Editing Brandenburg Gate (section)

==History==
{{more citations needed|section|date=December 2019}}

===Previous gates===
[[File:Karte berlin akzisemauer.png|thumb|The [[Berlin Customs Wall]] with its eighteen gates, around 1855. The ''Brandenburger Thor'' (Brandenburg Gate) is on the left.]]
[[File:Das Brandenburger Tor-GDR-65-7-1.jpg|thumb|The old Brandenburg Gate in a 1764 engraving, 30 years before its [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] reconstruction]]

<!--- {{Location map|Germany Berlin|label=Brandenburg Gate| lat_deg=52 | lat_min=30 | lat_sec=59| lon_deg=13 | lon_min=22 |lon_sec=40|position=right|float=right|caption=Location in modern Berlin}} --->
In the time of [[Frederick William I of Prussia|King Frederick William I]] (1688), shortly after the [[Thirty Years' War]] and a century before today's Brandenburg Gate was constructed, Berlin was a small walled city within a [[star fort]] with several named gates: [[Spandau]]er Tor, St. Georgen Tor, Stralower Tor, [[Köpenick|Cöpenicker]] Tor, Neues Tor, and [[Leipzig]]er Tor ''(see map)''. Relative peace, a policy of [[religious tolerance]], and status as capital of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] facilitated the growth of the city. With the construction of [[Dorotheenstadt]] around 1670 and its inclusion in Berlin's city fortifications, a first gate was built on the site, approximately at the level of today's Schadowstraße, consisting of a breach through the raised wall and a drawbridge over the dug moat.<ref>Laurenz Demps: ''Der Pariser Platz. Der Empfangssalon Berlins.'' Henschel, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-89487-215-2, S. 24</ref>

With the expansion of Dorotheenstadt to the west and the construction of the [[Berlin Customs Wall]] ({{langx|de|Akzisemauer|link=no}}) in 1734, the latter of which enclosed the old fortified city and many of its then suburbs, a predecessor of today's Brandenburg Gate was built by the Court Architect [[Philipp Gerlach]] as a city gate on the road to [[Brandenburg an der Havel]].<ref name="demps91-20">Laurenz Demps: ''Zur Baugeschichte des Tores.'' In: ''Das Brandenburger Tor 1791–1991. Eine Monographie''. Willmuth Arenhövel, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-922912-26-5, p. 20</ref> The gate system consisted of two [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] pylons decorated with [[pilaster]]s and [[Trophy of arms|trophies]], to which the gate wings were attached. In addition to the ornamental gate, there were simple passages for pedestrians in the wall, which were decorated with ornamental vases at this point.<ref>Willmuth Arenhövel, Rolf Bothe (Hrsg.): Das Brandenburger Tor 1791–1991. Eine Monographie. Mit Beiträgen von Laurenz Demps, Sibylle Einholz, Dominik Bartmann u. a. 2. verb. Auflage. Willmuth Arenhövel Verlag für Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-922912-26-5.</ref>

===18th-century reconstruction===
[[Frederick William II of Prussia]] was in his early forties when he came to the throne in 1786. He was determined to establish his capital of Berlin as a cultural centre.{{sfn|Watkin|1986|p=356}} The military triumphs of his uncle [[Frederick the Great]] had made the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] a power that could not be ignored in European politics, but Berlin lacked the monuments and cultural life of [[Vienna]], Paris or London. His uncle's tastes had been those typical of his generation, drawing on French classicism and English [[Palladianism]],{{sfn|Watkin|1986|p=354–355}} and his [[Brandenburg Gate (Potsdam)|Brandenburg Gate]] in [[Potsdam]] (1770–71) was a much smaller monument, poised between [[Rococo]] and a Roman-influenced [[Neoclassical architecture]].

Frederick William II summoned new German architects to Berlin, including [[Carl Gotthard Langhans]] from the city of Breslau (today [[Wrocław]] in Poland),{{sfn|Watkin|1986|p=356}} who was appointed head court architect ("Oberhofbauampt", or Court Superintendent of Buildings) in 1788.{{sfn|Pohlsander|2008|p=176}} Though he had designed many Neoclassical buildings, this was his first significant work in the Greek style, and his last major one; by 1792 he had designed a small [[Gothic Revival architecture|neo-Gothic]] building for the [[New Garden, Potsdam|New Garden]] in Potsdam. The gate was the first element of a "new Athens on the river Spree" by Langhans.<ref>[[Graham Ward (theologian)|Ward, Graham]], "The Making of the Modern Metropolis" in ''The Oxford Handbook of Theology and Modern European Thought'', p. 68., Oxford University Press, 2013.</ref>

