The Brandenburg Gate / Das Brandenburger Tor

The Brandenburg Gate is one of the key symbols of Berlin, and is a gathering point for the city. Everyone goes there. During the Cold War, it was in a desolate no mans land, off limits to everyone except East German border guards carrying Kalashnikovs.

The gate sits roughly on the border between East and West even though it was fully enclosed in the East and Wessies could only look at it from a couple hundred meters away. The long boulevard passing through the gate is known as Strasse des 17 Junis in the West, and Unter den Linden in the East.


After the borders were opened, the Pariser Platz in front of the gate was the site of a huge concert with Leonard Bernstein conducting Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the fourth movement of which is the famous "Ode to Joy"

At one point (so I've read), there were 14 of these gates surrounding the city. This is the only one left.