The fall of the Wall International GNTB photo competition: A glimpse of Germany - in OBA Amsterdam

20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall International GNTB photo competition: A glimpse of Germany. Works by international photojournalists for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall – Research trips to Germany – Distinguished jury selects winners – Exhibitions in 20 countries around the world. As part of its key theme “The 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall”, the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) last year announced an international photo competition for the HanseMerkur Prize, worth €10,000 in total. The theme of the competition is “2009: The 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall – Germany, a fascinating travel destination”.

HanseMerkur insurance is the competition's main sponsor. Other partners that have supported the GNTB in organising the competition include Accor Hotellerie Deutschland, Steigenberger Hotels and NH Hoteles Deutschland. A total of 31 journalists from 18 European countries, Japan and the United States have submitted photographic works created between September 2008 and January 2009 during their three to four-day individual research trips to Berlin and other federal states that once bordered the “Iron Curtain”. “The pictures show a tension between artistic representation and documentation that opens up entirely new perspectives on Germany as a travel destination,” said a delighted Petra Hedorfer, Chief Executive Officer of the GNTB.

With the theme “A glimpse of Germany” in mind, the distinguished jury started by evaluating 93 works online according to their artistic merit, historical references and relevance to tourism. At a final meeting in Berlin, jury members decided on the prize winners who were then officially announced at the GTM Germany Travel MartTM in Rostock. The winners are Gianluca Santoni from Italy, Eduardo Grund from Spain and Irisz Lukács from Hungary.

1 st price: Gianluca Santoni (Italien) Regierungsviertel Berlin

2nd price: Eduardo Grund (Spanien) Brandenburger Tor Berlin

3rd price: Irisz Lukacs (Ungarn) Frauenkirche Dresden