The Quadriga at the Brandenburg Gate

That copper-green chariot perched above the Brandenburg Gate has had a life more dramatic than most humans. The Quadriga, a four-horse chariot sculpture, was placed here in 1793 by sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow. Originally, the figure driving those horses represented Pax, the Roman goddess of peace. A fitting welcome into the city. That peaceful message didn't last long.

In 1806, Napoleon defeated Prussia and had the entire sculpture shipped to Paris as a war trophy. It spent eight years there before Prussian forces brought it home after Napoleon's defeat. But something had changed. Pax was replaced by Nike, the goddess of victory, now adorned with an Iron Cross and Prussian eagle. The same chariot, a completely different statement.

Then came the Second World War. Bombings in the 1940s badly damaged the original bronze, and by 1950 it was dismantled entirely. Only the head of one horse survived and you can still see it today at the Märkisches Museum nearby. A full replica was cast in 1958, though during the Cold War years the military symbols were quietly left off.

After German reunification in the 1990s, the Iron Cross and eagle returned. So the figure standing above you today carries every layer of that story, all at once.