Brandenburger Tor, Pariser Platz Deutschland, 1791 Neoklassizistisch, Berlin, Deutschland, (Quadriga, die Zügel der Pferde werden von Victoria, der Siegesgöttin, gehalten.)
5433 x 3612 px | 46 x 30,6 cm | 18,1 x 12 inches | 300dpi
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The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin, Germany. It is located between the Pariser Platz and the Platz des 18. März and is the only remaining gate of a series through which one formerly entered Berlin. One block to its north lies the Reichstag. It constitutes the monumental termination of Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of linden trees which led directly to the royal residence. It was commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm II as a sign of peace and built by Carl Gotthard Langhans from 1788 to 1791. The Brandenburg Gate's design has remained unchanged since its completion, yet it has played different political roles in German history. After the 1806 Prussian defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, Napoleon stole and took the Quadriga to Paris, however, after his defeat in 1814 and the Prussian Parisian occupation by General Ernst von Pfuel, the Quadriga was restored to Berlin, and Viktoria's olive wreath exchanged for the Iron Cross, becoming goddess of victory. When the Nazis ascended to power, they used the Gate as their symbol. The Gate, itself, survived World War II and was one of few structures standing in the Pariser Platz ruins, in 1945, the other structure was the Academy of Fine Arts. The governments of East Berlin and West Berlin restored it, however, it was closed when the Berlin Wall was erected in 1961.General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall! When the Revolutions of 1989 collapsed the Berlin Wall, the Gate then symbolized the freedom to unity of the City of Berlin. On the 22nd of December 1989, the Brandenburg Gate re-opened when Helmut Kohl, the West German Chancellor, walked through to be greeted by Hans Modrow, the East German Prime Minister.
