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| 2436 Berlin - Brandenburg Gate in 1930 |
The Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor) is an 18th-century neoclassical triumphal arch, one of the best-known landmarks of Germany. It is built on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin to the town of Brandenburg an der Havel. Located in the western part of the city centre within Mitte, immediately west of the Pariser Platz, it is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, which led directly to the royal City Palace of the Prussian monarchs.
It was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace and built by architect Carl Gotthard Langhans from 1788 to 1791. It consists of 12 Doric columns, six to each side, forming five passageways. Atop the gate is a Quadriga, a chariot drawn by four horses, driven by Eirene, the goddess of peace. The gate's design is based upon the Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens (Greece). The capital Quadriga was sculpted by Johann Gottfried Schadow.
Throughout its existence, the gate was often a site for major historical events and is today considered a symbol of the tumultuous history of Europe and Germany, but also of European unity and peace. Having suffered considerable damage in WWII, it was fully restored from 2000 to 2002. During the post-war Partition of Germany, the gate was isolated and inaccessible immediately next to the Berlin Wall. The area around the gate was featured most prominently in the media coverage of the tearing down of the wall in 1989, and the subsequent German reunification in 1990.
About the stamp
The stamp is part of the series Blumen, about which I wrote here.
References
Brandenburg Gate - Wikipedia
Sender: Ana
Sent from Berlin (Berlin / Germany), on 28.06.2015
Photo: Sammlung Eickemeyer
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