Editing Brandenburg Gate

{{Short description|Triumphal arch in Berlin, Germany}}
{{About|the gate in Berlin}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox building
| name             = Brandenburg Gate
| native_name      = Brandenburger Tor
| image            = Brandenburger Tor abends.jpg
| caption          = View from the [[Pariser Platz]] on the east side
| building_type    = City gate
| architectural_style = [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]]
| structural_system = 
| location         = [[Berlin]], [[Germany]]
| coordinates      = {{coord|52.5163|13.3777|display=it|format=dms}}
| mapframe-zoom    = 16
| mapframe-marker  = gate
| start_date       = 1788
| completion_date  = 1791
| inauguration_date = 
| height           = 
| other_dimensions = 
| architect        = [[Carl Gotthard Langhans]]
}}

The '''Brandenburg Gate''' ({{langx|de|link=no|Brandenburger Tor}} {{IPA|de|ˈbʁandn̩ˌbʊʁɡɐ ˈtoːɐ̯||De-Brandenburger Tor.ogg}}) is an 18th-century [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] monument in [[Berlin]]. One of the best-known landmarks of Germany, it was erected on the site of a former [[city gate]] that marked the start of the road from Berlin to [[Brandenburg an der Havel]], the former capital of the [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]]. The current structure was built from 1788 to 1791 by orders of King [[Frederick William II of Prussia|Frederick William II]] of [[Prussia]], based on designs by the royal architect [[Carl Gotthard Langhans]]. The bronze sculpture of the [[quadriga]] crowning the gate is a work by the sculptor [[Johann Gottfried Schadow]].

The Brandenburg Gate is located in the western part of the city centre within [[Mitte (locality)|Mitte]], at the junction of [[Unter den Linden]] and [[Ebertstraße]]. The gate dominates the [[Pariser Platz]] to the east, while to the immediate west it opens onto the [[Platz des 18. März]] beyond which the [[Straße des 17. Juni]] begins. One block to the north stands the [[Reichstag building]], home to the German parliament (''[[Bundestag]]''), and further to the west is the [[Tiergarten (park)|Tiergarten]] inner-city park. The gate also forms the monumental entry to [[Unter den Linden]], which leads directly to the former [[Berlin Palace|City Palace]] of the [[List of monarchs of Prussia|Prussian monarchs]] (now housing the [[Humboldt Forum]] museum), and [[Berlin Cathedral]].

Throughout its existence, the Brandenburg Gate was often a site for major historical events. After [[World War II]] and during the [[Cold War]], until its [[Fall of the Berlin Wall|fall in 1989]], the gateway was obstructed by the [[Berlin Wall]], and was for almost three decades a marker of the city's division. Since [[German reunification]] in 1990, it has been considered not only a symbol of the tumultuous [[History of Germany|histories of Germany]] and [[History of Europe|Europe]], but also of [[European integration|European unity]] and [[Long Peace|peace]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Brandenburg Gate|url=https://www.berlin.de/en/attractions-and-sights/3560266-3104052-brandenburg-gate.en.html|access-date=3 August 2021|website=berlin.de|language=en}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:1795ca Johann-Carl-Richter Propyleen+Brandenburger-Tor.jpg|thumb|An early 19th-century engraving comparing the recently constructed Brandenburg Gate to (an imagined restoration of) its historical model: the [[Propylaia (Acropolis of Athens)|Propylaea]] of the [[Acropolis of Athens]]]]

The central portion of the gate draws from the tradition of the Roman [[triumphal arch]], although in style it is one of the first examples of [[Greek Revival architecture]] in Germany.{{sfn|Watkin|1986|p=356–357}} The gate is supported by twelve [[fluting (architecture)|fluted]]  [[Doric order|Doric]] columns, six to each side, forming five passageways. There are also walls between the pairs of columns at front and back, decorated with classicizing [[relief]]s of the ''[[Labours of Hercules]]''.  Citizens were originally allowed to use only the outermost two passageways on each side. Its design is based on the [[Propylaia (Acropolis of Athens)|Propylaea]], the gateway to the [[Acropolis of Athens]],{{sfn|Watkin|1986|p=356–357}} which also had a front with six Doric columns, though these were topped by a triangular [[pediment]].

The central portion is flanked by L-shaped wings on either side, at a lower height, but using the same Doric order. Next to, and parallel with, the gate these are open "[[stoa]]s", but the longer sides, stretching beyond the east side, have buildings set back from the columns.  These are called "custom houses" for the [[Berlin Customs Wall]], which was in force until 1860, or "gatehouses".

