Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was "a lucky day for which we Germans are still grateful today".
Built in 1961, the Berlin Wall stood for 28 years at the front line of the Cold War between the Americans and the Soviets. It was built by communists to cut off East Germans from the supposed ideological contamination of the West and to stem the tide of people fleeing East Germany.
It had carved a swathe through Berlin's heart and the surrounding countryside, and through the hearts of many of its people.
However, when the border was opened 35 years ago, it took less than a year until the country's reunification on October 3 1990.
Today, only a few stretches of the wall remain, mostly as a tourist attraction.
A person places a rose in a gap of remains of the Berlin Wall during a commemorative event. (EPA PHOTO)
For the anniversary celebrations on Saturday, event organisers created a temporary wall of 5000 posters designed by children and adults under the motto "We uphold freedom," which attracted a steady flow of visitors, including many foreign tourists.
It stands along a 4km stretch of the former wall in Berlin city centre.
The posters combine the demands of East German protesters against the communist authorities in autumn 1989, such as freedom of expression, freedom of the press and freedom to travel, with current day wishes and were created as part of workshops in schools, church parishes, local art groups and cultural projects.
A 4km-long installation was installed along the former Wall strip in Berlin. (AP PHOTO)
"Uphold freedom, because without freedom, everything else is nothing," Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner said at an official anniversary event with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Berlin Wall Memorial.
"Those were incredible moments, incredible hours and days," the mayor said recalling the event.
Wegner said November 9 remains a fateful day for Germany, both in a positive and negative sense.
The date marks also marks the beginning of a Nazi-led nationwide wave of terror against Jewish people in 1938, which came to be known as the Night of Broken Glass, or Kristallnacht.
Wegner said he hoped that the spirit of optimism and solidarity from the time of when the Berlin Wall fell he will return to Germany.
with PA
