Germany has celebrated the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall that divided East and West Germany, with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier thanking Eastern European neighbours for spurring on the peaceful revolution.
The toppling of the wall, which separated the Communist-ruled East from the capitalist West in Berlin for nearly three decades and became a potent symbol of the Cold War, was followed a year later by the reunification of Germany in 1990.
"Together with our friends, we remember with deep gratitude the events 30 years ago," Mr Steinmeier said during a ceremony on Saturday at the Bernauer Strasse Berlin Wall Memorial.
The event was also attended by Chancellor Angela Merkel and heads of state from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) attends the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall at the Berlin Wall Memorial site Source: EPA
"Without the courage and the will to freedom of the Poles and Hungarians, the Czechs and Slovaks, the peaceful revolutions in Eastern Europe and Germany's reunification would not have been possible," Mr Steinmeier said.
During the ceremony, Mr Steinmeier and the presidents of the four Eastern European nations placed roses in a small gap in the remains of the wall at the memorial.
In August 1989, Hungarian border guards for the first time allowed people from East Germany to cross freely into Austria, paving the way for the fall of the Berlin Wall three months later and with it, the end of the Iron Curtain.
Mr Steinmeier said, however, that the historic event did not mark the "end of history" as US historian Francis Fukuyama stated.
The struggle of political systems continues and the future is more uncertain than ever before, he added.
"Liberal democracy is being challenged and questioned," Mr Steinmeier said, calling on Germany and its European allies to keep fighting for a peaceful and united Europe.
At Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate meanwhile, tens of thousands gathered to hear rock bands, rappers, DJs and the city's orchestra, under a canopy of streamers bearing ordinary people's messages and wishes for the future turned into a floating artwork.
Along the longest stretch of Wall still standing, known as the East Side Gallery, a light show entertained spectators as metro trains rumbled over the nearby Oberbaumbruecke bridge - blocked to traffic during the city's division.
World famous techno clubs hosted artists from around Europe for 27 separate parties - one for each of the European Union's member states (minus departing Britain).
Visitors attend the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin Source: AP
And West Berlin football team Hertha built a replica Wall across their Olympic Stadium turf, only to knock it down just before the late afternoon's kickoff against Leipzig.
Edwin Glatter, 54, who was in West Berlin the night the Wall fell, returned to the capital from the Black Forest especially to mark the occasion on Saturday with friends.
He recalled his local bar on West Berlin's Kurfuerstendamm boulevard suddenly full of "strange" new people on that fateful day, while others were hugging and handing out champagne on the street.
When he and his girlfriend heard the borders were open, "she said, for God's sake, the Russians are coming! She was shaken and horrified," he remembered, guffawing with laughter.
Later at Potsdamer Platz, the crowd cheered as pneumatic drills began pounding chunks out of the hated barrier.
"People were laughing themselves to death... it was a giant party," Mr Glatter said.
