The Brandenburg Gate was only 15 years old when Napoleon captured Berlin in 1806 (left) and removed the Quadriga from the top of the gate, shipping it to Paris to serve as a victory souvenir. The occupation only lasted two years but it took several more to drive Napoleon back to Paris so the Kaiser Friedrich Wilhelm III could return the Quadriga in 1814 (right). The victory over the French gave new meaning to the Goddess of Peace, now known as the Goddess of Victory, and inspired the Quarré to be renamed Pariser Platz.
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