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Town in Lower Saxony, Germany
Photo: via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Helmstedt is a city in the Brunswick Land in Lower Saxony, Germany. In the second half of the 20th century, Helmstedt and its eastern neighboir Marienborn were best known as the largest checkpoint, Checkpoint Alpha, along the inter-German border during the division of Germany. Museums and monuments in the area document this era, and some of the buildings on the former East German checkpoint grounds are a memorial site that offers exhibitions and site tours.
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Kloster St. Marienberg
A museum about the former inter-German border. Exhibit text is in German, but there are many photographs, artefacts and models, including a model of the Helmstedt/Marienborn motorway border crossing.
Gedenkstätte Deutsche Teilung Marienborn
Permanent exhibitions about the division of Germany, and the inter-German border, housed in the preserved facilities of the GDR checkpoint entering East Germany. In addition to several preserved buildings, the exterior grounds can be explored on foot.
A2 towards Berlin (driving east) or Hanover (driving west). Take exit 62-Helmstedt-Zentrum toward HE-Zentrum/Bad Helmstedt.
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Hannover · International · HAJ
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