What 18th-century gate in Berlin is a symbol of German unity?

The 18th-century gate in Berlin that symbolizes German unity is the Brandenburg Gate.

The present neoclassical gate was built from 1788 to 1791 for King Frederick William II of Prussia. Architect Carl Gotthard Langhans based its design on the Propylaea, the monumental gateway to the Acropolis in Athens. Its crowning quadriga—a chariot drawn by four horses—was created by Johann Gottfried Schadow.

The gate stood near the boundary between historic Berlin and the road leading toward Brandenburg an der Havel. During the Cold War, it stood in the restricted area beside the Berlin Wall, making it a powerful symbol of division. After the Wall fell in 1989 and Germany reunified in 1990, the same landmark became a symbol of unity, peace, and European cooperation.

It is often confused with Checkpoint Charlie, a former border crossing, but Checkpoint Charlie was not a historic gate or an architectural monument.