The Berlin Wall divided East and West Berlin for 28 years, from the day construction that began on August 13, 1961 until it was dismantled in 1989.
In 1976 East German Border Troops begun to erect a new typ of Wall in Berlin, the so-called 'Border Wall 75'. This concrete Wall was 3.60 meter (11.81 ft) high and white painted. Although painting was not allowed, the complete Wall system was on the territory of East Berlin, many artists begun to paint on the Western side of the Wall in the beginning of the 80s.
Many known and unknown artists painted on the Wall in the following years and the paintings were often painted over within hours or days. The Wall art was not protected, everybody could paint on the Wall. On the Western side of the Berlin Wall the Wall was colorful whereas the Eastern side was white or grey.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 the Eastern side of the Wall was also painted by artists.