Berlin: Unter den Linden - Brandenburger Tor

The western end of Unter den Linden is anchored by the Brandenburg Gate. This colossal neo-classical arch, built in 1791, is the last survivor of 14 gates in Berlin's old city wall (this one led to the city of Brandenburg). The gate was the symbol of Prussian Berlin...and later the symbol of a divided Berlin.

It's crowned by a majestic four-horse chariot with the Goddess of Peace at the reins. Napoleon took this statue to the Louvre in Paris in 1806. When the Prussians got it back, she was renamed the Goddess of Victory.

The gate sat unused, part of a sad circle dance called the Wall that dragged on for 28 years. Now postcards all over town show the ecstatic day — November 9, 1989 — when the world enjoyed the sight of happy Berliners jamming the gate like flowers on a parade float.
After the Fall of the Wall, the Gate was reopened on December 22, 1989 and was completely restored in 2002