The Quadriga

Langhans recruited Johann Gottfried Schadow to design the crowning piece of the gate, the Quadriga. The statue, intended to represent 'The Triumph of Peace,' was added in late 1793. But it did not take long for the Quadriga's intended symbolism to be challenged. On October 27, 1806, the Emperor Napoleon rode through the Brandenburg Gate, beginning a two year French occupation of the city. As a symbol of his victory, Napoleon ordered the Quadriga shipped to Paris where it would be erected on a specially built arch. Neither this original plan nor the second plan of placing the Quadriga on the St. Denis-Gate in Paris were realized.