Brandenburg Gate, Berlin: Germany’s Unity Landmark

As ever, my camera couldn’t stop looking straight up. This is Brandenburg Gate from below, all Neoclassical columns and a sky doing most of the work. I shot it in the middle of the day with hundreds of people walking past, which is not the heroic empty-monument moment it pretends to be. There were a few odd looks. Getting the gate clean, with nobody in the frame, is otherwise impossible here. Berlin has plenty of landmarks. This is the one the rest of the world pictures when it pictures Germany. Built in 1791, the gate has watched most of modern German history happen in front of it, from Napoleon’s victory parade to the wall that sealed the city and the night it came down. I have stood under it in a crowd and let the columns do the talking. You do not need the plaque to know something heavy happened here. Historical Significance Four moments worth noting. Commissioned by King Frederick William II in 1788 and finished in 1791, modelled on the Acropolis in Athens. In 1806 Napoleon marched through after beating Prussia, then took the Quadriga statue back to Paris as a souvenir. Berlin got it back in 1814. Through the Cold War it stood on the line between East and West, sealed off for nearly 30 years while the city argued around it. In 1989 the fall of the Berlin Wall turned it into the image of German reunification, a heavy second career for what began as a city gate. Visiting the Brandenburg Gate The practical part is mercifully simple. Location: Pariser Platz, Berlin Hours: open 24/7, there is no door to close Nearest transport: S-Bahn Brandenburger Tor, U-Bahn Unter den Linden Entry: free, as it should be for something you cannot go inside Tip: Go early morning or late evening. Fewer people, better light, and a real chance at the photo I had to fight a midday crowd for. More Than Just the Gate If you have come for the gate, you may as well walk the rest. Berlin keeps its old and new buildings standing next to each other like misfit friends. The Brandenburg Gate sits a short walk from the glass dome of the Reichstag, where you climb the newer Germany to look back at the older one. The TV Tower handles the view from above, and the Sony Center preserves the future Berlin has been imagining since the 1990s. See a few in one afternoon and you can visit a few centuries' worth of architecture before hitting 10k steps. FAQ What does the Brandenburg Gate symbolize?German unity, mostly. It has stood for division during the Cold War and reunification after 1989, the closed border and the open one inside one lifetime. Few buildings carry both. Can you go inside Brandenburg Gate?No. It is not an enclosed building, so there is no inside to enter. You walk underneath and around it, and the Akademie der Künste nearby runs exhibitions on the history if you want the indoor version. What is the statue on top of the Brandenburg Gate?The Quadriga, a chariot pulled by four horses with the goddess Victoria at the reins. Napoleon liked it enough to take it to Paris in 1806, and Berlin took it back in 1814. It has faced east into the city ever since.

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Brandenburg Gate, Berlin: Germany’s Unity Landmark

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