And of course the Brandenburger Tor. I remember my first visit here in early 1997 in the gloom of a winter’s afternoon. Without the buildings that now form a ring around Pariser Platz (and which replicate the original form of the square), it was as if the Brandenburger Tor were looking out over the vast expanse of Central European history. A silent memorial and warning to all that had come before.
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