This panorama observation tower used to stand between the Brandenburg Gate and Leipziger Platz and it was used as a base for border guards to monitor the area at the former House of Ministries.It was only in 2001 that this tower was moved to its present location near Stresemannstraße on Potsdamer Platz. Two soldiers would do their eight hour rounds on the tiny area of top of this watchtower. Since they didn’t know each other, East German rules for this kind of soldiers, I imagine how boring would it be to work there. But soldiers kept working their doing their rounds.

The construction of the BT 6 watchtower, the technical name for this East German Watchtower, began in 1966 and, by the end of the GDR era, there were more than 200 of them following the Berlin Wall. This one is the only one that still stands. Fotostrasse visited this tower in the end of december 2014 and it was a short but cool experience. The tower is kept by three berliners who recognized the importance of it and decided to ensure that it continues to be a reminder of everything surrounding the Berlin Wall.