Buildings - Brandenburger Tor

Brandenburg Tor/Brandenburg Gate: The Brandenburg Gate is the monumental terminus of Unter den Linden, the boulevard of linden trees that led directly to the royal 17th century palace. Commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm II and built by Karl Gotthard Langhans in 1791, it is a neoclassical design based on the ancient Propylaea of Athens. Given its strategic location at the center of Berlin, it has been used by both German and foreign political powers as a symbol of victory, from Napoleon 1st, to the Nazis, to the reunified German government. Three American presidents, Kennedy, Reagan and Clinton, also gave speeches there. Reagan’s 1987 call to the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, to “tear down the wall” was realized in 1989 with its fall and German reunification shortly thereafter in 1990.


  •  Brandenburg Gate, as seen from the east

  • Brandenburg Gate, as seen from the west

  • Brandenburg Gate, east and west (comparison)

  • Brandenburg Gate, 1881 (Hermann Rückwardt)

  • Brandenburg Gate, November Revolution, 1918

  • Brandenburg Gate, November Revolution, 1918

  • Brandenburg Gate, 30 January 1933

 

 

Hotel Adlon: One of the most famous hotels in Europe between the wars, with guests like Louise Brooks and Marlene Dietrich. Rebuilt in 1997 as the new Hotel Adlon.


  •  Hotel Adlon, 1914

  • Hotel Adlon, reconstruction, 1990s

  • Hotel Adlon, comparison

 

 

British Embassy


  • British Embassy

 

 

Spreebogen


  • Spreebogen office buildings

  • Spreebogen office buildings

  • Chancellery

  •  Zentralbahnhof/ Central Train Station, construction site

  •  Hamburger Bahnhof, exterior

 

 

Siegessäule/Victory Column: Monumental column designed by Heinrich Strack in 1864, with the later addition of a bronze Victory atop the column, and featured in Wim Wender’s Wings of Desire.


  • Siegessäule/Victory Column, on Grosser Stern

  • Siegessäule/ Victory Column, on Königsplatz, 1889

  • Siegessäule/ Victory Column, comparison

 

 

Schloss Bellevue/Bellevue Castle: Chateau in central Berlin, residence of the German president since 1994. First Neoclassical building in Germany (1786) by Philipp Boumann for Prince Ferdinand.


  • Schloss Bellevue/Bellevue Castle, residence of the President

 

 

Nordic Embassies


  • Nordic Embassies

  • CDU Headquarters