The gate was originally called the ''{{langx|de|Friedenstor|link=no}}'' or "Peace Gate"; the [[Patriottentijd|military victory it celebrated]] had been very complete, but almost fatality-free, so the name seemed justified.<ref name=DenkmalBT>{{cite web|title=Denkmale in Berlin. Brandenburger Tor|url=http://www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de/cgi-bin/hidaweb/getdoc.pl?DOK_TPL=lda_doc.tpl&KEY=obj%2009065019|publisher=Senatsverwaltung für Stadtentwicklung und Umwelt, Berlin|access-date=5 August 2013}}</ref> Frederick William II had restored his brother-in-law to power in the Netherlands.  But the [[French Revolution]] began while construction was underway, and only a few years after it was completed, the [[Batavian Revolution]] sent the Dutch royal couple into exile in 1795, the first of many political upheavals throughout the gate's history.<ref>[http://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/friedens-statt-triumph-symbol-das-brandenburger-tor-und-sein-geheimnis/10858278.html Das Brandenburger Tor und sein Geheimnis], ''Der Tagesspiegel''</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Berger nach Lüdtke Brandenburger Tor Aquatinta 1796.jpg|The new (current) Brandenburg Gate in 1796, following reconstruction
File:1820-Grundriss-Brandenburger-Tor.jpg|Floor plan of the Brandenburg Gate in its original (reconstructed) state
File:Brandenburg Gate cross sections (5960).jpg|Synopsis of two cross sections of the gate, by [[Carl Gotthard Langhans]]
</gallery>

===19th and early 20th centuries===
[[File:Soldiers the Brandenburger Tor during the Spartacist uprising Jan 7 1919.jpg|thumb|Soldiers firing round the quadriga in the [[Spartacist uprising]], 7 January 1919]]

The Brandenburg Gate has played different political roles in German history. After the 1806 Prussian defeat at the [[Battle of Jena-Auerstedt]], Napoleon was the first to use the Brandenburg Gate for a triumphal procession,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dhm.de/ausstellungen/staendige-ausstellung/1789-1871/objekt_en.html#objekt11 |title=Deutsches Historisches Museum |publisher=Dhm.de |access-date=25 April 2014 |archive-date=24 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624043216/http://www.dhm.de/ausstellungen/staendige-ausstellung/1789-1871/objekt_en.html#objekt11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and took its quadriga to Paris.<ref name="world and its people">{{cite book|last = Dunton|first = Larkin|title = The World and Its People|publisher = Silver, Burdett|year = 1742|page = 188}}</ref> After Napoleon's defeat in 1814 and the Prussian occupation of Paris by General [[Ernst von Pfuel]], the quadriga was restored to Berlin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sullivan |first1=Paul |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6LnSCgAAQBAJ&q=brandenburg+gate+von+pfuel&pg=PA72 |title=Pocket Rough Guide Berlin |chapter=Brandenburg Gate |location=London |publisher=[[Penguin Random House]] |year=2016 |page=72 |isbn=9780241254622 |access-date=9 May 2016 }}</ref> It was then redesigned by [[Karl Friedrich Schinkel]] for the new role of the Brandenburg Gate as a Prussian triumphal arch. The goddess, now definitely Victoria, was equipped with the Prussian eagle and [[Iron Cross]] on her lance with a wreath of oak leaves.<ref name=DenkmalBT />

The quadriga faces east, as it did when it was originally installed in 1793. Only the royal family was allowed to pass through the central archway,<ref name="world and its people" /> as well as members of the [[Pfuel]] family, from 1814 to 1919.<ref name="Google Books 2016">{{cite book | title=Berlin Feuerland | date=28 July 2016 | isbn=9783641125110 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=foq7BQAAQBAJ&q=von+pfuel+quadriga&pg=PT104 | language=de | access-date=10 August 2016| last1=Müller | first1=Titus | publisher=Karl Blessing Verlag }}</ref><ref name="DW.COM 2016">{{cite web | title=225 Jahre Brandenburger Tor | website=DW.COM | date=4 August 2016 | url=http://www.dw.com/de/225-jahre-brandenburger-tor/a-19443479 | access-date=10 August 2016}}</ref> The Kaiser granted this honour to the family in gratitude to Ernst von Pfuel, who had overseen the return of the quadriga to the top of the gate.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dedio |first1=Florian |last2=Dedio |first2=Gunnar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aVyEAgAAQBAJ&q=brandenburg+gate+von+pfuel&pg=PA50 |title=The Great War Diaries: Breathtaking Colour Photographs from a World Torn Apart |chapter=[[Berlin]], Germany, before the war |location=London |publisher=[[BBC Books]], [[Penguin Random House]] |year=2013 |page=50 |isbn=9781448141678 |access-date=6 May 2016 }}</ref>  In addition, the central archway was also used by the coaches of ambassadors on the single occasion of their presenting their [[Diplomatic correspondence#Letters of credence|letters of credence]] to council.

