29 SEPT 2026History
What time did the Berlin Wall fall? 9 November 1989, the evening hours
There is no single minute. The announcement came around 18:53 Berlin time; the first checkpoint, Bornholmer Strasse, opened at about 23:30 (22:30 UTC).
Short answer: The Berlin Wall did not fall in one minute. On 9 November 1989 at about 18:53 Central European Time, East German spokesman Günter Schabowski told a press conference that new travel rules applied "immediately". Crowds gathered at the border, and at about 23:30 CET (22:30 UTC) guards at the Bornholmer Strasse crossing opened the gate. Other crossings followed during the night.
The press conference
Schabowski had been handed a note about easier travel but not told when it would start. Asked by a journalist, he looked at the paper and said it applied from now, without delay. It was broadcast live.
The crossing
Thousands of East Berliners went to the checkpoints. At Bornholmer Strasse the officer in charge, Harald Jäger, decided to open the barrier rather than risk violence. The exact minute is given differently by different sources, so we give the time as approximate.
Why no exact minute
Unlike a landing or a signature, the fall of the Wall was a chain of events across one evening. If you want to record it, choose the moment that means most to you: the announcement, or the opening of the first gate.