The record
A segment of about three tonnes set on the Dutch–German border by a maker of care and sports aids, as a symbolic foundation stone for its new building.
In November 2014, for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the fall of the Wall, a segment was placed on the premises of the company Arion at Avantis, the business park that straddles the Dutch–German border at Heerlen. Arion, which makes aids for health care and sport, was building a factory and office there and wanted the piece placed exactly on the border with Germany, symbolically as a kind of first stone. L1 Nieuws, the Limburg broadcaster, reported on 4 November 2014 that it measured 5 metres by 3.70 and weighed about 3,000 kilograms, and that it was to be placed on 11 November. The sailing-magazine report of the same week dates the Heerlen display to 10 November. The two dates are given as the sources give them.
The company bought it from a foundation that had acquired four pieces; the other three went to Amsterdam, Arnhem and Zierikzee. Nothing later than the 2014 reports has been read, so whether it is still on the premises, and whether anyone outside the company can see it, is not established here.
How did it get here?
One of four elements brought from Berlin in the summer of 2014 by historic sailing ships for Stichting Muurbrekers, and bought from that foundation by Arion.
Sources
Listed by the Berlin Wall Archive as #169.
Stuk Berlijnse muur naar Avantis in Heerlen — L1 Nieuws ↗
4 November 2014: Arion, building a factory and office at Avantis, wants the piece placed precisely on the border with Germany as a kind of symbolic first stone; it measures 5 m by 3.70 m, weighs about 3,000 kg and is to be placed on 11 November; it was bought from a foundation that acquired four pieces, the others going to Amsterdam, Arnhem and Zierikzee.
Press reportSource accessed 2026-09-17
Verscheepte Berlijnse Muur in Nederland tentoongesteld — Zeilen ↗
4 November 2014: four historic sailing ships brought four wall segments from Berlin in the summer for Stichting Muurbrekers, shown at Amsterdam, Zierikzee, Arnhem and Heerlen; at Heerlen, on 10 November, Arion placed its segment on the German–Dutch border.
Press reportSource 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 169
Source-reported segments: 1. 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