The Brandenburg Gate turns 225
August 4, 2016
It is a must-see on every respectable tourist's checklist in Berlin. The Brandenburg Gate on Pariser Platz has found its way on countless selfies.
It welcomes exhausted runners at the end of the Berlin Marathon, tens of thousands of dedicated football fans during the World Cup, and celebrates with fireworks and the popping bottles of champagne of international visitors on New Year's Eve.
It shows solidarity with the world after terrorist attacks and greets demonstrations from all imaginable political directions.
The famous landmark is also part of Berlin's official logo and is reproduced hundreds of times on the windows of the U-Bahn.
It represents Berlin's tumultuous history more than any other monument: Built as a tribute to peace, it quickly turned into the showplace of wars. It managed to survive the most destructive one, World War II, to spend several decades in the death strip of the Cold War. Finally, it was still standing to celebrate with all Berliners the fall of the Wall in 1989. It now remains the symbol of the reunification of Germany.
Click through the gallery above to rediscover some of the Brandenburg Gate's most significant historical moments.