Berlin Wall dominoes in hot demand

(AFP PHOTO DDP / AXEL SCHMIDT)

German authorities reported on Tuesday strong demand for some of the more than 1,000 dominoes toppled along the route of the Berlin Wall in 20th anniversary celebrations the previous evening.

"In just one morning we have had 30 or 40 enquiries from firms, individuals, schools and local parishes," Dorett Auerswald, a spokeswoman for the organisers told AFP.

"Some of them want to buy them, others want to know if it is possible to have them for an exhibition. It's really very touching," she said. "People tell us they saw them on television and that they were moved."

For the moment, however, all the 2.5-metre-high (eight-foot) dominoes are the property of the schools and organisations around Germany that painted them, which have until Wednesday to claim them back.

"If any dominoes are not taken we will keep them. They have a lot of value and we will see what we can do with them," she said.

Two of the dominoes are already on their way to a museum in the western German city of Bonn, capital of West Germany before the real Wall was yanked down.