Historical context: The Berlin Wall and Sebastianstrasse
Sebastianstrasse 87 lies directly on the former Berlin Wall corridor and bears witness to the division of the city. With the construction of the Wall, Sebastianstrasse itself was divided: Houses numbered 1 to 3 belonged to East Berlin, while those numbered 81 to 87 on the opposite side belonged to West Berlin. In the 1960s, several escape tunnels were dug in the area to allow people to try to escape from East Germany. One of these tunnels was located directly under number 82, but was later discovered and closed. Sebastianstrasse is thus a historical testament to the era of Berlin’s division. (Image source at right: Stiftung Berliner Mauer, Foto: Edmund Kasperski)