Following the trail of the Berlin Wall

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Where the city ends and the state of Brandenburg, and the rest of Germany, begins. In the distance lies Gropiusstadt (Gropius City). Dominique de Rivaz

The double row of cobblestones that marks the path of the wall in the centre of the city, here at Alexander-Ufer in the Mitte district Dominique de Rivaz

The bridge of Glienicke in Potsdam. It is also called the bridge of exchange because it was the place where a KGB agent was exchanged for an American pilot Dominique de Rivaz

Remnants of the wall in Griebnitzsee in Potsdam Dominique de Rivaz

What was once the border strip in Gross-Glienicke Dominique de Rivaz

Reforestation along the border strip Dominique de Rivaz

Cherry Tree Lane. In spring 800 cherry trees blossom along the path of the wall. They were a donation by the Japanese as a sign of friendship and of joy after German reunification Dominique de Rivaz

A tavern along the trail. Grenz-Eck translates as Border Corner Dominique de Rivaz

Allies wanting to travel to West Berlin had to go through this border control post, located over the motorway in Dreilinden/Kleinmachnow Dominique de Rivaz

A sculpture marks the spot in Florastrasse, Frohnau, where in 1980, an 18-year-old Marinetta Jikowsky was shot 27 times by border guards as she attempted to escape across the wall Dominique de Rivaz

Brandenburg was once nicknamed the "Old Fritz's sandpit" in reference to Frederick the Great and the district's sandy terrain. The sand in the no-man's land preserved the footprints of anyone who attempted to escape Dominique de Rivaz

The East-West border ran through Lake Gross-Glienicker. Today, the lake has its own problems, with disputes over who owns access to the lakeshore walkway Dominique de Rivaz

The French cemetery where gravestones were buried or razed to make way for the wall Dominique de Rivaz

"The field of rabbits", a work by the artist Karla Sachse at the site of the old border checkpoint at Chausseestrasse. Rabbits burrowed tunnels underneath the wall to get to the Strip of Death Dominique de Rivaz

A long straight road along the wall path in Lichtenrade Dominique de Rivaz

Today, only old photographs in books and on postcards remind visitors of the wall that divided a city and a nation. The Brandenburg Gate at Unter den Linden with East Berlin on the left and West Berlin on the right Dominique de Rivaz

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In 2008 and 2009 Swiss filmmaker and photographer Dominique de Rivaz walked the 155 kilometres along what was once the Berlin Wall. She took pictures of the wall’s path through the city centre and the countryside along the border with the state of Brandenburg.

De Rivaz mainly walked the path during the cold months of December, January and February, but also returned to the trail in April when the cherry trees were in full bloom. She did not just want to take “pretty” pictures, but create a work that combined the small things along the path, the unexpected stops along the journey and the humour of certain everyday situations, with the large, life and tragedy.

The wall is largely invisible 25 years after its fall. But its shadow crosses through fields, roads and houses like a scar. The wall is different as seen by a photographer, rather than a historian or an archaeologist. The feeling that emanates from these images is compassion. When we look at her images we cannot help but think of those who have dreamed of what might be on the other side and the suffering of those who attempted to escape their prison.

De Rivaz was not just taking pictures of fragments of the wall or its ruins, she was documenting its path. And, her documentation is above all evidence of the power of life to reclaim its rights over the tragedies of history.

(Images: Dominique de Rivaz, from the book “The never ending wall – the Berlin wall trail”, Lausanne: 2009, Editions Noir sur blanc. Text: Chantal Britt, swissinfo.ch)