The [[Doric order]] of the gate mostly, but not entirely, follows Greek precedents, which had recently become much better understood by the publication of careful illustrated records. The Greek Doric does not have bases to the columns, and the fluting here follows the Greek style for [[Ionic order|Ionic]] and [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] columns, with flat fillets rather than sharp [[arris]]es between the flutes, and rounded ends to the top and bottom of flutes. The [[entablature]] up to the [[cornice]] follows Greek precedent, with [[triglyph]]s, [[guttae]], [[metope]]s, and [[mutule]]s, except that there are half-metopes at the corners, the Roman rather than Greek solution to the "[[Doric order#Spacing the triglyphs|Doric corner conflict]]". The 16 metopes along each of the long faces have scenes from Greek mythology in relief; many echo the [[Parthenon]] in showing [[centaur]]s fighting men. Statues in niches at the furthest side wall of ''Minerva'' and ''Mars'' were added in the 19th century.{{sfn|Pohlsander|2008|p=176}}

After an [[Attic (architecture)|attic storey]] that is plain apart from wide steps at the sides receding in both directions, leading, on the east side only, to a large allegorical relief of the ''Triumph of Peace'', the figures mostly women and children.  Above this there is a second cornice, with a projecting central section. On top of this is a "bronze" sculptural group by [[Johann Gottfried Schadow]] of a [[quadriga]]—a chariot drawn by four horses—driven by a goddess figure.  This was initially intended to represent [[Eirene (goddess)|Eirene]], the Greek goddess of peace, but after the [[Napoleonic Wars]] was rebranded as [[Victoria (mythology)|Victoria]], the Roman goddess of victory, and given an [[Iron Cross]] standard with a crowned Imperial eagle perched on top, rather than a [[wreath]].  This faces into the city centre.  It is the first quadriga group to be made since antiquity, made from copper sheets hammered in moulds; fortunately these moulds were kept, as they would be used more than once to renew the sculpture.{{sfn|Pohlsander|2008|p=176, 180}}

The side wings have plain metopes, and simple angled roofs, ending in gable pediments with a small circular relief in the tympanum.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180">
File:Berlin-Brandenburg Gate overwiev.jpg|Frontal view with the [[Pariser Platz]] looking west towards [[Straße des 17. Juni]]
File:00 2486 Quadriga - Brandenburger Tor (Berlin).jpg|The [[quadriga]] and bas-reliefs
File:Brandenburg Gate from Ebertstr N.jpg|Side view, showing one of the [[stoa]]s at the sides of the gate
</gallery>


==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>

==Political history==
[[File:President Ronald Reagan making his Berlin Wall speech.jpg|thumb|[[Ronald Reagan]] speaking at the gate section of the [[Berlin Wall]] on 12 June 1987, challenging [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] to "[[tear down this wall!]]"]]
{{Listen
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A [[Soviet flag]] flew from a flagpole atop the gate from 1945 until 1957, when it was replaced by an [[Flag of East Germany|East German flag]]. Since the reunification of Germany in 1990, the flag and the pole have been removed. During the 1953 riots in East Berlin the Soviet flag was torn off by West Germans.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMzcpPMRHe8| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211106/vMzcpPMRHe8| archive-date=6 November 2021 | url-status=live|title=Dramatic Scenes – Berlin Riots (1953)|last=British Pathé|date=13 April 2014|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In 1963, U.S. President [[John F. Kennedy]] visited the Brandenburg Gate. The Soviets hung large red banners across it to prevent him looking into East Berlin.

In the 1980s, decrying the existence of two German states and two Berlins, West Berlin mayor [[Richard von Weizsäcker]] said: "The German Question is open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1987/061287d.htm |title=Remarks on East-West Relations at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |access-date=9 January 2015 |archive-date=15 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115203043/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1987/061287d.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 12 June 1987, U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]] spoke to the West Berlin populace at the Brandenburg Gate, demanding the razing of the Berlin Wall.<ref>{{cite news |title=Remembering Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" speech 25 years later |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/remembering-reagans-tear-down-this-wall-speech-25-years-later/ |work=[[CBS News]] |date=12 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Lessons from Reagan after "Tear down this wall" speech |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lessons-from-reagan-after-tear-down-this-wall-speech/ |work= CBS News |date=12 June 2012}}</ref>  Addressing the [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]], [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], Reagan said, {{blockquote|General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, [[tear down this wall]]!}}

On 25 December 1989, less than two months after the Berlin Wall began to come down, the conductor [[Leonard Bernstein]] conducted the [[Berlin Philharmonic]] in a version of the [[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|Ninth Symphony]] of [[Beethoven]] at the then newly opened Brandenburg Gate.  In the concluding choral movement of the symphony, the "Ode to Joy", the word ''Freude'' ("Joy") was replaced with ''Freiheit'' ("Freedom") to celebrate the fall of the Wall and the imminent reunification of Germany.

