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
City Gate (Valletta) Porte Nationale during the French occupation of Malta in 1798, but its name reverted to "Porta Reale" when Malta fell under British rule in 1800. In 1853, this was once again replaced by a larger gate, which was also known as Kingsgate or "Kingsway". These first three gates were all fortified, forming part of Valletta's city walls. The gate was also informally called the "Porta di terra" (meaning "land gate") since it was the only landward approach to the city. The last fortified gate was demolished in 1964, being replaced by a Futurist gate designed by Alziro Bergonzo. This gate