Only The Brandenburg Gate, through it's resillience, has evolved symbolically with a changing Berlin. It has held a different meaning in each period of German history. When it was first built it could be considered a symbol of Prussia's desire to become an imperial power and cultural icon like ancient Greece or Rome. With the coming and going of Napoleon it became a symbol of Prussia's military power through the theft and the return of the Quadriga. It would remain a symbol of differnt forms of millitarism until the onset of the Cold War. Then, with it's prominent location along the Berlin Wall, it became a symbol of the divided Germany. As a kid, I remember seeing it often on the news and assuming that it was part of the wall. Most people have seen the the pictures of November 9th 1989 and always in the background was the Brandenburg Gate. Through these events the gate has become a symbol of peace and of the reunited Germany. So why then, is the platz being returned to the form it was in before the Second World War? This arrangement isn't appropriate for the symbolic meaning of the gate, regardless of the fact that the massing of the buildings around the gate overwhelm it! As the gate becomes lost in among the new buildings, its symbolic power is damaged.

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