The Reykjavík City Council has agreed to accept a slab from the historic Berlin Wall as a gift from the German Art Centre Neu West Berlin. The Art Centre hopes the City will find the piece a suitable place in Reykjavík and that it will then be unveiled at a ceremony in connection to the German National Day on October 3, when Germans will also be celebrating the 25 year anniversary of the unification of Germany.
Commemorating the Unification of Germany, end of the Cold War
The slab of wall which the Reykjavík City will accept as a gift formed part of the Wall which separated West from East Berlin during the Cold War. According to the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service the piece weighs four tons (8,000 pounds) and measures 3.7m x 1.15 m x 1.5 m (12’2ft x 3’9 ft x 4’11 ft). Germany has given slabs of the Berlin Wall on several occasions in the past. One slab stands in front of the Ronald Reagan library in Simi Valley in California.
Reykjavík City plans on installing the piece of wall it will accept as a gift by the historic house Höfði, by Borgartún street. In 1986 US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet premiere Mikhail Gorbachev met in Höfði for a summit which is believed by many to have marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War.
Related: The meeting place of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev now closed to the public
This location, the City believes, will create connections to the Reykjavík Summit of 1986 and strengthen the relationship between the cities of Reykjavík and Berlin.
The Reykjavík City Council has agreed to accept a slab from the historic Berlin Wall as a gift from the German Art Centre Neu West Berlin. The Art Centre hopes the City will find the piece a suitable place in Reykjavík and that it will then be unveiled at a ceremony in connection to the German National Day on October 3, when Germans will also be celebrating the 25 year anniversary of the unification of Germany.
Commemorating the Unification of Germany, end of the Cold War
The slab of wall which the Reykjavík City will accept as a gift formed part of the Wall which separated West from East Berlin during the Cold War. According to the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service the piece weighs four tons (8,000 pounds) and measures 3.7m x 1.15 m x 1.5 m (12’2ft x 3’9 ft x 4’11 ft). Germany has given slabs of the Berlin Wall on several occasions in the past. One slab stands in front of the Ronald Reagan library in Simi Valley in California.
Reykjavík City plans on installing the piece of wall it will accept as a gift by the historic house Höfði, by Borgartún street. In 1986 US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet premiere Mikhail Gorbachev met in Höfði for a summit which is believed by many to have marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War.
Related: The meeting place of Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev now closed to the public
This location, the City believes, will create connections to the Reykjavík Summit of 1986 and strengthen the relationship between the cities of Reykjavík and Berlin.
