Commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia, the Brandenburg Gate was built to represent peace and was completed in 1791.  It leads to Unter den Linden, a famous boulevard lined with linden trees that once led to the Prussian palace.

With 12 Doric columns, six on each side, the gate was inspired by the Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.  At the top of the gate is a chariot drawn by four horses known as a Quadriga.  The Quadriga is driven by Eirene, the Greek goddess of peace.

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During World War II, the Nazis used the gate as a party symbol.  The Brandenburg Gate sustained a lot of damage during WWII, and only one of the original horse heads survived.  After World War II, East and West Berlin worked together to restore the gate, but when the Berlin Wall was completed in 1961, the Brandenburg Gate was isolated and inaccessible right next to the wall.  When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the gate originally built as a symbol of peace was seen as a symbol of freedom and the reunification of a city kept apart for decades.

Today, it is one of the best-known landmarks in Germany.