The record
Given to Georgia in 2017 for twenty-five years of diplomatic relations and unveiled on Europe Square, in a country whose own borders are drawn by its neighbour.
Germany was the first member of the European Community to recognise Georgian independence, and the two countries opened diplomatic relations in 1992 — helped by the standing in Germany of Eduard Shevardnadze, who as Soviet foreign minister had been part of the settlement that allowed German reunification. In 2017, for the twenty-fifth anniversary of both independence and those relations, the German federal government gave Georgia a piece of the Berlin Wall. The prime minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, accepted it during a visit to Germany as a symbol of German-Georgian friendship.
It was unveiled on Europe Square in Tbilisi on 9 November 2017, the twenty-eighth anniversary of the opening of the border, with the prime minister, government officials, the German ambassador Heike Peitsch and the Georgian ambassador to Germany present. Kvirikashvili called it the high point of the German-Georgian year.
The siting carries more weight here than the usual formula about overcoming division. Georgia sits on the line between Europe and Asia, with Turkey to the south and Russia to the north, and its relationship with the northern neighbour has run from annexation by the Tsarist empire through the Red Army's occupation in 1921 to the incorporation into the Soviet Union. Independence was declared again on 9 April 1991, and was followed by wars in Abkhazia and South Ossetia; Russian forces remain in both, and Russia recognises them as independent states. A monument to a border that came down stands in a capital whose own borders are held open by someone else.
How did it get here?
A gift from the German federal government in 2017 marking twenty-five years of diplomatic relations, received by Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili in Germany and unveiled on 9 November 2017.
Sources & verification
Federal Foundation — Berlin Wall worldwide, site entry ↗
The 2017 gift from the German federal government for the twenty-fifth anniversary of Georgian independence and of diplomatic relations, its acceptance by Giorgi Kvirikashvili, the unveiling on Europe Square on 9 November 2017 with Heike Peitsch present, Germany's early recognition of Georgian independence and Shevardnadze's standing, and the history of Georgia's relations with Russia including Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Source accessed 2026-09-17
MAU-768 Mauerelement in Tiflis, Georgien — MAUERSPUREN, Stiftung Berliner Mauer ↗
The element standing as a monument on Europe Square in Avlabari, Tbilisi, given in 2017 as a sign of German-Georgian friendship to the then prime minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili; catalogued as MAU-768.
Source accessed 2026-09-17
Federal Foundation — Berlin Wall worldwide ↗
The source lists this place as a Berlin Wall location. Coordinates, where supplied, are source-reported and may represent a general area. This is not independent verification of authenticity, current presence, or public access.
Source accessed 2026-09-17 · Source record 122
Last verified: Not yet verified
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