facts about germany

STUDY SKILLS:

GERMANYNur ‘Izzati binti Ibrahim, B. Ed. Jerman, Cohort II (2008/2009)

WHAT IS INTERESTING?

Historical Sites

Interesting Places

Sports

• 27 million join sports clubs, 15 million pursue the activities privately, most famous: football

• Motorsport• Average 3rd placing in the Olympic Games

Culture

• Before: Land of Poets and Thinkers, now Land of Ideas

• A lot of theatres, hundreds of orchestras, thousands of museums and more than 25 000 libraries.

Entertainment

The Brandenburg Gate(Das Brandenburger Tor)

Introduction

• The Brandenburg Gate was formerly an entrance to the city. Now it is a popular symbol for Berlin, as well as for Germany itself.

• Located at Pariser Platz near ‘Unter den Linden’• Building if the gate took place between 1789 until 1791,

design by Carl Gotthard von Langhans• Marks the border of East- and West-Germany, once symbol

for peace, victory, and during the time of Hitler also a symbol for the Third Kingdom

• Today: symbol of unified Berlin and the unification of Germany and Europe

Architecture

• 26m high, 65.5m long and 11m wide• Built with stones of river sand• Modeled after the Propylaea in Athens• Decorated with a lot of symbols, most special

is the Quadriga on top• Personifications of virtues like friendship and

statesmanship are also represented, together with symbols of arts and science

Quadriga

• A chariot pulled by four horses• Was raced in the ancient Olympic Games• Symbol for victory: driven by ancient Greek gods• Berlin’s Quadriga was designed by Johann Gottfried

Schadow in 1793 as a symbol of peace• 1806: Napoleon Bonaparte stole it, but it was

returned back to Berlin in 1814• Today’s Quadriga is a recast done in 1958, as the

original Quadriga was destroyed in World War 2.

• Started at 13 August 1961 when the building of the Berlin Wall started

• Also called as ‘Checkpoint Charlie’, was the entrance into the Soviet Sector of Germany (East-Germany)

• In year 1989, The Gate turned into a symbol of hope for the new generation of Germany: the Wall was torn down and the existence of East- and West-Germany was banished in just one night

Symbol of German Division

Fun Facts• When it was first built, only the German Emperor and his

guests can pass through the middle entrance.• The Gate sways about 1 cm due to the passing of trucks,

underground trains and cars blaring loud music. • In year 1963, US President, Ronald Reagan gave a speech in

front of the Gate. Soviet Union hung big banners across the Gate so that Reagan can not see the other side.

• In year 1998, during the making of a film, a car that was supposed to go through the gate entrance hit one of the pillars, damaging it.

• The restoration of the Gate in year 2000 costs US$ 3 million, using lasers to clean grit and replacing more than 1000 pieces of stone.

References

• www.berlin.de/brandenburgertor/• http://senstadt.berlin.de/brandentor• www.glasssteelandstone.com/

brandenburggate• http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/

BrandenburgerTor• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadriga