Developer vows to demolish historic section of Berlin Wall despite protests
Developer has been given nod to build luxury flats behind world's longest open air gallery
A property developer behind plans to demolish a remnant of the Berlin Wall to make way for luxury apartments said he would carry through with the action despite protests.
"On Monday, the work continues," Maik Uwe Hinkel said. "We have permission and think the building is good for Berlin."
Demonstrators at the East Side Gallery - a 1.3-kilometre stretch of the Berlin Wall that features some 120 paintings by international artists - have prevented a crane from removing a 22-metre section of what is considered to be the world's longest open air gallery.
The Berlin-based investment group, Living Bauhaus, has planning permission to build a 14-storey luxury apartment block featuring floor-to-ceiling glass fronts behind the open air gallery.
Since 1990, the outdoor gallery has been covered in brightly coloured graffiti murals, including the famous depicting Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and his East German counterpart Erich Honecker.
The piece, removed by a crane on Friday, bore a mural depicting the Brandenburg Gate, which was sealed off by the wall for years but is now Berlin's most popular landmark. "They're pulling down our history here," former West Berliner Monika Wang, 72, complained. Even the bad times must be remembered, she added, grumbling that history was being "sacrificed" because Berlin is still cheap for investors.
Berliners have appealed to the city's mayor, Klaus Wowereit, to halt the demolition.
