The ceremonial entry gate to the city of Berlin has been finished at the end of 18th century due to a design by Carl Gothard Langhans. The main construction is a copy of Propylaea steps leading to the sacred hill in the Athens – Acropolis. The ancient origins are strengthened by the bas-reliefs around the gate showing the moments from the Greek Mythology.
The famous Quadriga atop the gate at the beginning was to mean the symbol of the peace surrounding the place, soon however has been moved to the Paris by the French army.
After the fail of Napoleon the chariot has been restored on the original place, this time as a symbol of the victory where a chariot drawn by four horses driven by Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory, is adorned with the Prussian eagle and the iron cross.
The Brandenburg Gate witnessed all the important events thorough the history of the city. Numerous army parades and labor workers demonstrations were floating under the Doric columns of the Gate. The picture of Red Army banner hanging there as a symbol of the WWII end in May 1945, made the gate the most recognized symbol of Berlin.
After the war the border between the Western ad Eastern Zones came near the gate, but soon the Soviet wall has separated the gate from the West. For next 40 years the Brandenburg Gate
has been located in the Russian Zone up to November 9, 1989 when the wall has been demolished starting from the very place near the gate.
[photo courtesy of rickz]