Fighting over the Mauerweg

16 May, 2009

The Mauerweg, a memorial path opened in 2007 that follows what was the Berlin Wall along the former borders of east and west Berlin, has become a hot potato between residents of the upmarket Berlin suburb of Potsdam and the city.

Owners of lakeside villas at Lake Griebnitzsee in Potsdam, where the path runs along the shore, have begun erecting barriers on their land to stop public access over it after a court ruled in April that their land was owned right down to the waterfront. Historically, these villas were the home of Berlin