Sorry Charlie: Berlin Allied Checkpoint Bravo sold at auction

BERLIN – BERLIN (AP) — Checkpoint Charlie's lesser-known Cold War contemporary, Allied Checkpoint Bravo, has been sold at auction for the minimum bid price of €45,000 ($58,000) to an anonymous purchaser.

Berlin's Deutsche Grundstuecksauktionen AG auctioned the government-owned site Thursday.

It says the 3.7-acre (14,772 square meter) property still has a building from the time it was used as a checkpoint for travelers between East Germany and West Berlin, but it's in such poor condition the site was sold as forest land.

Better-known counterpart Checkpoint Charlie was in downtown Berlin.

Checkpoint Bravo was the main highway crossing into southwestern Berlin. The property sold was the original checkpoint, which operated until 1969 when the road was moved.