Berlin owes the Brandenburg Gate to King Frederick William II, he had commissioned the great sandstone gate, so that the magnificent boulevard Unter den Linden gets a dignified conclusion. The gate is one of the largest and most beautiful buildings of classicism. It was built between 1788 and 1791 according to designs by Carl Gotthard Langhans, who was inspired by and oriented towards the Propylaea of the Athenian Acropolis. Two years after the Brandenburg Gate was completed, the Quadriga, a chariot pulled by four horses, was placed on the roof of the gate.
In the course of the construction of the Wall, the Brandenburg Gate acquired special symbolic power. With the beginning of the construction of the Wall in 1961, the gate led a lonely existence, because it was from then on in the restricted area and could neither be visited by Easterners nor people from the West. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the Brandenburg Gate became a symbol of reunification. On December 22, 1989, the gate was opened to the cheers of more than 100,000 people. However, the Quadriga was so badly damaged by the reunification celebrations, especially on New Year's Eve in 1989/90, that it had to be restored two years later.
Today, the Brandeburger Tor is one or even the most important landmark of the capital and a must-see for all Berlin visitors. On New Year's Eve, a big celebration takes place annually at Pariser Platz, directly in front of the gate.