In the weeks leading up to November 1989, both Hungary and Czechoslovakia had relaxed their border controls, and thousands of East Germans fled to the West through those countries. With the division between West Germany and the DDR¹ fatally weakened, the decision was taken to open the border that had been effectively sealed for 28 years.

This was supposed to take place on November 17, but at a press conference on November 9 a government spokesman mistakenly announced that people were free to cross “immediately”. Berliners from both sides flocked to the wall, outnumbering the bewildered border police who at this stage didn’t know what was going on, and of course the rest is history.

The Brandenburg Gate was a symbolic focus for the fall of the Wall. During the Cold War, the gate was isolated in the “death strip” between two walls – the main outer barrier, facing the west, and a smaller inner one. Today, the Brandenburg Gate sits at the heart of the reunited city² and the exact position of the wall is marked by a line of cobblestones set into the road.

Cobbles aside, there’s virtually nothing of the wall left to see here, so the rest of this post will search out a few of the places where it – or its legacy – can still be seen. We begin in the north of the city, in the district of Pankow. Here, the “death strip” clearly stands out as a sea of trees that have grown up since the border guards left. A few small sections of wall also still exist here, and, a little way to the south, a few very overgrown Blumenschalensperre – barricades disguised as concrete urns filled with flowers.

Also still visible in many places is the track that was used to patrol the border. One of the best preserved sections is beside Schulzestrasse, where the tall lamp posts that originally illuminated the “death strip” can clearly be seen.

At Bernauer Strasse, the border was formed by the walls of the buildings on the southern side of the street – the apartments were in East Germany; the street itself was in the West. Consequently, it was the scene of many escape attempts. To prevent this, the authorities first bricked up the windows and finally evacuated the residents and demolished the buildings along the border. Today, its southern side still largely empty, Bernauer Strasse is home to various memorials to the wall. The Chapel of Reconcilation was opened in 2000 on the site of a former church, which was isolated in no man’s land for years before being demolished in 1985. Just across the street is the Berlin Wall Documentation Centre.

Nearby, the border twists and turns so that near the Nordbahnhof station, West Berlin is actually east of East Berlin! Again, a few stretches of wall are still visible – these were part of the “hinterland wall”, the smaller barrier behind the main wall.

The longest stretch of wall still standing is known as the East Side Gallery, and we’ve featured it before. The imagery has improved somewhat since then, although of course it’s still much better appreciated from ground level!

There’s another well preserved length of wall on Niederkirchnerstrasse, not far from the infamous Checkpoint Charlie (although the checkpoint you can see today is only a reconstruction).

Our last stop in Berlin is something of an oddity. Steinstücken, a community of about 200 people in the southwest of the city, was once an exclave of the West, entirely surrounded by the DDR. Once the wall was built, its inhabitants were entirely cut off, and could only visit the rest of West Berlin by passing through two East German checkpoints on each visit. This situation lasted for 10 years before a thin sliver of land was exchanged, attaching the exclave to the rest of West Berlin. Although the wall is long gone, the border between Berlin and Brandenburg still follows the same convoluted path today, including the strip barely 20 metres wide.

Although Berlin was the most famous divided German community, it wasn’t the only one. The border between East and West Germany also cut through other, smaller towns. Among them was the village of Mödlareuth, which is divided between Bavaria, in the West, and Thuringia, in the East. The wall was built here in 1966, five years after that in Berlin, and a small part of it has been preserved as an open-air museum, complete with a helicopter and some tanks.

As you can probably gather, there are a huge amount of wall-related things to see in Berlin, and we could fill dozens of posts with them. Fortunately, a superb German site does a far better job than we would, with a vast store of photos, maps and other information, accessed through a Google Maps interface. It’s only available in German, but there’s plenty to look at even if you can’t read the text. Also check out the fascinating “Wall Traces” section at Berlin’s official website.

Thanks to fellow GSS authors Jenni and Cédric for respectively suggesting and contributing to this post.

Locations: Germany / Categories: Abandoned, Monuments, Structures

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The Swiss city of Basel is home to one of the most spectacular tripoint monuments at the location where it borders Germany and France.

Basel’s dreiländereck (literally “3 lands place”) is home to a soaring metal three-sided spiral which bears the flags of the 3 countries. It is located on a quay in the river Rhine, near a restaurant of the same name. The actual tripoint is located just to the north-west, in the middle of the river.

Germany also has a significant tripoint where it meets Belgium and the Netherlands. Vaalserberg features a number of tourist attractions including a viewing tower, cafes and a maze.

While Google Maps seems to show the tripoint in a tree, I believe the actual location is marked by the 3 small monuments visible by their shadows in the upper-left of this image.¹

Not all tripoints are marked as cohesively. The one where Austria, Hungary and Slovakia meet has a number of monuments scattered across the different borders – all quite small, so check Panoramio to see them in detail.

Where is your favourite location with one foot in one country, one foot in a second, and … perhaps your nose in a third?

For more like this, see our 2008 post about Complicated Borders. Thanks to AndrewAnorak and David Grenewetzki.

