Lego brandenburg gate - 21011 Instruction Manual

monumental entry to Unter den Linden, the renowned 
boulevard of linden trees, which formerly led directly to the 
city palace of the Prussian monarchs.

 

The Gate was constructed between 1788 and 1791 

according to the designs of its architect, Carl Gotthard 
Langhans. His inspiration for the building came from the 
Propylaea in Athens, the monumental entry hall of the 

Acropolis. Just as the Propylaea led to a shrine of the 

ancient world, the Brandenburg Gate was to represent the 
access to the most important city of the Prussian kingdom. 

With its direct reference to antiquity, the gate founded the 
Classic age of architecture in Berlin, an epoch that soon 

led the city to be called “Athens of the Spree” (in German: 
Spreeathen), after the river that runs through it.

 

The Gate itself is built in sandstone and consists 

of twelve Doric columns, six to each side, forming five 
passageways. Citizens originally were allowed to use only 

the outermost two, the central passageway being reserved 
for Prussian royalty and visiting foreign dignitaries. 

 

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6/27/11   8:21 AM