Berlin Milestone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Berlin Milestones (German: Berliner Meilensteine) are small monuments with mileage to the German capital Berlin.[1] At the time of German division in the second half of 20th century, the milestones were furnished in numerous location in former West Germany. It has the Berlin Bear (Coat of arms of Berlin) on it. After the German Reunification it remained as a memorial of the history of German division. Many of the monuments are located on highways and federal roads.[2]
The Berlin Milestones go back on initiative of the politician Gerd Bucerius, who was the chairman of the parliamentary committee for Berlin. Hans-Christoph Seebohm, then federal transport minister ordered the setting up of Berlin Milestones in 1953, which should contain the Berlin Bear with numbers of mileages to Berlin on the front.[3]
To ensure West Berlin, which was surrounded by East Germany, remained in public awareness and to promote solidarity with the cities in West Germany, memorial stones with the depiction of the Berlin Bear and an indication of the distance to Berlin should be set up on the central reservation of the federal motorways at intervals of 100 kilometers.
