The record
Two graffiti-covered segments a local media entrepreneur gave the town for his fiftieth birthday in 1998, unveiled eleven years later for the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Wall.
The two segments stand in the garden of Oberkirch's town hall, beside a plaque.
They were a gift to the town in 1998 from the media entrepreneur Werner Kimmig, for his fiftieth birthday. He had been in East Berlin on a visit in August 1961 and saw the Wall go up — at thirteen, by The Wall Net's account. The Federal Foundation's directory of memorial sites records that they were handed over to the public, still covered in graffiti, on 7 November 2009, in the presence of Kimmig, the Land finance minister Willi Stächele and the member of the Bundestag Arnold Vaatz.
The plaque reads „Diese Mauerreste sollen eine Mahnung an alle sein, sich stets für das hohe Gut der Freiheit und den Frieden, aufgebaut auf demokratischen Grundwerten, einzusetzen“ — these remains of the Wall should remind everyone always to stand up for freedom and peace, built on democratic values.
Where the segments were in the eleven years between the gift and the unveiling, the sources do not say.
How did it get here?
Given to the town in 1998 by the Oberkirch media entrepreneur Werner Kimmig for his fiftieth birthday; unveiled in the town-hall garden on 7 November 2009.
Sources
Listed by the Berlin Wall Archive as #304.
Denkmal „Berliner Mauer“ — Orte des Erinnerns ↗
Two segments of the Berlin Wall in the garden of Oberkirch's town hall since the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Wall, given to the town in 1998 by the media entrepreneur Werner Kimmig for his fiftieth birthday, who had seen the Wall built during a visit to East Berlin in 1961; handed over to the public, covered in graffiti, on 7 November 2009 in the presence of Kimmig, the Land finance minister Willi Stächele and the member of the Bundestag Arnold Vaatz; the text of the plaque.
Institutional sourceSource accessed 2026-09-17
Oberkirch, BW — The Wall Net ↗
Two segments in front of the town hall, given in 1998 by the Oberkirch media entrepreneur Werner Kimmig for his fiftieth birthday; Kimmig was visiting Berlin aged thirteen on the day the Wall was built.
General referenceSource accessed 2026-09-17
Berlin Wall Archive ↗
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.
Inventory listingSource accessed 2026-09-17 · Source record 304
Source-reported segments: 2. This is not a separately verified count.
No photograph of this one has been published. If you have taken one, or know when it arrived or who gave it, we would like to hear. Contribute to this record