BRANDENBURG GATE

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.

Contents

Design & History

Location

Photo gallery

See also

External links

Design & History

The Brandenburg Gate consists of twelve columns built in the Doric order of architecture, six on each side. This allows for five roadways, although originally ordinary citizens were only allowed to use the outer two. Above the gate is the Quadriga, with Viktoria, the goddess of victory driving the Quadriga. The gate stands 26 m (65 ft) high, 65.5 m (213 ft) wide and 11 m (36 ft) thick.
The design of the gate was based on the Propylea, the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Berlin had a long history of classicism: first classicist Baroque and then a neo-Palladian, but this was the first Greek revival neo-classical structure in Berlin, which would become the ''Spreeathen'' ("Athens on the River Spree") by the 1830s, shaped by the severe neoclassicism of architect Karl Gotthard von Langhans. The Quadriga on the top was made by Johann Gottfried Schadow.
While the main design of the Brandenburg Gate has remained the same since it was completed, the gate has played varying roles in Germany's history. After the defeat of the prussian troops at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt in 1806, Napoleon took the Quadriga to Paris. However, due to the following deprivation of his power in 1814 and the subsequent occupation of Paris, General Ernst von Pfuel, commander-in-chief of the prussian sector of Paris organized its return to Berlin. The Quadriga was returned to Berlin and the statue exchanged her olive wreath for the Iron Cross and became the goddess of victory.
When the Nazis rose to power, they used the gate to symbolize their power. The gate itself survived the war (although its adjoining side structures were badly damaged) and was the only structure left standing in the ruins of Pariser Platz in 1945, apart from the ruined Academy of Fine Arts, The gate was restored by the East Berlin and West Berlin governments. However, in 1961, it was closed when the Berlin Wall was built.
In 1963 U.S. President John F. Kennedy visited the Brandenburg Gate. The Soviets hung large banners across it so he could not see the East Berlin side. "The German question will remain open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed" was how the Mayor of West Berlin, Richard von Weizsäcker, described the situation in the early 1980s.
On June 12, 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan delivered a speech to the people of West Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate, yet it was also audible on the East Berlin side of the Wall. In the speech, President Reagan demanded that the Berlin Wall be torn down, delivering the following message to Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev:
Finally, when the Berlin Wall fell during the Revolutions of 1989, the gate symbolized freedom and the unity of the city. It re-opened on 22 December 1989 when the West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl walked through to be greeted by the East German Prime Minister, Hans Modrow.
On July 12, 1994 U.S. President Bill Clinton addressed a speech to the people of Berlin at the Brandenburg Gate talking mainly about peace in post-Cold War Europe.
On December 21, 2000 workers began to once again refurbish the Brandenburg Gate, this time using lasers to clean off soot and grit. More than 1,000 pieces of stone were also replaced. Estimated cost: 3,000,000 USD in private funding.
There is some local controversy in Berlin over the fact that there is a Starbucks within a few yards of the gate. It is seen as a corporate intrusion upon a national treasure.

Location

★ Street map of the Brandenburg Gate's location (GlobalGuide)

Photo gallery

See also

★ Berlin Wall

External links

★ Brandenburg Gate described in its historic context.

★ Panorama Brandenburg Gate - Panoramic view from the Pariser Platz

★ Webcam: Live-View of the Street "Unter den Linden" with Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany

★ Ronald Reagan's ''Tear this Wall'' speech

★ Bill Clinton's ''Berlin is free'' speech

★ Video News report of the Brandenburg Gate re-opening - Real Player needed

★ Germany, Berlin, Brandenburger Tor Virtual tour with map and compass effect by Tolomeus

★ Panorama Brandenburg Gate 1945 - Panoramic view into the past, 60 years after WWII