The famous East Side gallery . . . a stretch of avantgarde art painted on one of the last remaining stretches of the wall which divided the city for 28 years . . . is in danger of extinction due to a lack of political will combined with public apathy. Pollution, bureaucracy, graffiti, the weather and a lackadaisical attitude among city dwellers mean the art could vanish along with most other symbols of a divided Germany.

Located along the banks of the Spree River near the city's main eastern rail station, the best-known wall remnant and its artwork have fallen on hard times.

Created in 1990 in celebration of the wall's collapse, the gallery features works by an international group of artists who expressed their reactions to the 9 November 1989 event through painting. The works cover a half-mile long section of the wall that has come to be known as the East Side Gallery, but are in danger of disappearing from graffiti or exposure. The famous kiss mural depicting Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev and East German leader Erich Honecker in a socialist smacker is pockmarked and cracked.

The area around mirrors the decline of the artworks. The strip of land facing the other, graffitistrewn, side of the wall has become a home to derelicts and drug addicts. A murder victim was stumbled upon in a clean-up project several years ago.

Some 118 artists from 24 countries used the wall . . .

the "anti-fascist protection barrier" in the argot of the socialist rulers of the German Democratic Republic . . . as a canvas upon which to paint their farewell to the regime which erected it back in 1961. It is now up there with the Brandenburg Gate and the Holocaust Memorial as a must-see icon for tourists to the city.

But restoring its fading glory seems an impossible task. To repair the crumbling wall would necessitate the destruction of the pictures. They would subsequently be repainted by the same artists who said they are willing to do it. The total cost of the renovation project is estimated at more than 3.25m . . . not a huge civic sum, but Berlin is broke to the tune of billions.

But Kani Alavi, co-founder and president of the Artists' Initiative East Side Gallery says it's a small price to pay for a crucial part of Berlin's history.

"The gallery serves as a document and we . . . have to be prepared to protect the history of Berlin." So far the city government is willing to pay for the technical restoration of the wall but not the repainting.

Joerg Flaehmig, who works for the city's planning authorities, says the renovation work cannot commence until the project has been completely financed.

"We are still trying to secure the money for the repainting, but we're not yet sure where it will come from, " he said. However, four of the artists have already died. Those who have pledged to preserve the East Side gallery are going cap-in-hand to corporations asking for their financial support. "I wish the authorities would stop dragging their feet, " Alvi said.

"We must maintain the Wall for future generations, to bring the terrible history alive."