Berlin (dpa) - Germany on Tuesday marked 58 years since construction of the Berlin Wall began, commemorating the occasion with ceremonies and events planned throughout the day.

Christian Hirte, the government's representative for former East German states, said it was a black day in German history and that memorialising the wall's construction showed that the country would not take a free and open society for granted.

"We owe those gratitude who helped bring about the fall of this wall," Hirte said.

On August 13, 1961, the government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) under the leadership of Walter Ulbricht began building the Berlin Wall, which separated the German capital for 28 years.

The wall came down on November 9, 1989, after a series of protests in former East Germany led to the so-called "Peaceful Revolution."

Berlin Mayor Michael Mueller attended a ceremony at the Berlin Wall Memorial on Tuesday to remember those who died trying to cross the wall into West Germany.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, leader of Germany's ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU), will hold a speech later Tuesday at the Glienicker Bridge in Potsdam, which used to be a border crossing between East Germany and West Berlin.