Virtual Worlds

Where did the Wall stand? The fact that we can ask this question in Berlin today is an achievement in itself. Thirty years on from the Peaceful Revolution, the traces of the Wall have vanished in most parts of the city. Modern technology can help us to better understand the dimensions of the Berlin Wall. The MauAR app brings the Wall to life on smartphones as an augmented reality experience. Just open the app and a movable 3D model of the Wall will appear on the screen. Users can jump between three points in time – 1961, 1971, 1981 – to follow the development of the Wall from an improvised barbed wire fence to a massive concrete wall along a death strip. In a world first, users can experience Berlin’s most famous invisible landmark along its full length of 160 kilometres around West Berlin.

In a series of interactive episodes, two fictional characters – Andreas from East Berlin and Johanna from West Berlin – share their personal stories of the Wall and take users on a journey through time.

Five special episodes were available throughout the festival week. On Alexanderplatz, for example, you could join the demonstration of 4 November 1989. Elsewhere, at the former headquarters of the Stasi, now the site of the Campus for Democracy, an episode explored the topic of state surveillance and spying. There are other episodes at the Gethsemane Church, at the Brandenburg Gate and at Kurfürstendamm.

The MauAR app was developed by Peter Kolski/Beta Room; the special episodes were created in cooperation with Kulturprojekte Berlin. Further information at www.mauar.berlin.