THOUSANDS of illuminated balloons have sailed into the night sky from the former route of the Berlin Wall, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel said its fall 25 years ago proved that "dreams can come true." The flight of the glowing white orbs through the heart of Berlin marked the climax of a huge open-air party at the Brandenburg Gate, the symbol of German unity, which drew an estimated one million guests to the city. A quarter-century after the breach of Europe's Cold War division, artists had tethered nearly 7000 balloons along a 15-kilometre stretch of the despised concrete barrier's former 155-kilometre path, making it visible once again. As the balloons were released and floated to the heavens, the Berlin State Orchestra, under the baton of Daniel Barenboim, played Beethoven's Ode to Joy. Earlier British singer Peter Gabriel sang a stripped-down version of David Bowie's Wall anthem Heroes, sharing the stage with rock bands from east and West Germany and former dissidents. Party ... Visitors climb a Trabant, the East-Germany built car, at the Brandenburg Gate after celebrations on the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall Source: Getty Images Merkel, 60, who grew up in communist East Germany, said earlier at a memorial for those killed trying to escape the repressive regime that the Wall was a "symbol of state abuse cast in concrete" that "broke" many people. Floral tribute ... Students flowers in between slats of the former Berlin Wall at the Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse. In an unusually emotional speech, Mrs Merkel said: "We can change things for the better - that is the message of the fall of the Berlin Wall." Mrs Merkel said the events inspired hope that the world can tear down "walls of dictatorship, violence, ideology and hostility." Remembering ... German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Director of the Berlin Wall Foundation Axel Klausmeier visit the new permanent exhibition in the Berlin Wall memorial. Mrs Merkel grew up a pastor's daughter, joined other dignitaries at a memorial at Bernauer Strasse, which saw harrowing scenes of people jumping from windows when the Wall first went up in 1961. Jubilant mood ... A performer executes a somersault by a section of the Wall. Picture: Maja Hitij/AFP Source: AFP Too good to be true? A daydream that will burst like a bubble? No, the fall of the Wall has shown us that dreams can come true. This is true for Germany and "for the people in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and in many, many other regions of the world where liberty and human rights are threatened or being trampled," she said. Celebrate ... East and West Berliners mingle as they celebrate in front of a control station on East Berlin territory, during the opening of the borders to the West. The celebrations started on a sombre note with an ecumenical service and ceremony for the at least 389 victims of the border, many of whom were shot or blown up by mines as they tried to flee the East. A couple from the former West Berlin, Gunnar and Uschi Schultz, recalled how they spent the entire historic night in 1989 at the Brandenburg Gate, which was a centrepiece of the tense frontier for 28 years. "It was wonderful, obviously, wonderful, but at the same time, strange," said medical researcher Uschi, 50, about the night when citizens from both sides found the courage to cross into the heavily guarded no-man's land. United ... Two men proudly show off bricks of the Berlin Wall they found near Brandenburg Gate in Berlin after the opening of the East German border to the West in 1989. The police were very hesitant. It's a miracle that no shot was fired. Frank Marschner, a 56-year-old forester from the east German town of Neustadt, said November 9, 1989 marked the beginning of a new chapter in his life. "The freedom to travel is the freedom we've enjoyed the most," he said, joined by his wife Pia, 54. Before and after ... The combo shows a view of East Berlin, taken from an observation platform in Bernauer Strasse, West Berlin, in 1980 and trams crossing the area of former Berlin Wall at Bernauer Strasse in Berlin in 2014 Source: AP It started with a jaunt to West Berlin and it's since taken us to Canada, Greece, Cape Verde - all over the world. Places we could never even dream of in the GDR," he added, using the acronym for communist East Germany. Freedom ... This 1989 photo shows West Berliners gathering in front of the Wall as they watch East German border guards demolishing a section in order to open a new crossing point between East and West Berlin. Marking the fall ... balloons sail into the night from the light installation "Lichtgrenze," in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Picture: AFP/Odd Andersen Source: AFP Reformist ... former Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev (right) and his daughter Irina Wirganskaja attend a ceremony to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Picture: Michael Ukas/Getty Source: Getty Images History ... People from East and West Germany gathering for the opening of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in 1989.