Today's answer for yesterday's question of "Where is the Brandenburg Gate and why is it important?" came from a recent test my son had to take. He had to know all kinds of tidbits about Europe and Germany, including the most visited places in Germany, Neuschwanstein Castle, Cologne Cathedral and the Brandenburg Gate. The gate is in Berlin and is the only one left of a series of gates designed and built in the late 1780s when this part of Germany was a part of the Prussian Empire. It was part of the design that led visitors who entered the city straight up to the city palace. Along the way to the palace, a set of linden trees were planted to make the landscape even that much more grand and to impress as well as intimidate these visitors. (We have these trees under the common name of Carolina Basswood in the Piedmont and Coastal Plains regions of North and South Carolina.) Now, this recently restored piece of architecture is one of the most identifiable landmarks in Europe.
In terms of architecture, it is representative of the classical architecture of Greece. It was designed to simulate the gate to Acropolis in Athens. Politically, the gate has had a storied history. When Prussia fell to Napoleon, he took a piece of it, the chariot that is on top, back to Paris. When Napoleon's empire fell to the Prussians eight years later, it was return
ed to the gate and an iron cross was added to the decorations on the gate. For the Nazis, it was a symbol of their political party. Due to the careful planning of the Allies, though, it , along with the Academy of Fine Arts, was spared the almost total devastation that the rest of the city of Berlin received in air raids. In 1961, when the Berlin Wall was built, the Brandenburg Gate became cut off from both sides due to the location of the "security zone". It ran right along the famous gate and kept visitors from having any access to it until 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell. As an insult to the US, the Soviet Union hung huge banners across it when President Kennedy made his famous visit to Berlin so that he could not look into East Germany. It was also near the site of the gate that President Reagan made his famous "tear down this wall" speech when he came in 1987 to Berlin. During all of the time that it had been off-limits, though, it had fallen into somewhat of a state of disrepair. Through joint efforts of the former East and West German governments as well as private restoration projects, the gate was finally reopened in its fully restored form for tourists on October 3rd, 2002. Today, the area around it has been turned into a pedestrian zone, so cars can no longer drive under it, but tourists everywhere can safely walk up to this magnificent piece of architecture.
ed to the gate and an iron cross was added to the decorations on the gate. For the Nazis, it was a symbol of their political party. Due to the careful planning of the Allies, though, it , along with the Academy of Fine Arts, was spared the almost total devastation that the rest of the city of Berlin received in air raids. In 1961, when the Berlin Wall was built, the Brandenburg Gate became cut off from both sides due to the location of the "security zone". It ran right along the famous gate and kept visitors from having any access to it until 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell. As an insult to the US, the Soviet Union hung huge banners across it when President Kennedy made his famous visit to Berlin so that he could not look into East Germany. It was also near the site of the gate that President Reagan made his famous "tear down this wall" speech when he came in 1987 to Berlin. During all of the time that it had been off-limits, though, it had fallen into somewhat of a state of disrepair. Through joint efforts of the former East and West German governments as well as private restoration projects, the gate was finally reopened in its fully restored form for tourists on October 3rd, 2002. Today, the area around it has been turned into a pedestrian zone, so cars can no longer drive under it, but tourists everywhere can safely walk up to this magnificent piece of architecture. The word for today is gate: das Tor - pronounced just as it looks.
The question for the day is "What are the top 10 cities in Germany
Auf Wiedersehen,
Frau Spitzer
