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N
Berlin:
After
fhe Fall
S T O R Y B Y
Martina Windels
“Berlin is a perfect place for my body and
mind to feel settled, but there are enough
changes to feel ‘new’ and inspired every
day,” says Silke Spitzer, a jeweler and na-
tive of the former West Germany who
moved to the city five years ago. “Berlin
can feel almost a bit provincial, but the peo-
ple who have continued to move here since
the fall of the wall make for a lively mix.”
Spitzer is, of course, referring to the Ber-
lin Wall, which separated East and West
Berlin since the early 1960s and served as
a stark reminder of the cold war and its di-
vision of Europe. This year the city of Berlin
is marking an important anniversary: 20
years ago, on November 9,1989, the Berlin
Wall came down by peaceful revolution.
Much has happened in Berlin since then.
The big swath of barren land opened up
by the removal of the wall has slowly be-
come filled with new offices, embassies and
commercial developments like Potsdamer
Platz. The Brandenburg Gate is fully re-
stored, the old Reichstag proudly dons its
glass hat and houses the government since
its move from Bonn to the new (and for-
mer) German capital. The Mauer (Wall)
Museum was inaugurated in 1998 and the
East Side Gallery—one of the only signifi-
cant remaining sections of the wall, which
was painted on the side facing the former
East Berlin after the
IVende
(transition) by
artists from all over the world—is already
undergoing a major restoration.
Many craftspeople have flocked to the
city since the fall of the wall, especially cera-
mists and jewelry and clothing designers.
The city is comparable to New York when
it comes to number o f artists living and
working within its bounds. Studios are still
affordable in Berlin; the apartments are
plentiful and very reasonably priced com-
pared to any other German city. This is
what drew jeweler Karla Schabert there.
Schabert, who crochets delicate earrings,
brooches, necklaces and the like in colorful
066 ainerican craft oct/novoç
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