This was once a border

Germany was, as most readers will know, at one time split in two halves by the Iron Curtain.

At some points along the “Inner-German Border” there are still some watchtowers, preserved to show the World what the border looked like. But in many parts the border has just disappeared and is part of the landscape.

To make sure that people do not forget just where that border was, many of the roads that cross that point in Germany have had signs erected, commemorating the fact that Germany was divided at those points.

A commemorative sign near Salzwedel at the location of the Inner-German border

This one can be seen between Brome (West) and Mellin (East). It is also about 25km from Salzwedel, the town in Germany that apparently is the furthest from any motorway exit and happens to be on one of the routes that I use each year to travel to the island of Rügen.

Another can be seen on the A20 motorway which follows the coast of the Baltic sea running eastwards from Hamburg.

The border itself was around 1,400km (860 miles) long.

Agreeing on borders

One of the most important events for anyone interested in 20th Century Bolivian history is the Chaco war, (1932-1935) fought between Bolivia and Paraguay over suspected oil resources in their border region.

As in many previous conflicts that Bolivia was involved in, it ended with the country losing land (approximately 75% of the Chaco region went to Paraguay).  In 1938 a truce was signed in Argentina, but this was not really the end of the subject as many Bolivians were not happy with the result.  It remained a topic as sensitive as the loss of the coastline to Chile.

Recently the topic has resurfaced, and Bolivia and Paraguay have signed an agreement to finalise the border – more than 70 years after the end of the conflict.

It could be compared to a similar situation between Germany and Poland.  Their common border was agreed in Potsdam in 1945 and is known as the “Oder-Neiße-Border“.  A formal agreement between the GDR and Poland was made in 1970, and to avoid any discussion on its validity it was confirmed in the 4+2 agreement on the re-unification of Germany in 1990.  A final contract between the states was signed in 1992.

On the other side of Bolivia, another border project is being discussed: a 150km tunnel to link Bolivia to the Pacific Ocean.  As much as I like the idea, it does sound like rather a big undertaking for those two countries.  And because of the area it is in, Peru would have to agree as well.

Please click on ACCEPT to give us permission to set cookies [more information]

This website uses cookies to give you the best browsing experience possible. Cookies are small text files that are stored by the web browser on your computer. Most of the cookies that we use are so-called “Session cookies”. These are automatically deleted after your visit. The cookies do not damage your computer system or contain viruses. Please read our privacy information page for more details or to revoke permission.

Close