Further Media
Throughout the city, glowing balloons line the former border, forming a "Lichtgrenze" (Border of Light). The visual power of this installation is meant to evoke the scale of the Wall and to remind people of the candles that became a symbol of non-violence during the Peaceful Revolution of 1989. As the border opens, the balloons rise into the sky. Each balloon has a sponsor, who releases their balloon simultaneously with all the others from its holder. With each balloon, the sponsors send a personal message on its journey.
A balloon sponsor recalls:
"In 2014, I was a choir singer in the choir of the Evangelische Hoffnungskirche Gemeinde (Protestant Hope Church) in Berlin-Pankow. ... On the evening of November 8, while we were on a choir trip, I was asked if anyone could step in at short notice for a sponsor who had fallen ill – 'Yes, of course!' So, the next day, after a brief orientation, I stood in Prenzlauer Berg on Norwegerstraße near Bornholmer Straße from 6 p.m. Just before 9 p.m., the big and exciting moment came: I turned the locking lever on 'my' light pillar, and with it, I released the balloon, sending it up into the Berlin night sky alongside many others. ... November 9, 2014, will always remain a special memory for me, as on that day I had the honor of releasing one of the balloons in the light chain for the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall."