Brandenburg Gate (left)
The Brandenburg Gate was built between 1789 and 1793 according to designs by Carl Gotthard Langhans. The Neoclassical triumphal arch is located in Berlin's Mitte district on Pariser Platz and is the only remaining one of what were once 18 Berlin city gates. Inspired by ancient Greek and Roman architecture, the gate is today considered one of Germany's most important landmarks. It is crowned by the Quadriga with the goddess of victory, Victoria, who symbolically brings peace to the city. During the Cold War, the Brandenburg Gate stood directly on the border between East and West Berlin and became a symbol of German division and reunification.
Holocaust Memorial (right)
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, also known as the Holocaust Memorial, was built between 2003 and 2005 based on designs by architect Peter Eisenman. It was ceremonially inaugurated on May 10, 2005. The memorial is located in Berlin-Mitte, not far from the Brandenburg Gate, and commemorates the approximately six million Jewish victims of National Socialism. The memorial consists of 2711 concrete stelae of varying heights, arranged over an area of approximately 19,000 square meters. The labyrinthine design is intended to create space for personal reflection and remembrance. Below the field of stelae is also an information center that documents the crimes of the Nazi era. Today, the Holocaust Memorial is one of Germany's most important places of remembrance.