It stood for 10,316 days. Now, as of Monday, the Berlin Wall has been gone for as long as it had divided the city.

Two years after the end of the Berlin airlift that broke the Soviet blockade of the western part of the city, construction began in the summer of 1961 by Communist East German authorities trying to stop people from escaping to the West. It sliced Berlin into an eastern Communist sector and capitalist enclave surrounded by East Germany.



The wall, perhaps the most powerful symbol of the Cold War, stood for more than 28 years until it was torn down starting Nov. 9, 1989, during the collapse of the Soviet empire.

At least 140 people had died trying to cross the wall to escape to the West.

Monday marked the 10,316th day since the wall has been gone.

Here are some scenes: