Checkpoint Charlie

In front of you is Checkpoint Charlie, the most famous border crossing of the Cold War. Today it's a junction full of traffic and tourists, but here the world very nearly lost its nerve.

1A crossing for foreigners

After the Wall went up in 1961, this point on Friedrichstraße became the crossing between the American sector and East Berlin reserved for Allied military personnel, diplomats and foreigners. The Allies called it “Charlie” after the letter C in the radio alphabet: it was the third checkpoint, after Alpha and Bravo.

2Tanks face to face

In October 1961, a dispute over the Allies' right to move freely in East Berlin ended with American and Soviet tanks halted just metres apart, right here, for around sixteen hours. In the end they pulled back step by step.

A few metres from here, on Zimmerstraße, Peter Fechter bled to death in August 1962 after being shot while trying to climb the Wall.

3What's original and what isn't

The hut you see is a replica put up in 2000; the original is kept at the Allied Museum in the Zehlendorf district. The soldiers posing for photos have nothing historical about them either. What's authentic is the place itself: diplomats, spies and escapees all passed along this street.

4What to look for

• The sign in four languages: English, Russian, French and German.
• The portraits of two soldiers, one American and one Soviet, by the photographer Frank Thiel.
• The double row of cobblestones in the road, marking where the Wall ran.