Perhaps the single most famous landmark in Berlin is the Brandenburger Tor, or "Brandenburg Gate". You almost can't be said to have visited Berlin without getting a photo in front of the Brandenburg gate - it's like visiting the Eiffel Tower of Paris. One of my dream photos was to have been a shot of myself and my parents in front of the gate. However it was not to be, because the entire gate was wrapped in plastic and construction girders. It was undergoing extensive renovation and cleanup in preparation for a grand unveiling in time for the big national German elections. Annoyingly, this happened just a few days after we left to continue the tour! If only our timing had been a little different and we had been here just a week or so later, we could have gotten my photo. Oh well...

The gate was built by Carl Gotthard Langhans between 1788-1791, modeled on the ancient Greek propylea on the Acropolis. In this closeup you can see the statue atop the gate, called the quadriga, representing the Goddess of Victory, Victoria. The figure, created by Johann Gottfried Schadow, was originally supposed to be the goddess of Peace, Eirene. After te defeat of Prussia by Napoleon, the quadriga was transported to Paris under his orders, but after the wars of liberation it was returned to Berlin and then was the Goddess of Victory. In August 1961 the Tor, the only remaining City Gate of an original 18, was cordoned off by the East German authorities. Only after reunification over a decade ago was the gate finally opened again.

This last has great psychological significance for the Germans. I remember seeing a program on the history of the 20th century on PBS and when it discussed the fall of communism in East Germany, it showed an excited and angry girl on the eve of the opening up of the wall confronting a border guard and demanding that as a Berliner and a German it had been her dream to be able to walk through the Brandednburg gate.

Brandenburg Gate under wraps