Fall of Berlin Wall celebrated

Domino Berlin wall tumbles

Thousands of people in Germany have been celebrating one of the most important events in recent European history - the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Germany used to be two countries - East and West Germany - and a big wall ran between them to keep them separate.

But on 9 November 1989 people from East Germany decided they'd had enough of the wall, and gathered to pull it down.

Now 20 years on a giant wall of pretend dominoes was built and then knocked down to help people remember.

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All the dominoes were decorated and had been placed along the route where the old Berlin wall used to stand.

It was built to stop people from East Germany leaving the country, and armed guards kept a close eye on it.

A year later East and West Germany joined together to become the single country that is now Germany.

The Brandenburg Gate stood between East and West Germany

The concrete wall was 155km (96 mile) long and was built in 1961. More than 100 people are thought to have been killed over the years trying to get past it.

Life in East Germany was very different to West Germany. The type of government was different and rules on what people could do were very strict.

Obama sends video message

People thought their lives may improve if they could escape over the wall, so were prepared to risk everything for that opportunity.

A wall of giant foam dominoes in Berlin

Exactly 20 years later top politicians from around the world were in Germany to mark the fall of the wall, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and America's Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

American president Barack Obama sent a video message and said: "Today, there are still those who live within the walls of tyranny. Human beings that are denied the very human rights that we celebrate today. That is why this day is for them as much as it is for us."

Germany's top politician, Chancellor Angela Merkel, said: "Without freedom, there is no democracy, no diversity, no tolerance, no united Europe."