Brandenburger Tor, Jägertor, and Nauener Tor
These gates (translated as the Brandenburg Gate, the Hunter's Gate, and the Nauen Gate) are three of the original seven gates that were incorporated into the old city walls. They were mostly ornamental, erected by noblemen to show off their prowess and accomplishments, and were meant to direct the eye along various axes from the center of the city to grand boulevards radiating outwards. If you follow the promenade that traces the now-demolished city walls, you can see all three of these gates in a 10-minute walk. The Brandenburger Tor sits at one edge of Luisenplatz, between the pedestrian streets of the old town and an entrance to Sanssouci Park. Commissioned by Frederick the Great to celebrate his victory in the Seven Years' War, it was built by Karl von Gontard as a Roman triumphal arch. The small Jägertor is really nothing more than a simple archway, crowned by a statue of a deer set upon by hunting dogs. Its diminutive size, however, belies its historical importance: it's the only gate in Potsdam still in its original form instead of a restored version. The sandstone Nauener Tor, which sits at the northern edge of the bustling, shop-filled main corridor Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse, is the oldest example of a neo-Gothic structure in continental Europe. It looks something like a mini-castle with its twin turrets.