After 1900, due to weathering and environmental damage, smaller and larger pieces of stone began to fall from the gate. Comprehensive renovation work began in 1913, which had to be interrupted by the outbreak of [[World War I]] and was not completed until 1926. Meanwhile, the events of the [[German Revolution of 1918–1919|November Revolution]] had led to further significant damage, particularly to the quadriga. Indeed, the gate was used as a firing position by government troops during both the [[Spartacist uprising]] of January 1919 and the [[Kapp Putsch]] in March 1920.{{sfn|Pohlsander|2008|p=180}} The restoration work was carried out on site under the direction of Kurt Kluge. For this purpose, the quadriga was encased in a wooden structure. Berliners spoke of the "highest horse stable in Berlin", but regardless of the weather, the work could be carried out in the dry without any delay.<ref>Michael S. Cullen, Uwe Kieling: ''Das Brandenburger Tor. Ein deutsches Symbol''. Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-8148-0076-1, S.&nbsp;75.</ref> The numerous sandstone reliefs were restored and partially renovated under the artistic direction of Wilhelm Wandschneider, who remodeled one of the centaur metopes with a different motif.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Charles Meynier - Entrée de Napoléon à Berlin. 27 octobre 1806.jpg|''[[Entry of Napoleon into Berlin]]'' in 1806 after the [[Battle of Jena-Auerstedt]], by [[Charles Meynier]], 1810
File:JAMES(1817) p1.076 BERLIN, BRANDENBURGER TOR.jpg|View without the quadriga, 1813. It was restored after Napoleon's defeat.
File:Brandenburger tor 1871.jpg|In 1871 with decorations and victorious [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] troops after the [[Franco-Prussian War]]
</gallery>

===Nazi Germany and World War II===
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P054320, Berlin, Brandenburger Tor und Pariser Platz.jpg|thumb|View from [[Pariser Platz]] in June 1945, after the fall of Berlin]]
[[File:SFP 186 - Brandenburger Tor.ogv|thumb|In 1945, damaged state just after the end of [[World War II]]]]
[[File:Водружение Красного знамени на квадриге Бранденбургских ворот после взятия Берлина советскими войсками.jpg|thumb|Soviet troops raising the Red Banner on the quadriga after the fall of Berlin]]
When the [[Nazis]] ascended to power, they used the gate as a party symbol. As part of Berlin's transformation into the so-called "world capital Germania", the gate was located on the east–west axis. A seven-kilometer-long section between the Brandenburg Gate and Adolf-Hitler-Platz (today [[Theodor-Heuss-Platz]]) was extended and put into operation in 1939. During the further expansion of the east–west axis, which never materialised, one of the plans was to move the side porticos away from the Brandenburg Gate. Traffic would then have been routed not only through, but also around the gate.<ref>''Umgestaltung des Brandenburger Tores''. In: ''Verkehrstechnik'', 20th year, issue 10 (20 May 1939), p. 255.</ref>

The gate survived [[World War II]] and was one of the damaged structures still standing in the Pariser Platz ruins in 1945 (another being the Academy of Fine Arts). The gate was badly damaged with holes in the columns from bullets and nearby explosions. One horse's head from the original quadriga survived, and is today kept in the collection of the [[Märkisches Museum]]. Efforts to disguise the government district of Berlin and confuse Allied bombers had included the construction of a replica Brandenburg Gate located away from the city centre.<ref name="Overy 2013">{{cite book |last1=Overy |first1=Richard |title=The Bombing War, Europe 1939–45 |date=2013 |publisher=Penguin Books Ltd. |location=London |isbn=978-0-141-92782-4 |edition=Kindle, 2014}}</ref>{{rp|452}}

===Cold War===
After Germany's surrender at the end of the war, the Brandenburg Gate was located in the [[Soviet occupation zone]], directly next to the border to the zone occupied by the British, which later became the border between [[East Berlin|East]] and [[West Berlin]]. In connection with the [[East German uprising of 1953]], three men took down the red flag on the roof of the Brandenburg Gate and, shortly after noon on 17 June 1953, hoisted the joint black-red-gold flag of East Germany and West Germany. One of the three men, Wolfgang Panzer, probably paid for this action with his life and was never seen again.<ref name="Knopp:Aufstand">{{Cite book |author=[[Guido Knopp]] |title=Der Aufstand – 17. Juni 1953 |publisher=Hoffman und Campe |location=Hamburg |year=2003 |isbn=3-455-09389-2}}</ref>

On 21 September 1956, the East Berlin magistrates decided to restore the only surviving but damaged former city gate. Despite heated arguments and mutual accusations, both parts of Berlin worked together on the restoration. The holes were patched, but were visible for many years. The quadriga was completely recreated based on a plaster cast from 1942; the reconstruction was carried out by the sculptor Otto Schnitzer and the traditional foundry Hermann Noack in [[Friedenau]]. The restoration was completed on 14 December 1957. The Iron Cross standard above the quadriga was replaced by a wreath, as originally intended, but the Iron Cross returned after [[German Reunification]], and remains in place in 2025.

