Porte de Brandebourg berlin

Brandenburg Gate

Berlin’s most famous landmark, the Brandenburg Gate is located in the Mitte district, on Pariser Platz, between the famous Unter den Linden Avenue and Tiergarten Park. Centuries ago, the still small city of Berlin was surrounded by walls, a kind of fortress, and the Brandenburg Gate was one of the many gates used to enter the city. Today, it is the only one of these gates that still exists.

History

The construction of the Brandenburg Gate, ordered by Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II as a symbol of peace, took place between the years 1788 and 1791. Designed by the architect Carl Gotthard Langhans, the gate was inspired by the Propylaea, the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The quadriga, a chariot driven by four horses and originally guided by Eirene, the goddess of peace, was designed by Johann Gottfried Schadow and placed atop the gate in 1793.

In 1806, during the French occupation of Berlin, Napoleon had the quadriga transported to Paris. Eight years later, when Napoleon was defeated, the quadriga was recovered and brought back to Berlin, where it was awarded an iron cross (which was a military decoration instituted by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia) topped by a Prussian eagle, symbolizing victory. At the same time, the square where the gate is located received its current name – Pariser Platz (Paris Square) – and the statue of the quadriga is called Victory, the name of the Roman goddess of victory.

It is considered a neoclassical triumphal arch. This old Berlin gate is considered one of the most recognizable monuments in all of Germany. It is located in the city center, between the avenue Under den Linden (avenue known for its huge flowering lime trees) and the Ebertstrasse (right next to the Pariser square). Due to the Second World War, the Brandenburg Gate was restored in 2000. When the Berlin Wall came down, this monument received a lot of attention because it symbolized European unity and peace. It has twelve Doric columns (Greek style) – six on each side, where five roads pass inside, and in the arch is the Greek goddess Irena, the goddess of peace. It is twenty-six meters high, eleven meters deep and sixty-five meters wide. As a curiosity, you should know that this door was built over other doors.

During World War II, the gate was severely damaged and, when Berlin was divided into sectors after the end of the war in 1945, the gate remained in the part under Soviet control – one of the allies that defeated Germany. A little more than a decade after the end of the war, in a joint initiative by the governments of East and West Berlin, the Brandenburg Gate was restored.

Vehicles and pedestrians could pass through the gate freely until August 1961, when the Berlin Wall was built, which unfortunately blocked access to the gate. The wall passed in front of the gate and only East German soldiers patrolling the wall were allowed to approach the gate. As a result, the Brandenburg Gate became a symbol of the division of Berlin and Germany. This situation lasted for almost 30 years and it was only after the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 that the gate was reopened.

The gate was restored again between 2001 and 2002 and was inaugurated at a celebration on October 3, 2002, the day Germany was reunited. Since then, the gate has been closed to vehicular traffic and only pedestrians can pass through it.

The gate, which was inspired by ancient Greek buildings, has twelve columns supporting a ceiling. At the top, there is a sculpture of Victoria, the Roman goddess, driving a chariot. When it was built, the Brandenburg Gate was called the Gate of Peace.

Although it is over two hundred years old, the most important part of the Brandenburg Gate’s history is much more recent, dating from the 20th century. The square where the Gate is located has always been one of the most important areas of the city.

It was the site of many important events in German history, related to Nazism and the World Wars. In the early 1960s, the Berlin Wall was built, dividing the city into its eastern and western parts.

Video

oday, the Brandenburg Gate is a symbol of German unification and is the scene of great celebrations, such as on New Year’s Eve, when bands perform and there is a fireworks display, or during sporting events such as the World Cup or the European Cup, a stage is set up in front of the gate with a stage for concerts and a large screen for people to watch the games.

The Brandenburg Gate is the largest of all the tourist attractions in Berlin. Just as the wall became a symbol of strife, violence and separation, the Brandenburg Gate is a symbol of unity and peace. After such a tumultuous history, it seems that that first name, the Gate of Peace, is coming into its own again.

How to get there:

Address: Pariser Platz – Mitte , 10117 Berlin

S-Bahn: Lines S1, S2, S25, station S+U Brandenburger Tor
U-Bahn: Line U55, station S+U Brandenburger Tor
Bus: Line TXL, stop S+U Brandenburger Tor; Line 100, stop Reichstag/Bundestag or S+U Brandenburger Tor

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