Section of Berlin Wall restored

BERLIN -- The Berlin Wall's longest remaining stretch has been restored to its state of nearly two decades ago after artists repainted the colorful murals they created in the aftermath of the notorious barrier's opening.

Berlin on Friday inaugurated the restored section of the concrete wall, which is known as the East Side Gallery and snakes along the bank of the Spree river for three-quarters of a mile.

A popular tourist attraction, it boasts famous images such as a boxy East German Trabant car that appears to burst through the wall; and a fraternal communist kiss between Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and his East German counterpart, Erich Honecker.

The section was transformed into an open-air gallery months after communist East Germany opened its borders on Nov. 9, 1989. Much of the rest of the wall was quickly ripped down.

The East Side Gallery survived.

Over the past year, nearly 90 artists from around the world gathered again to repaint their original creations.