P77 - Germany - Berlin - Brandenburg Gate

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany

Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city center at the intersection of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which one formerly entered Berlin. One block to the north stands the Reichstag. The gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of linden trees which formerly led directly to the city palace of the Prussian monarchs. It was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace and built by Carl Gotthard Langhans from 1788 to 1791. The Brandenburg Gate was restored from 2000 to 2002 by the Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin (Berlin Monument Conservation Foundation). Today, it is considered one of Europe's most famous landmarks.

勃兰登堡门（德语：Brandenburger Tor）是位于德国首都柏林的新古典主义风格建筑，由普鲁士国王腓特烈·威廉二世下令于1788年至1791年间建造，以纪念普鲁士在七年战争取得的胜利。

勃兰登堡门是柏林的象征，也是德国的国家象征标志，它见证了柏林、德国、欧洲乃至世界的许多重要历史事件。

在德国历史上，勃兰登堡门象征着普鲁士的崛起和德意志帝国的第一次统一和兴盛。

第二次世界大战德国战败后，分裂为东德和西德，柏林亦划分为东柏林和西柏林，分属东德和西德管辖，勃兰登堡门位于东柏林和西柏林的分界线上，也是冷战时期华沙公约组织国家和北大西洋公约组织国家之间的分界线，因此它曾经成为德国分裂、欧洲分裂和冷战的象征。

1990年两德统一后，勃兰登堡门又成为了德国重新统一和欧洲重新统一的象征。

References sources : wikipedia