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Vision of Iron Curtain as a tourism green belt

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The European Parliament is pushing for what was once the Iron Curtain to be transformed into a 6,800km tourist trail, targeting bikers, hikers and history buffs.

The campaign, headed by German Green Euro-MP Michael Cramer, was launched this week. It comes as the finishing touches are put to the Berlin Mauerweg, or Berlin Wall Trail, a green pathway along the former barricade.

The parliament has a similar vision for the entire former communist division between west and east: 'A 6,800km green ribbon from the Artic Sea to the Black Sea.'

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Bike-loving Mr Cramer had campaigned tirelessly for remnants of the Berlin Wall to be gradually transformed into a 160km pedestrian, park-edged and pram-pushing recreational strip through the city, countryside and suburbs.

'The Berlin Wall may well be one of the most emotion-charged structures built in the 20th century,' Mr Cramer said. 'Today, its remnants remain a memorial against violence, tyranny and the abuse of power. The Berlin Wall Trail documents history, politics and culture.

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'The proposed Iron Curtain trail is a roadway into the history, the culture and the politics of Europe.

'Only those who can remember and who know about the past will master the future.'

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