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The Brandenburg Gate ( Brandenburger Tor in German) is an ancient gateway to Berlin and one of the main symbols of both the city and Germany. This is not a triumphal arch, it was access, as a Propylaea, the "New Berlin" at the time. Located at the current center of the city, the Plaza de Paris, forming the end of the avenue Unter den Linden and marking the beginning of the large Tiergarten park and the Avenue Straße des 17. Juni. Also nearby are the Reichstag and the Potsdamer Platz. Important events in the history of Berlin are linked to the Brandenburg Gate.

The Brandenburg Gate, designed by architect Carl Gotthard Langhans, is a construction in sandstone 26 m high, 65.5 m wide and 11 m long in the style of early Neoclassicism. Reminds Propylaea of \u200b\u200bthe Acropolis in Athens. It has five areas of circulation, of which the plant is the widest, with two smaller doors on the sides. The columns are Doric, fluted base and reach a diameter of 1.75 m. The top and the inside of the walkways are covered with reliefs of Hercules, Mars and the goddess Minerva. After the demolition of the city walls (1867-1868), the disciple of Friedrich Schinkel, Johann Heinrich Strack, placed on both sides of the two major frames. The door is

topped with a copper sculpture of about 5 m high, the Quadriga, founded by Johann Gottfried Schadow, who represents the Goddess Victoria mounted a chariot drawn by four horses in the direction of the city.

The Brandenburg Gate was built between 1788 and 1791 during the reign of Frederick William II of Prussia by Carl Gotthard Langhans, the model of the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens. This place was at that time one of the 18 gates of the walled city of Berlin.

In 1806, after the battle of Jena, the Quadriga was taken to Paris by Napoleon to be exhibited as a war trophy. Before this happened, Napoleon was overthrown. After the capture of Paris, General von Ernst Pfuel was appointed commander of a part of the city. He was responsible for the recovery of the statue to Berlin. In 1814, troops of General Blücher statue kept in boxes and transported back to Berlin, where it was restored. During this restoration the statue underwent a significant change since it was added the iron cross designed by Schinkel.

Until 1918, only members of the royal family, their guests and family members were allowed to use Pfuel central door step.

During the Second World War, the door was badly damaged and was almost completely Quadriga destroyed. On September 21, 1956, the City Council agreed to rebuild the door despite strong differences between the authorities of the divided city. Despite the accusations, both parties worked together and managed to finish the job on December 15, 1957. East Berlin authorities decided to redo the Quadriga with the original molds, but removing the eagle and iron cross considered symbols of German militarism.

With the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the Brandenburg Gate was in no man's land, without access to the east or west. Only border guards and special guests from the GDR had access to the monument.

In 1991, after the reunification of Germany, the Chariot, which had not had any maintenance in 30 years, was dismantled and restored. During this restoration were added back the eagle and iron cross. Between January 2001 and October 2002, undertook a complete restoration of the Gate, which was covered by 22 months. The Brandenburg Gate was unveiled between large festivities on October 3, 2002, anniversary of the reunification of Germany.

On November 9, 2009, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, took out several events commemorating the Berlin Wall, the Brandenburg Gate being center stage in the celebrations, including a concert commemorating the Irish group U2, 100,000 people participated in the rain in central Berlin that Germany organized the celebrations to mark 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The crowd was bet over a thousand dominoes polystyrene giant installed in the center of Berlin, which were demolished to symbolize the fall of the Wall, according to organizers.

Source: Wikipedia