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(CNN) - European leaders gathered in Berlin this Saturday to commemorate 30 years of the fall of the wall that divided the city between east and west, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Europe to defend democracy and the freedom.
Leaders from central and eastern Europe gathered in the German capital to commemorate the crucial moment in history that marked the end of communism and the reunification of the country.
Several events were scheduled throughout the city, which included the commemoration ceremony at the Berlin Wall monument attended by the leaders.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel greets young people in the Reconciliation Chapel.
During the event, Merkel said that European values should not be taken for granted.
"The values on which Europe is based (freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, human rights) should not be taken for granted," said Merkel. “We always have to defend them.
"In the future, Europe [will continue] fighting for human rights, tolerance and democracy," he added. "This is a time of global changes, so this is a pressing issue."
Candles would also be lit for the victims of communist violence and the commemorations will continue until night at the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of a reunified Germany that once stood in the center of no man's land between East and West.
The fall of the Berlin wall caused shocks across Europe 30 years ago and renewed hopes for millions of East Germans.
Upon awakening on August 13, 1961, the inhabitants found an improvised barricade made of barbed wire and cement blocks that divided the city.
Over the next three decades, the barrier evolved into a 45-kilometer concrete wall, which symbolized the deep ideological division between the Soviet bloc and the West at the height of the Cold War. The three meter deep wall was fortified with watchtowers, electric fences and armed guards.
On November 9, 1989, jubilant crowds stormed the concrete blockade, a few minutes after the communist German Democratic Republic (GDR) announced that travel restrictions for eastern Germans would be lifted. Propaganda and fear were replaced by a sense of freedom and unity.
However, despite the fall of the wall, three decades later, an invisible barrier still extends across Germany.
While slowly disintegrating, the division remains. According to Steffen Mau, professor of sociology at Humboldt University in Berlin, many gaps, particularly economic ones, have narrowed, but people still have "strong differences in attitudes and mentality."
Even the way people see themselves and their country varies. Mau explains that most Western Germans say that "there is no difference ... while most Eastern Germans would say there is still a surprising difference between East and West."
According to some surveys, he added, up to half of East Germans still feel like "second class citizens."
In terms of wealth, the six states on the east side had a lot to catch up when the Wall fell. And while a large part of that gap has closed in the last three decades, the east is still lagging behind, both in terms of GDP and income.
Ivana Kottasová and Radina Gigova of CNN contributed to this report.
Berlin Wall