Point of interest
Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate)
in Berlin, Germany
Berlin's 1791 landmark and symbol of reunification; open and free to visit around the clock.
Where it is
The Brandenburg Gate stands on Pariser Platz in central Berlin, at the western end of the grand boulevard Unter den Linden in the Mitte district.
Address: 1 Pariser Platz, 10117 Berlin
What it is
Berlin's only surviving city gate is now the city's best-known landmark and the central stage for New Year's Eve, concerts and protests. Pariser Platz with its reconstructed buildings is freely accessible, and a short walk links the gate easily to the Reichstag, the Tiergarten and Unter den Linden.
History
The gate was built between 1788 and 1791 under Frederick William II to designs by Carl Gotthard Langhans in the early neoclassical style, crowned by the bronze Quadriga. During Germany's division it stood right beside the Berlin Wall in the no-man's-land, and after the Wall fell in 1989 it became the symbol of reunification.