Locations: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Slovakia, Switzerland / Categories: Mazes, Monuments, Towers

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Larger than the Eiffel Tower, these machines weigh 13,600 tons and are up to 502m long, 80m high and 240m wide. 760 wheels carry them along rails at a rather sedate top speed of 13 m/minute. Two excavators can move up to 29,000 cubic metres of earth an hour, exposing coal seams for mining.

There are 3 operational F60s – in Jänschwalde (first image, above), Welzow-Süd and Nochten.

In addition there is one being updated with newer technology in Reichwalde, though it’s partially obscured by a massive paper airplane that was apparently flying over when the Google satellite was taking pictures!

Finally, the last F60 built is located in Lichterfeld-Schacksdorf. It was only operational for 13 months, but is now open to tourists. The European Route of Industrial Heritage has more information and a good gallery.

Thanks to Martin Zwirner.

Locations: Germany / Categories: Other Vehicles, Structures

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Perhaps best known as the location of Elvis Presley’s early recordings, the studio was also used by many rock-n-roll greats including Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis. The building reopened in 1987 as a functioning studio and museum, appearing soon after that in the U2 film Rattle and Hum.

Speaking of U2, their first three albums were recorded at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin. While the studio has moved, the location remains a site of pilgrimage for devoted fans who cover the walls with graffiti, visible on Live Maps:

One of the more unique studios in the world is the Astoria studio, found in a houseboat on the River Thames west of London.

Built in 1911, and originally designed to house an entire orchestra, the boat is currently owned by Dave Gilmour and parts of Pink Floyd’s two most recent albums were recorded there.

Most of Prince’s albums from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s were recorded at the now-defunct studio that shared a name with a song and record label: Paisley Park.

While we’ve already visited the Abbey Road zebra crossing on Google Sightseeing, we didn’t look at the actual studio:

Home to the vast majority of The Beatles’ recording sessions, these studios have since hosted a Who’s Who of modern rock, pop and classical music, from Radiohead to the Spice Girls. The wall outside Abbey Road Studios is also covered in graffiti from music fans, though it’s not visible on either Google or Live Maps.

From 1959 to 1971, Motown Records put more than 110 songs into the Top 10 – the majority of them were recorded at Hitsville USA, a pair of Detroit buildings that housed the label’s studios and administrative offices.

The label moved to Los Angeles in 1972, but the buildings have served as a popular museum since 1985.

And finally we fly to Berlin to see the Hansa Tonstudios.

Perhaps most famous for David Bowie’s Low and Heroes albums, many artists have taken residence there seeking inspiration from the culture and history of East and West Berlin.

Where was your favourite album recorded?

Thanks to Lianachan, Stephen Jackson, Martin S., 433 and Stephen LaMora.

Locations: England, Germany, Ireland, Michigan, Minnesota, Tennessee / Categories: Buildings, Movie Locations, Street Views, Watercraft

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Perhaps we can help with some Google Earth sights around the globe?

In LA, where just a standard rectangular swimming pool isn’t enough, you need to show love for your other half by building them a heart-shaped swimming pool.

Or take a walk down the aptly-named Cupid Row in San Bruno to these two streets, which together form a perfect heart shape. I wonder if the any of the houses are for sale?

But if you can’t afford a new gaff, how about writing your beloved a simple message of love?

We’re still in California, where a field displays the simple message of “I (heart) U”. Presumably all the local men have at some point claimed responsibility for the declaration¹.

On a German beach near Warnemündethere, there’s a message of love which reads “Andrea möchtest du mich …”. Jenni from Google Sightseeing Deutsch has translated this as “Andrea, would you like to … me”, suggesting that the missing work (obscured by an unhelpful cloud) is “heiraten” (marry). ²

To seal the deal our suitor has even added a large love heart.

Lastly, we visit a packed Brighton seafront for a building promotes Love and Peace in one giant message.

Google Sightseeing wishes you all a happy Valentine’s Day, however you’re spending it! For more romance, we’ve previously visited various other heart-shaped things and heart pools.

Thanks to i-cube, Catherine, PatrickSalsbury, 89shelby, Marc Cohen, Meigel and Alexei.

Locations: California, England, Germany / Categories: Buildings, Large Type

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Nunney Castle in Somerset may be historic, but is barely larger than many houses in the village that surrounds it.

Broadway Tower in Worcestershire may be tall, but it’s only large enough for one room on each of its three floors.

Burg Rabenstein is one of Germany’s smallest castles, again barely larger than nearby houses.

While an Englishman’s home may be his castle – that’s literally true for the residents of this home in Georgia, which is slightly less venerable than the castles mentioned above.

Constructed from local granite and marble, at around 140 square metres the castle is actually a fairly modest size compared to most suburban residences constructed these days.

The Street View car passed by under gloomy skies, giving the castle a brooding air as would befit a rather more historic castle in the old world.

No self-respecting castle would be complete without a moat, and here it even opens up into a swimming pool behind the house, visible on Live Maps. There’s even something resembling a gate house (which I assume is actually a pool house), and the whole property is also bordered by a suitably impressive fence.

