LEGO Brandenburg Gate User manual
Brandenburg Gate
Brandenburger Tor
Berlin, Germany
Brandenburg Gate
Brandenburger Tor
Berlin, Germany
Booklet available in English on
Heft in deutscher Sprache erhältlich auf
Livret disponible en français sur
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A füzet magyarul ezen a honlapon olvasható: Architecture.LEGO.com
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The Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate (in German: Brandenburger
Tor) is one of Berlin’s most important monuments–an
architectural landmark and historical symbol all in one.
It has been at the heart of German and European history
for over two hundred years.
Commissioned by King Frederick William II of
Prussia as a sign of peace, it was built as the grandest of
a series of 18 city gates through which Berlin was once
entered. The entire construction and ornamentation of
the Gate reflected its extraordinary importance as the
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monumental entry to Unter den Linden, the renowned
boulevard of linden trees, which formerly led directly to the
city palace of the Prussian monarchs.
The Gate was constructed between 1788 and 1791
according to the designs of its architect, Carl Gotthard
Langhans. His inspiration for the building came from the
Propylaea in Athens, the monumental entry hall of the
Acropolis. Just as the Propylaea led to a shrine of the
ancient world, the Brandenburg Gate was to represent the
access to the most important city of the Prussian kingdom.
With its direct reference to antiquity, the gate founded the
Classic age of architecture in Berlin, an epoch that soon
led the city to be called “Athens of the Spree” (in German:
Spreeathen), after the river that runs through it.
The Gate itself is built in sandstone and consists
of twelve Doric columns, six to each side, forming five
passageways. Citizens originally were allowed to use only
the outermost two, the central passageway being reserved
for Prussian royalty and visiting foreign dignitaries.
Propylaea, entry hall of the Acropolis The Gate is built in sandstone Twelve columns, six to each side
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Atop the gate is the Quadriga, a chariot drawn by
four horses driven by Victoria, the Roman goddess of
victory. It was created by Johann Gotfried Schadow,
the most important sculptor in Berlin during this
period. The relief on the pedestal portrays Victoria
together with a number of attendants who personi-
fied virtues such as friendship and statesmanship. Along
with symbols of arts and sciences, these were seen
as vital components ensuring the city would bloom
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in times of peace. Down in the passageways, reliefs
depicting the exploits of Hercules alluded to the time
of the War and the subsequent period of reconstruction,
during which time King Frederick William II had made
Prussia into a true European power.
Though the Brandenburg Gate has remained essentially
unchanged since its completion, it has had a central role
in many of Europe’s most monumental historical events.
In 1806, Napoleon marched triumphantly into Berlin and
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S89875. Photo: Quaschinsky, Hans-Gunter І November
1949
Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-M10 15-327. Photo: Donath, Otto І April 1950
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carried the Quadriga away with him to Paris as a spoil of war.
After Napoleon’s defeat in 1814 and the Prussian occupation
of Paris, the Quadriga was restored to Berlin and Victoria’s
wreath of oak leaves was supplemented with a new symbol
of Prussian power, the Iron Cross. In 1933 the National Socialists
marched through the gate in a martial torch parade,
introducing the darkest chapter of German history, ultimately
leaving the city in ruins and Germany divided.
When Berlin was partitioned after World War II, the
center of the city fell into the Soviet sector, which met the
British sector at the Brandenburg Gate. After a series of
demonstrations against the building of the Berlin Wall, the
Soviets closed the Brandenburg Gate on August 14th, 1961.
It remained closed until December 22nd, 1989, when the
wall fell and East and West Berlin were unified once again.
Throughout this turbulent period of history, the
Brandenburg Gate had fallen into general disrepair. In 2000,
the Berlin Monument Conservation Foundation (in German:
Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin) began a full restoration of
the Brandenburg Gate. It opened to the public again two
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years and six million US dollars later on October 3rd, 2002,
the twelfth anniversary of German Reunification.
Today, the Brandenburg Gate is regarded as one of
Europe’s most famous landmarks.
Carl Gotthard Langhans (December 15, 1732–October 1,
1808) was born in Landeshut, Silesia (now in Poland). He was
not originally educated as an architect. Instead he studied
law from 1753 to 1757 and then mathematics and languages.
He taught himself architecture using the antique texts of the
Roman architecture theorist Vitruvius.
His first draft of “Zum Schifflein Christi” for the
Protestant Church in 1764 in Groß-Glogau earned him both
his first recognition as an architect and an appointment as
building inspector for the Count of Hatzfeld, whose war-
ravaged palace he had rebuilt to his own design between
1766 and 1774. Through the intervention of the Count of
Hatzfeld, Langhans also became known at the royal court
in Berlin, and this would eventually lead to arguably his
greatest work: the Brandenburg Gate. He died at Grüneiche
near Breslau (now in Poland) in 1808.
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Facts about Brandenburg Gate
Location:.................................... Berlin, Germany
Architect:.................................... Carl Gotthard Langhans
Architectural style: .............. Classicism
Materials:................................... Sandstone
Date of construction:......... From 1788 to 1791
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