Brandenburg Gate up for freedom and democracy to ensure that such injustice may never happen again," Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel—who grew up behind the wall in Germany's communist eastern part—also attended the commemoration. German President Christian Wulff added, "It has been shown once again: Freedom is invincible at the end. No wall can permanently withstand the desire for freedom." On 19 June 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama spoke at the Gate about nuclear arms reduction and the recently revealed U.S. internet surveillance activities. On the night of 5 January 2015, the lights illuminating the gate were completely
Brandenburg City Canal leisure traffic, due to its constrained size. Commercial shipping uses the Silo Canal, which descends through the "Vorstadtschleuse Brandenburg", crosses the "Brandenburger Niederhavel" upstream of the city centre and then skirts the northern edge of the city, before rejoining the River Havel in the Plauer See. <BR> Brandenburg City Canal The Brandenburg City Canal, or Brandenburger Stadtkanal in German, is a canal in the German state of Brandenburg. It provides a route through the centre of the city of Brandenburg an der Havel. At its upstream end, the canal diverges from the River Havel upstream of the "Vorstadtschleuse Brandenburg" lock.