans to reintroduce trams to Potsdamer Platz. In addition, many bus routes pass through the platz, while for people with their own cars there are some 5,000 parking spaces, 3,500 of which are underground.

The annual [[Berlin Marathon]], which takes place in the last weekend of September, was first held in 1974 but due to the division of the city was confined to West Berlin up till and including 1989. Beginning in 1990 the course was re-routed into part of East Berlin, and in 2001 a further adjustment meant that the course has since run through Potsdamer Platz. Typically the leaders will pass through the platz about ten minutes before they cross the finish line.

Another annual tradition that began in West Berlin (in 1952) and was re-routed into the east via Potsdamer Platz following German reunification is the ''Weihnachtszug'' (Christmas train). It now does a regular two-hour round trip at weekends in the run-up to Christmas for families with children, starting and finishing at the Potsdamer Platz S-Bahn station. It did not run in 2009 or 2010 due to equipment problems, but is expected to be operational again in 2011.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}{{update-inline|date=December 2024}}