9BERLIN MITTE BERLIN MITTE vi sit Be rli n Fo to W olf ga ng Sc ho lvi en Quadriga vi sit Be rli n Fo to T an ja Ko ch Unter den Linden The Brandenburg Gate It is the most important symbol of German unification it would be simply unthinkable to make a trip to Berlin wi thout paying a visit to the world famous classical structure We are of course referring to the Brandenburg Gate The scenes of 9 November 1989 when East Germans wildly celebrated their new freedom to travel by swarming over the Berlin Wall are etched in the memory It was truly a day for the history books and undoubtedly one of the happiest moments in the lives of Berliners and all Germans Going back almost 38 years the Brandenburg Gate stood within a hermetically sealed exclusion zone formed by the Wall To the citizens of Berlin and visitors from around the globe it may have seemed close enough to touch in reality it stood in another world For decades the Gate stood as a memorial to the Cold War and the division of Berlin and of Germany The two halves of the country were diametrically opposed politically socially economically and militarily the blocs of East and West eyeing each other with hostility Almost miraculously it was the Peaceful Revolution of people in the east of Germany that overthrew the dic tatorship of the GDR On 22 December 1989 a hundred thousand people witnessed the official reopening of the Brandenburg Gate The Gate was also the scene of Ger many s reunification celebrations on 3 October 1990 a fittingly emotional occasion of pathos Today hundreds of thousands of people are drawn to this historic place to usher in each new year During major sporting events like the Football World Cup the Brandenburg Gate also beco mes the focal point of fan parks The structure was built according to the designs of Carl Gotthard Langhans between 1788 and 1791 The gate ways are modelled on those of the Acropolis of Athens while six Doric columns support a transverse beam 11 metres deep In 1793 the striking Quadriga a chari ot drawn by four horses designed by Johann Gottfried Schadow was placed atop the Brandenburg Gate ridden by Victoria the goddess of victory The gate which reaches an approximate height of 26 metres has always awake ned passions In 1806 Napoleon took the Quadriga to Paris as the spoils of war It was to remain there until victory over the French emperor in 1814 whereupon the chariot was returned to its rightful place The Brandenburg Gate stands on Pariser Platz one of the most beautiful squares in Berlin The square is bordered by grand townhouses the American and French embassies and the Adlon a famous luxury hotel With the Berlin tourist information centre housed in its south wing the Bran denburg Gate makes the ideal starting point for visiting some key sights of the German capital the Reichstag Victory Co lumn Tiergarten park and the boulevard Unter den Linden are all a short walk away

Vorschau Gästeführer Berlin Seite 11
Hinweis: Dies ist eine maschinenlesbare No-Flash Ansicht.
Klicken Sie hier um zur Online-Version zu gelangen.