A piece of the former Berlin Wall in Canada

A piece of the former Berlin Wall in the middle of Ottawa

Did you know that Canada was the birthplace of a process which lead to German reunification?

It was on February 13, 1990 during the "Open Skies" Conference in Ottawa that an agreement was reached between the foreign ministers of the Federal Republic of Germany, the then German Democratic Republic, France, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States on the start of the historic "Two-Plus-Four" talks, which led to the fulfilment of Germany's dream to have the country reunited after more than 40 years of division.

To express her gratitude to the Canadian People, who had supported the German people in these difficult years, an original piece of the Berlin Wall with the plaque commemorating the Ottawa agreement was unveiled on September 27, 1991 by the former Deputy Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Foreign Minister, Mr. Hans Dietrich Genscher.

This piece of the Berlin wall can be seen in Ottawa's first railway station (1912) which now houses the Government Conference Centre at the corner of Wellington Street and the Rideau Canal in Ottawa. Public access to the lobby is daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Description of this piece of the Berlin wall:

Piece of the Berlin Wall, which separated Berlin 

"Brandenburger Tor", once symbol of separation (1961- 1989), now the symbol of reunification in Germany and freedom in Europe

Televisiontower in East Berlin

Televisiontower "Funkturm" in West Berlin

Quadriga

"Bärlin" has a special meaning. "Bär" is the German word for bear. The symbol of the bear is Berlin's coat of arms.