On 2–3 October 1990, the Brandenburg Gate was the scene of the official ceremony to mark the reunification of Germany.  At the stroke of midnight on 3 October, the [[flag of Germany|black-red-gold flag of West Germany]]—now the flag of a reunified Germany—was raised over the gate.

On 12 July 1994, U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]] spoke at the Brandenburg Gate about peace in post–Cold War Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://usa.usembassy.de/etexts/ga6-940712.htm|title = "Berlin is free!" President Clinton Brandenburg Gate, Berlin. July 1994}}</ref>

On 9 November 2009, Chancellor [[Angela Merkel]] walked through the Brandenburg Gate with Russia's [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] and Poland's [[Lech Wałęsa]] as part of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/germany-celebrates-fall-of-the-berlin-wall/ |title=Germany Celebrates Fall of the Berlin Wall |work=FoxNews |date=9 November 2009 |access-date=31 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029121425/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2009/11/09/germany-celebrates-fall-berlin-wall/ |archive-date=29 October 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/world/2009/11/09/fall-berlin-wall#slide=28 |title=Fall of the Berlin Wall [slides/captions] |work=FoxNews |date=9 November 2009 |access-date=31 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027105519/http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/world/2009/11/09/fall-berlin-wall#slide=28 |archive-date=27 October 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 13 August 2011, Germany marked the 50th anniversary of the day the Berlin Wall began construction with a memorial service and a minute of silence in memory of those who died trying to flee to the West.  "It is our shared responsibility to keep the memory alive and to pass it on to the coming generations as a reminder to stand up for freedom and democracy to ensure that such injustice may never happen again," Berlin Mayor [[Klaus Wowereit]] said.  German Chancellor Angela Merkel—who grew up behind the wall in Germany's communist eastern part—also attended the commemoration. German President [[Christian Wulff]] added, "It has been shown once again: Freedom is invincible at the end. No wall can permanently withstand the desire for freedom."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/8699626/Germany-marks-50th-anniversary-of-Berlin-Wall.html |title=Germany marks 50th anniversary of Berlin Wall |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=13 August 2011 |access-date=13 August 2011 |location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/germany-marks-construction-of-the-berlin-wall/ |title=Germany Marks Construction of the Berlin Wall |agency=Associated Press |date=13 August 2011 |access-date=13 August 2011 |work=Fox News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/news/2011/08/11/reflecting-on-the-berlin-wall-50-years-after-its-construction/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125070351/http://www.history.com/news/2011/08/11/reflecting-on-the-berlin-wall-50-years-after-its-construction/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 January 2013 |title=Reflecting on the Berlin Wall, 50 Years After Its Construction |publisher=History.com |date=11 August 2011 |access-date=13 August 2011 }}</ref>

On 19 June 2013, U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] spoke at the Gate about nuclear arms reduction and the recently revealed U.S. internet surveillance activities.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/19/obama-berlin-speech-nuclear-arms | location=London | work=The Guardian | first1=Dan | last1=Roberts | first2=Kate | last2=Connolly | title=Obama calls for reduction in nuclear arms in broad-brush Berlin speech | date=19 June 2013}}</ref>

On the night of 5 January 2015, the lights illuminating the gate were completely shut off in protest against a protest held by far-right anti-Islamic group [[Pegida]].<ref>[[Tagesspiegel]]: [http://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/polizei-justiz/berliner-pegida-protestiert-in-mitte-baergida-und-gegendemonstrationen-beendet/11186364.html Bärgida und Gegendemonstration beendet (in German)], 5 January 2015, retrieved 20 November 2015</ref><ref>[[Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg|RBB]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20150513033536/http://www.rbb-online.de/politik/beitrag/2015/01/bergida-pegida-berlin-brandenburger-tor-gegendemo.html Licht aus am Brandenburger Tor (in German)] "Lights off at Brandenburg Gate", 5 January 2015, retrieved 20 November 2015</ref><ref>Storify: [https://storify.com/reportedly/anti-islamization-rally-in-germany-met-with-countr Anti-islamization rally in Germany met with countrywide protests], 5 January 2015, retrieved 20 November 2015</ref>

In April 2017, ''[[Die Zeit]]'' noted that the gate was not illuminated in Russian colours after the [[2017 Saint Petersburg Metro bombing]]. The gate was previously illuminated after attacks in Jerusalem and Orlando. The Berlin Senate only allows the gate to be illuminated for events in partner cities and cities with a special connection to Berlin.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/zeitgeschehen/2017-04/berlin-brandenburger-tor-anschlag-st-petersburg-farben-russland|title=Berlin: Für St. Petersburg leuchtet das Brandenburger Tor nicht}}</ref>

