New Berlin Wall section found in Germany

(CNN) — The Berlin Wall came down in 1989. But it seems that its story still hasn’t been fully told.

A previously unknown section of the wall was discovered in summer 2018 in a residential section of northwest Berlin.

Several locals on a walking tour came upon a 20-meter (66-foot) section of crumbling wall, covered in graffiti, in June. The wall had been covered by overgrown bushes, which is how it had escaped discovery for so long.

On August 14, the 57th anniversary of the beginning of the wall’s construction, Berlin council member Ephraim Gothe — who was one of the members of the walking tour — revealed that, yes, the structure he and his neighbors had discovered had indeed been part of the Berlin Wall.

That date is traditionally marked in Germany by politicians visiting the Berlin Wall Memorial and laying a symbolic wreath to honor people who died while trying to cross from East to West Berlin.

The Berlin Wall Foundation, the organization that manages the site, corroborated Gothe’s group findings: A new piece of the Berlin Wall had been revealed.

A view of a newly discovered piece of the former Berlin Wall, in Berlin, Germany.

CLEMENS BILAN/EPA

So how could a section of such a massive and significant structure go unnoticed for so long?

Gesine Beutin of The Berlin Wall Foundation explained to German news outlet DW.com: “On the outer ring [of the wall], on the border to the state of Brandenburg, there were also fortifications with fences and barbed wire, of course, but it didn’t always look the way we usually picture it.”

These days, the former wall is a tourism draw.

Travelers visit the museum at Checkpoint Charlie, which was once the primary security screening point between East and West Berlin.

And there may be another tourist attraction in Berlin, if Gothe has anything to say about it — he has already filed paperwork to have the newly discovered section of the wall designated a historic site in Germany.

CNN Travel has reached out to the German embassy in the United States and will update with additional information as it becomes available.

New Berlin Wall section found in Germany