Brandenburg Gate: 30th anniversary of Fall of the Berlin Wall

The Brandenburg Gate is now the symbol of reunification between east and west Berln and between the East and the West.

The Brandeburg Gate is a sandstone monument constructed between 1788 and 1791. Architect Carl Gotthard Langhans designed it with Greek revival features, supported by two rows of six Doric columns. It is 26 metres high, 65.5 metres long, and 11 metres deep.

In 1793, the Quadriga Statue, designed by Johann Gottfried Schadow, was place on top of the Brandenburg Gate. It is a chariot pulled by four horses. In 1806, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Berlin and took the Quadriga Statue to Paris. When Napoleon was forced to abdicate in 1814, the statue was returned to Berlin. It faces east towards the city centre.

In 1946, in post-war Germany, the Brandenburg Gate was in the Soviet sector. The Soviets erected the Berlin Wall from 13 August 1961, placing the Brandenburg Gate in an “exclusion zone” inaccessible to everyone.

It was here that American president Ronald Reagon announced, “Mr. Gorbachov—tear down this wall.” He was referring to Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachov.

The Berlin Wall “came down” on 9 November 1989 with the collapse of communist rule (i.e. the border between east and west Berlin was removed and people could move freely). The Brandenburg Gate was officially opened to the public on 22 December 1989.

The Brandenburg Gate faces Pariser Platz—Paris Square. Reconstruction of the war-ruined buildings started in the 1990s after German reunification.

For the 30^thanniversary of the Fall of the Wall, there are commemorative events and celebrations.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of: Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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