In February 2022, the gate was lit up with the colours of the [[Flag of Ukraine|Ukrainian flag]], during the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]]. A [[candlelight vigil]] was also held in front of the gate on the 31st [[Independence Day of Ukraine]].<ref name="EuNe2022">{{cite web|url=https://www.euronews.com/2022/08/25/in-pictures-europe-celebrates-ukraine-independence-day |title=In pictures: Europe celebrates Ukraine Independence Day |last=Askew |first=Joshua |publisher=[[euronews]] |date=2 August 2022|access-date=12 September 2022}}</ref><ref name="DS2022">{{cite web|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/gallery/world-marks-ukraines-independence-day-amid-war/images |title=World marks Ukraine's Independence Day amid war |publisher=Daily Sabah |date=25 August 2022|access-date=12 September 2022}}</ref>

On October 7 2023, the gate was lit up with the [[Flag of Israel|flag of Israel]], after the [[October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Brandenburg Gate in Berlin lights up with Israeli flag in solidarity |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/brandenburg-gate-in-berlin-lights-up-with-israeli-flag-in-solidarity/ |website=timesofisrael.com |publisher=Times of Israel |access-date=2025-05-06}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="180" caption="Illuminations for expressions of solidarity of the German people">
File:Brandenburg Gate in French flag colours after Paris attack (23028317551).jpg|Lit up with the colours of the [[French flag]] after the [[November 2015 Paris attacks]]
File: Brandenburg Gate lit up in Belgian flag colors to show solidarity.jpg|Lit up with the colours of the [[Belgian flag]] after the [[2016 Brussels bombings]]
File:Ukraine solidarity protest Berlin Pariser Platz with lighted Brandenburg Gate 2022-02-24 07.jpg|Lit up in the colours of the [[Ukrainian flag]] during a solidarity protest, 24 February 2022
</gallery>

==Vandalism==
[[File:2023-09-17 Brandenburger Tor mit oranger Farbe.jpg|thumb|Soiled by [[Last Generation (climate movement)|Last Generation]] activists with orange paint, 17 September 2023]]

On 17 September 2023, German [[Climate movement|climate activists]] of the [[Last Generation (climate movement)|Last Generation]] climate movement used fire extinguishers to spray paint the Brandenburg Gate's columns orange. Fourteen people connected to the vandalism were detained by [[Berlin Police]]. The incident received criticism from the [[Governing Mayor of Berlin|mayor of Berlin]], [[Kai Wegner]], who condemned the tactics, saying they "go beyond legitimate forms of protest". The mayor went on to say, "With these actions, this group is not only damaging the historic Brandenburg Gate, but also our free discourse about the important issues of our time and future".<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=27 September 2023 |title=Climate activists spray Berlin's Brandenburg Gate with orange paint |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/climate-activists-spray-berlins-brandenburg-gate-orange-paint-103258580 |access-date=17 September 2023 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Germany}}
* [[List of tourist attractions in Berlin]]
* [[Puerta de Alcalá]] – a similar structure in [[Madrid]]
* [[Siegestor]] – a similar structure in [[Bavaria]]

==References==

===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book|last=Pohlsander|first=Hans A.|title=National Monuments and Nationalism in 19th Century Germany|location=|publisher=Peter Lang|year=2008|isbn=978-3-03-911352-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1TK-YaXNpH0C&pg=PA176}}
* {{cite book|last=Watkin|first=David|author-link1=David Watkin (architectural historian)|title=A History of Western Architecture|location=London|publisher=Barrie & Jenkins|year=1986|isbn=0712612793}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://brandenburger-tor-berlin.de/ Events at Brandenburg Gate] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724065926/https://brandenburger-tor-berlin.de/ |date=24 July 2019 }}

{{Visitor attractions in Berlin}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Gates in Berlin]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Mitte]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Berlin]]
[[Category:Landmarks in Germany]]
[[Category:Triumphal arches in Germany]]
[[Category:Berlin border crossings]]
[[Category:Terminating vistas in Germany]]
[[Category:Heritage sites in Berlin]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Berlin]]
[[Category:National symbols of Germany]]
[[Category:Prussian cultural sites]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1791]]
[[Category:1791 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Neoclassical architecture in Germany]]
[[Category:Greek Revival architecture in Germany]]
[[Category:Neoclassical architecture in Berlin]]
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[[Category:Frederick William II of Prussia]]