There are tiny castles all over the world – let us know of any in your area!

Thanks to Alex Makarishev and Dennis.

Locations: England, Georgia, Germany / Categories: Buildings, Street Views, Structures, Weirdness

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Royse City Fututo, one of three surviving in Texas

Built from fibreglass-reinforced polyester-plastic, Futuros are around 4 metres high by 8 metres across, and have super-cool airplane-style hatch entrances.

Waterside Futuro in Berlin, Germany

Suuronen’s aim was actually to design a ski-cabin¹, one that would be “quick to heat and easy to construct in rough terrain”, and in this respect he succeeded – a Futuro House can be placed on virtually any terrain, requiring only four concrete supports, and thanks to the integrated polyurethane insulation and electric heating system, even in the most extreme conditions it only takes around thirty minutes to achieve a comfortable temperature inside.

Futuro as part of the Canberra Space Dome & Observatory, Australia

Despite the obvious awesomeness of these UFO-shaped homes, by the mid 70s they had been withdrawn from sale – although this was mainly due to the 1973 oil crisis, which had sent the price of plastic skyrocketing.

Front and back of the Pensacola Beach Futuro House, Florida²

Around sixty of the original Futuros have been accounted for over the years, but there are still many that remain undiscovered. The most complete archive is at futuro-house.net (there’s another with an embedded map at archinform.net), but it seems to have been left to stagnate for a number of years – perhaps Google Earth will provide the means for all of the missing Futuros to be rediscovered?

Double Futuro House, Franklin, Ohio

It should also be pointed out that the moulds for making Futuros apparently still exist… about time for a revival don’t you think?

Futuro in Covington, Kentucky

Here’s an article that includes a floor plan, some images of a Futuro being helicoptered into position, as well as some great shots of people inside.

Locations: Australia, Florida, Germany, Kentucky, Ohio, Texas / Categories: Buildings, Street Views, Weirdness

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The next tallest observation wheel is the Star of Nanchang (sadly not-yet-built in Google Earth¹, but here’s a ground-level photo), which was the world’s tallest from when it was built in 2006, right up until the opening of the Singapore Flyer in February 2008. This is odd, because at 160 metres the Star of Nanchang should never have lost the title!²

It transpires that the Singapore Flyer has been built on top of a three-story building, taking it to a total height of 165 metres and into the record books. What a con!

Observation wheels seem to be de rigueur these days³ – just last weekend Melbourne got in on the act with the 120 m Southern Star, which we can see under construction on Australian Street View.

Elsewhere, Germany is busy building the Great Berlin Wheel (location), which at a planned 175 m would take the title from the Singapore Flyer.

Unless of course China gets there first, as the Beijing Great Wheel (location) is due to be completed first, and will rise to a staggering 208 metres.

All of which is great news for the Great Wheel Corporation, who will then be the owners of all three of the tallest observation wheels in the world.

There’s lots more at Wikipedia about the Singapore Flyer, the Star of Nanchang, the Southern Star, the Great Berlin Wheel, and the Beijing Great Wheel.

Thanks to John Andresen and Glenn Baker.

Locations: Australia, China, Germany, Singapore / Categories: Theme Parks

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The fascinating building was designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, an Austrian architect and painter, between 1998 and 2000. Unfortunately, he died shortly before it was completed. Going with Hundertwasser’s personal style, the building contains Russian onion domes and few straight lines¹. The roof of the building is a green roof, planted with beech, maple, and lime trees.

The building has 105 apartments, as well as a cafe and a bar at the top of the spiral. Uniquely, the building has over 1000 windows of which no two are the same.

Flickr has many ground level photos of the Waldspirale.

Locations: Germany / Categories: Buildings

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Yes, we’re truly scraping the bottom of the “World’s Largest” barrel – because it’s time for the World’s Largest Barrel!

Bad Dürkheim in Germany is home to the World’s largest wine festival – the sausagey-sounding “Wurstmarkt” – and it’s also the location of this absolutely giant barrel, which has a claimed capacity of 1,700,000 litres. Unfortunately they decided to fill it with a restaurant instead of booze.

But does this barrel-restaurant really count, or is it just a building that looks like a barrel?

If we exclude it, then the title may fall to the 220,000 litre Heidelberg Tun: the World’s largest barrel which is actually used as a barrel. Also in Germany, it’s sadly kept in the basement of Heidelberg Castle.

Wikipedia’s article on the World’s largest roadside attractions claims that the world’s largest barrel is neither of these, but is instead found at McWilliams Wines, in Hanwood, NSW, Australia. However I don’t believe the Big Hanwood Barrel was constructed using traditional barrel-making techniques, and anyway doesn’t look nearly big enough…

You’ll be glad to know that the “World’s largest roadside attractions” Wikipedia article has enough silly “World’s Largest” sights to keep us going for another few years at least!

Thanks to Izzy and Flümo.

Locations: Australia, Germany / Categories: Buildings

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