Known as the Brandenburger Tor in German, Berlin's second most famous landmark (after the Wall) was built by Carl Gotthard Langhans in 1791, on the commission of Friedrich Wilhelm II. A triumphal gate built to celebrate the status of Berlin as Prussia's grandest city, the arch was partially modelled on the Propylaea gateway in Greece and originally named Friedenstor, or 'Peace Gate'. The mighty Quadriga statue, a four horse chariot driven by the Greek God of Victory, was actually stolen by the dastardly Napoleon in 1806 - but returned after his defeat in 1814. Destroyed during World War II, the statue that now sits upon the Brandenburg Gate is in fact a copy erected in 1957.
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