Vehicles and pedestrians could travel freely through the gate until the day after construction began on the [[Berlin Wall]] on [[Barbed Wire Sunday]], 13 August 1961. West Berliners gathered on the western side of the gate to demonstrate against the Berlin Wall, among them West Berlin's mayor, [[Willy Brandt]], who had returned from a federal election campaign tour in West Germany earlier the same day. The wall passed directly by the western side of the gate, closing it throughout the Berlin Wall period, which ended on 22 December 1989.<ref>[https://www.orte-der-einheit.de/en/brandenburg-gate ''Brandenburg Gate: Symbol of Division, Unity, Freedom''.] In: [https://www.orte-der-einheit.de/en/ Sites of Unity] ([[Haus der Geschichte]]), 2022.</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File: Bundesarchiv Bild B 145 Bild-P061246.jpg|Aerial view of the [[Berlin Wall]] near the gate, Summer/Autumn 1961
File:Brandenburg Gate - Flickr - The Central Intelligence Agency (1).jpg|[[East Germany|East German]] troops line up along the border, August 1961
File:People observing the Brandenburg Gate from the East Berlin side, 1984.jpg|In 1984, [[East Berlin]]ers and others were kept away from the gate, which they could view only from this distance.
</gallery>

===Post-1989===
[[File:West and East Germans at the Brandenburg Gate in 1989.jpg|thumb|The Berlin Wall in front of the gate, shortly before its [[Fall of the Berlin Wall|fall in 1989]]]]

When the [[Revolutions of 1989]] occurred and the wall was demolished, the gate symbolized freedom and the desire to unify the city of Berlin. Thousands of people gathered at the wall to celebrate its fall on 9 November 1989. On 22 December 1989, the Brandenburg Gate border crossing was reopened when [[Helmut Kohl]], the West German chancellor, walked through to be greeted by [[Hans Modrow]], the East German prime minister. Demolition of the rest of the wall around the area took place the following year. In 1990, the quadriga was removed from the gate as part of renovation work carried out by the East German authorities following the fall of the wall in November 1989. Germany was [[German reunification|officially reunified]] in October 1990.

The Brandenburg Gate was privately refurbished on 21 December 2000, at a cost of €6 million. It was once again opened on 3 October 2002 following extensive refurbishment, for the 12th anniversary of German reunification. On this occasion, the Berlin office of Kardorff Ingenieure developed a new lighting concept that emphasises the gate as the most important building on the Pariser Platz.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Berlin: Generalprobe am Reißverschluss |language=de-DE |work=Der Tagesspiegel Online |url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/generalprobe-am-reissverschluss-933370.html |access-date=2024-01-04 |issn=1865-2263}}</ref>

The Brandenburg Gate became the main venue for the 20th-anniversary celebrations of the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]] or "Festival of Freedom" on the evening of 9 November 2009. The high point of the celebrations was when over 1000 colourfully designed foam domino tiles, each over {{convert|2.5|m}} tall, were lined up along the route of the former wall through the city centre. The domino "wall" was then toppled in stages converging here.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mauerfall09.de|title=20 Jahre Mauerfall|access-date=9 April 2009 | year=2009| publisher=Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH|language=de}}</ref>

The Brandenburg Gate is now again closed to vehicle traffic, and much of the Pariser Platz has been turned into a [[cobblestone]] [[pedestrian zone]]. The gate, along with the broad [[Straße des 17. Juni]] avenue to the west, is also one of the large public areas in Berlin where over a million people can gather to watch stage shows or party together, watch major sport events shown on huge screens, or see fireworks at midnight on New Year's Eve.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.morgenpost.de/berlin-aktuell/article112322858/Berlin-feiert-am-Brandenburger-Tor-ins-neue-Jahr-2013.html |title=Berlin feiert am Brandenburger Tor ins neue Jahr 2013 (in German) |publisher=Berliner Morgenpost |date=4 March 2007}}</ref> After winning the [[2014 FIFA World Cup]], the [[Germany national football team]] held their victory rally in front of the gate.

It has also hosted street events at [[2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics]] and repeated its role in [[2018 European Athletics Championships]]. It is also the usual finish line of the [[Berlin Marathon]].

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Durchgangsverkehr durch das Brandenburger Tor.JPG|Traffic through the gate in the 1990s
File:2005-10-26 Brandenburger-Tor.JPG|With the Pariser Platz in 2005, following restoration and pedestrianization
File:View of Brandenburger Tor from the Reichstag roof terrace, Berlin, 2017.jpg|Seen from the rooftop terrace of the [[Reichstag building]]
</gallery>