Brandenburger Tor (Gate)

The Brandenburg Gate has meant many things to many people: a symbol of victory, peace, a divided Germany and finally, unity. Located next to the Berlin Wall, during the Cold War, the Gate symbolised the division between East and West Germany. Visitors to the Gate could see over the Wall, into East Germany from an observation deck. It was here that Ronald Reagan, in 1987, called for Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall!” It was here, at the fall of the Wall, that people came to celebrate. The gate was constructed between 1778 and 1791 and its design is based on the Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens. Today, the Brandenburg Gate is closed to traffic, but open to the public.