Brandenberg Gate

One of the iconic structures of Berlin is the Brandenburg gate, the other one being Fernsehturm (the TV tower) and a possible third one - the Berlin Cathedral. It makes a beautiful tourist site today with a large number of visitors throughout the year. Here is some information about the Brandenburg Gate.

Brandenburg Gate pictured against the sunlight

History

The gate was constructed in the 18th century. The achitectural style of the monument falls under the category "Neoclassical architecture". However, badly damaged after wars, it has gone through immense restoration. The gate was commissioned to be a symbol of peace. After the World War II, the gate became a part of the West Berlin.

Everyone except for the West Germans had to visit the gate from a distant barrier. After the unification, the gate now has a big open space in front of it where tourists take a stroll. there are some tiny stalls where you can buy some momentos. The area provides a perfect space to take a lot of pictures as well!

Location and how to reach

The Brandenburg gate is located in the Mitte region of Berlin. This region is one of the central regions of the city. It has dozens of other significant strucutres, monuments and sites. In fact, all the three icons mentioned above - Brandenburg Gate, Fernsehturm Berlin and the Berlin Cathedral are in the Mitte region. Apart from these, the historice "Checkpoint Charlie" is also a part of the Mitte region. Therefore, it is convinient to see these places of immense historic significance on the same day.

There are a lot of options to reach Brandenburg gate. The station Brandenburger Tor is at a walking distance from the gate, "tor" standing for the word "gate" in German. Line U 55 of the U bahn and lines S1, S2 and S25 of the S bahn can be used. There are also options to reach the gate via buses.

Closeup of the Quadriga at the top of the Brandenburg Gate. Image credit : By א (Aleph) Creator: Johann Gottfried Schadow (Own work) [CC BY-SA 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

More information

Every year, the fall of the Berlin wall is celebrated at the Brandenburg Gate. The gate has been the site for a lot of historic events.

A hard time for the gate after the World War and before a successful restoration. Image credit : Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-P054320 / Weinrother, Carl / CC-BY-SA 3.0

The gate was constructed to be a symbol of peace and unity, and today, after seeing war and division, it indeed is a proud symbol of peace and unity that stands tall as Berlin's icon. In front of the Brandenburg gate, the US President Ronal Reagon had famously asked to "tear down the wall", referring to the Berlin wall.

Germany is now one of the most advanced economies of Europe and the world. IT is playing major role in the EU and continues to have flourish as a strong nation. A huge number of domestic and international tourists visit the country and when they do so, they witness that the iconic Brandenburg Gate is glorious and beautiful!

The Brandenburg Gate at night. Image credit : By Drrcs15 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons