Bornholmer Straße was the first Berlin Wall crossing to open spontaneously after the border announcement on 9 November 1989.
At a press conference that evening, East German official Günter Schabowski announced new travel regulations and, after being questioned, said they took effect immediately. Crowds soon gathered at checkpoints. At Bornholmer Straße, border commander Harald Jäger eventually ordered the barriers opened because the growing crowd could no longer be controlled safely. The crossing opened at about 11:30 p.m.
The event was not the result of a preplanned ceremony at the checkpoint. Other crossings opened later that night, and the opening rapidly became the public breakthrough of the Berlin Wall. Bornholmer Straße is therefore distinct from Checkpoint Charlie and from the street sometimes identified as the first crossing opened after the announcement. The crossing site is now commemorated in northern Berlin.