Everything about The Brandenburg Gate totally explained
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. The Gate 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.
Design and history
The Brandenburg Gate consists of twelve
Doric columns, six to each side, forming five entries to corresponding roadways. Citizens originally were allowed to use only the outer two. Atop the gate is the
Quadriga, with
Viktoria, the Roman goddess of victory driving the Quadriga. The Quadriga currently faces East.
The Gate's design is based upon the
Propylaea, the gateway to the
Acropolis in
Athens,
Greece and is consistent with Berlin's history of architectural
classicism (first,
Baroque, and then
neo-Palladian). The Gate was the first "Athens on the River Spree" by architect
Karl Gotthard von Langhans. The capital
Quadriga was made by
Johann Gottfried Schadow.
The Brandenburg Gate's design has remained essentially unchanged since its completion even as it has played different political roles in German history. After the 1806 Prussian defeat at the
Battle of Jena-Auerstedt,
Napoleon took the Quadriga to
Paris. After Napoleon's defeat in 1814 and the Prussian Parisian occupation by General
Ernst von Pfuel, the Quadriga was restored to Berlin; and Viktoria's olive wreath was exchanged for the
Iron Cross, so that she became
Nike, the Greek goddess of victory.
When the
Nazis ascended to power they used the Gate as their symbol. The Gate survived World War II and was one of the few structures standing in the Pariser Platz ruins in 1945 (another being the Academy of Fine Arts). Following Germany's surrender and the end of the second world war, the governments of
East Berlin and
West Berlin restored it in a joint effort. Vehicles and pedestrians could again travel freely through the gate, until August 1961 when the
Berlin Wall was erected. The wall and its fortified
death strip ran just west of the gate, cutting off access from West Berlin and essentially rendering it off limits to East Berliners. At that time, the Quadriga was turned toward the East.
In 1963, U.S. President
John F. Kennedy visited the Brandenburg Gate. The Soviets hung large banners across it to prevent him looking into the East. In the 1980s, decrying the existence of two German states, West Berlin mayor
Richard von Weizsäcker said:
The German question will remain open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed.
On
June 12,
1987, U.S.
President Ronald Reagan spoke to the
West Berlin populace at the Brandenburg Gate, demanding the razing of the Berlin Wall. Addressing
CPSU General Secretary
Mikhail Gorbachev, Reagan said,
When the
Revolutions of 1989 occurred and the Berlin Wall collapsed, the Gate symbolized freedom and the desire to unify 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.
On
July 12,
1994, U.S. President
Bill Clinton spoke at the Gate about peace in post-Cold War Europe.
On
December 21,
2000, the Brandenburg Gate was privately refurbished at a 6 million dollar cost.
The Brandenburg Gate is now again closed for vehicle traffic, and much of Pariser Platz has been turned into a
cobblestone pedestrian zone.
Location
Photo gallery
Image:Charles Meynier - Napoleon in Berlin.png|Napoleon in Berlin.
Image:Brandenburger tor 1871.jpg|The Brandenburg Gate in 1871
Image:Brandenburg Gate 1961-08-13.jpg|The Brandenburg Gate on the day construction of the Berlin Wall began, August 13 1961
Image:Berlin-Baby-Wall-1968.jpg|From the East-Side 1968 the "Baby Wall" with flowers was the nearest point for visitors.
Image:Brandenburg gate 1982.jpg|The Brandenburg Gate in 1982 viewed from the East Berlin side. Behind the gate is the Berlin Wall and in the foreground is the rail that was accessible from East Berlin.
Image:Reagan_vor_dem_Brandenburger_Tor.png|Ronald Reagan giving a speech on June 12, 1987
Image:Crane removed part of Wall Brandenburg Gate.jpg|A crane removing a section of the Berlin Wall beside the Brandenburg Gate in Dec 1989.
Image:Thefalloftheberlinwall1989.JPG|The Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989
Image:Brandenburg Gate Quadriga at Night.jpg|The Quadriga atop the Brandenburg Gate
Image:Eur.de.050.gif|The Brandenburg Gate appears on the obverse of the 50, 20 and 10 cent German euro coins
Further Information
Get more info on 'Brandenburg Gate'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://brandenburg_gate.totallyexplained.com">Brandenburg Gate Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
