Brandenburg Gate August 1961. West Berliners gathered on the western side of the gate to demonstrate against the Berlin Wall, among them West Berlin's governing Mayor Willy Brandt, who had spontaneously returned from a federal election campaigning tour in West Germany earlier on the same day. It was closed throughout the Berlin Wall period until 22 December 1989. When the Revolutions of 1989 occurred and the wall was demolished, the gate symbolized freedom and the desire to unify the city of Berlin. Thousands of people gathered at the wall to celebrate its fall on 9 November 1989. On 22 December 1989, the
Brandenburg Gate (Kaliningrad) Brandenburg Gate (Kaliningrad) The Brandenburg Gate (Russian: "Бранденбургские ворота", tr.: "Brandenburgskie vorota", German: "Brandenburger Tor") is one of seven surviving city gates in Kaliningrad, the former German city of Königsberg. The gate is located on Bagration Street and is the only gate of Kaliningrad still in use for the intended purpose. The Brandenburg Gate was built in the south-western part of Königsberg in 1657, with the strengthening of the city walls at the intersection with the road leading to the castle of Brandenburg (now the village of Ushakovo). Due to lack of funds a mere wooden gate was erected. Some