As a Berlin-based tour guide, I always make sure to take my guests to Brandenburg Gate and explain its architecture, significance and history. The Brandenburg Gate is Berlin’s most famous landmark, comparable to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Big Ben in London or Rome‘s Colosseum. And this was even so before the city was divided and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

If time allows, I like to take my guests on a journey through time. For this, I take them to the photo gallery at the lower level of U-Bahnhof BrandenburgerTor. Nowhere else can I put the most important events of the past 250 years into context with one another in such a succinct way.

On the escalator, we pass some famous quotes – related to the Berlin Wall – by such historical figures as Walter Ulbricht, Erich Honecker, Willy Brandt, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. A very nicely conceived permanent exhibition on the station platform shows the diverse history of the Brandenburg Gate from the first Brandenburg Gate to the post-reunification period. Divided into thematic blocks, the exhibition offers the perfect framework for a summary of German history covering Prussia, Napoleon in Berlin, the German Reich, the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, divided Germany (GDR and FRG) and reunified Germany. As a contemporary witness of the Cold War, I also like to offer some personal anecdotes.

After 30 minutes, my passengers have an overview of the most important periods and events of Berlin history. They can draw on this information over the next hours or days while relating it to Berlin’s many sites. I highly recommend a stopover at U-Bahnhof Brandenburger Tor – it’s an ideal start for a private city tour in Berlin.