The Brandenburg Gate was built in 1770/71 by Carl von Gontard and Georg Christian Unger by order of Frederick II of Prussia. Previously, from 1733, there was another, simpler gate on the same spot, which resembled a castle gateway. Together with the city wall, a form of toll or excise barrier, and the other gates it was intended to prevent desertion and smuggling. Since the city wall was demolished around 1900 the Brandenburg Gate has been a free-standing structure.
Towards the end of the Seven Years' War, Frederick the Great had the old gate demolished and built, in its stead, this new Brandenburg Gate, as a symbol of his victory.
A feature of the Brandenburg Gate is that it has two completely different sides, designed by two architects. Carl von Gontard designed the city side, Georg Christian Unger, the field or countryside-facing side. Gontard made the city side as a rendered facade with Corinthian-style lesenes and trophies, Unger designed the field site in the style of the Arch of Constantine with Corinthian double-columns and ornamentation like the golden trumpets.
Towards the end of the Seven Years' War, Frederick the Great had the old gate demolished and built, in its stead, this new Brandenburg Gate, as a symbol of his victory.
A feature of the Brandenburg Gate is that it has two completely different sides, designed by two architects. Carl von Gontard designed the city side, Georg Christian Unger, the field or countryside-facing side. Gontard made the city side as a rendered facade with Corinthian-style lesenes and trophies, Unger designed the field site in the style of the Arch of Constantine with Corinthian double-columns and ornamentation like the golden trumpets.