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The Quadriga on the Brandenburg Gate in 2014: the replica of 1958, with the Iron Cross and eagle back on Victoria’s staff since 1991.Photo: Roland.h.bueb, 2014. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 3.0.

The Quadriga’s five journeys

The Quadriga on the Brandenburg Gate was made in West Berlin. East Berlin sawed out its Iron Cross

Schadow’s chariot went to Paris in twelve crates in 1806, came home with an Iron Cross in 1814, was shot to pieces in 1945 and scrapped in 1950, all but one horse’s head. The one on the gate today is a replica of 1958.

8yrs
in crates in Paris, 1806–1814
12
crates it was packed in for Paris
8yrs
with no Quadriga on the gate at all, 1950–1958
33yrs
with the Iron Cross sawn out, 1958–1991

00Pariser Platz, Berlin

Berlin’s most famous sculpture has been away, in pieces or missing for much of its life

The gate opened on 6 August 1791 as the “Friedenstor”, the gate of peace. Two years later Johann Gottfried Schadow’s Quadriga went up on top: Victoria, the goddess of victory, in a chariot drawn by four horses, beaten in copper between 1790 and 1793. She drives east, into the city, as she always has.

Since then the Quadriga has made five journeys: to Paris as booty, home again, from a West Berlin foundry to a gate in the East, and down and up again after reunification. In between, the original was destroyed. Scroll through 233 years of it on one time scale.

The Brandenburg Gate seen from the east, with the Quadriga on top facing the viewer.
The Brandenburg Gate from Pariser Platz, 2014. The Quadriga faces east, into the city, as it always has.Photo: Norbert Nagel, 2014. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0.

Where the Quadriga was, 1793–today

Where the Quadriga was, year by year, on one time scale from its installation to today: on the gate, in crates in Paris, a wreck on the gate, gone, and the replica on the gate, with the year it came down for restoration.
The 1793 originalIn crates, or a wreckThe 1958 replicaNo Quadriga

June 1793

Journey 1: by barge to the gate

An old man in a dark coat and skullcap, seated, in an early photograph.
Photo: Hermann Biow, 1846; photo Bautsch. Wikimedia Commons. CC0.

Schadow’s chariot came to Berlin by barge and stood on the gate by the end of June 1793. For 13 years it looked east, down Unter den Linden towards the palace.

October 1806

Journey 2: to Paris in twelve crates

A painting of Napoleon on horseback leading troops through the Brandenburg Gate, with the Quadriga on top and crowds on either side.
Painting: Charles Meynier, 1810. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Napoleon entered Berlin at the end of October 1806 and had the Quadriga taken as booty. It was never put on show in Paris: in 1814 Prussian troops found it in the Louvre, still in its crates.

7 August 1814

Journey 3: home, with an Iron Cross

An engraving of the Quadriga’s chariot and horses being driven along a tree-lined avenue towards the Brandenburg Gate, with spectators.
Print: Caricature, 1814. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

It came back overland and was restored at Grunewald. On 7 August 1814 it was unveiled on the gate again, with Schinkel’s Iron Cross and Prussian eagle on Victoria’s staff.

1945–1950

Shot to pieces, then scrapped

Two men on the roof of the gate look at the torn, shot-through copper horses of the Quadriga.
Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-M1015-327 / Donath, Otto / CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Gunfire wrecked it shortly before the war ended. The wreck stayed on the gate until 1950, when it was scrapped. Only one horse’s head survived.

27 September 1958

Journey 4: from West Berlin to a gate in the East

A crane lifts a copper horse in the air above the gate, where Victoria and three horses already stand.
Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-58697-0001 / Sturm, Horst / CC BY-SA 3.0 de

The Noack foundry in West Berlin made a replica from casts taken in secret in 1942. The last horse went up on 27 September 1958, without the Iron Cross and eagle: East Berlin had them sawn out.

1990–1991

Journey 5: down, and back with its cross

A close view of a crowned eagle with spread wings above a wreath enclosing an Iron Cross.
Photo: Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F088693-0013 / Thurn, Joachim F. / CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Damaged on New Year’s Eve 1989/90, it was taken down in 1990 and restored. It went back up on 15–16 July 1991, with the Iron Cross and eagle on the staff again.

01Berlin to Paris

Napoleon took it as booty, and Paris never put it on show

After the defeat at Jena and Auerstedt, Napoleon rode into Berlin through the gate at the end of October 1806, under the Quadriga. Almost at once he had it taken down as booty.

It went to France in twelve crates. It was never exhibited there. When the allies entered Paris in 1814, Prussian troops found it in the Louvre, still packed.

A painting of Napoleon on horseback leading troops through the Brandenburg Gate, with the Quadriga on top and crowds on either side.
Charles Meynier, Napoleon’s entry into Berlin through the Brandenburg Gate in October 1806 (painted 1810). The Quadriga is still on the gate.Painting: Charles Meynier, 1810. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
A detailed drawing of the north front of the Louvre with carriages and figures in the street.
The Louvre’s north entrance as it was in 1810, drawn by Théodore Hoffbauer in 1875–82. Prussian troops found the Quadriga in the Louvre in 1814, still in its crates.Drawing: Théodore Hoffbauer, 1875–82. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

For eight years the gate of peace stood without its chariot.

Berlin did not forget it. A caricature of 1814 shows what the city wanted: Napoleon carrying the Quadriga home on his own back.

A coloured caricature of Napoleon striding along, bent under the Quadriga strapped to his back.
“The wish of the Berliners”, an anonymous caricature of 1814: Napoleon carries the Quadriga back on his own shoulders.Print: Anonymous, 1814. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

02Paris to Berlin

It came home by road, and went back up with a new emblem: Schinkel’s Iron Cross

The journey back was overland. On the edge of the city the sculpture was restored at Grunewald, and on 7 August 1814 it was unveiled on the gate once more.

An engraving of the Quadriga’s chariot and horses being driven along a tree-lined avenue towards the Brandenburg Gate, with spectators.
A caricature of 1814 on Napoleon’s defeat and the Quadriga’s return to Berlin, with the gate behind.Print: Caricature, 1814. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
A painting of the courtyard of a Renaissance hunting lodge with horses and hunters in autumn light.
Jagdschloss Grunewald, painted by Wilhelm Barth in 1832. On its way home in 1814, the Quadriga was restored at Grunewald.Painting: Wilhelm Barth, 1832. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Karl Friedrich Schinkel gave Victoria’s staff a new top for the occasion: an Iron Cross in a wreath, under a Prussian eagle. The square inside the gate was renamed Pariser Platz.

With the new emblem, says the Landesdenkmalamt, the gate became a national monument to victory in the Wars of Liberation. The Iron Cross stayed on the staff for 131 years.

A painted portrait of a dark-haired man in a dark coat with a high collar.
Karl Friedrich Schinkel, who designed the Iron Cross and eagle for Victoria’s staff in 1814. Portrait by Carl Joseph Begas, 1826.Painting: Carl Joseph Begas, 1826. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.
A close view of the Quadriga’s chariot wheel, horses and Victoria with her staff topped by an eagle over a wreath.
The original Quadriga in 1938, photographed by Willy Pragher, with Schinkel’s Iron Cross and eagle on Victoria’s staff.Photo: Willy Pragher, 1938. Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 134 Nr. 008100. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 4.0.

03The end of the original

The original was shot to pieces in 1945, but stayed up as a wreck until 1950

The Quadriga was severely damaged by gunfire shortly before the end of the war; the Stadtmuseum says it is believed to have been shot at deliberately. Its torn shell stood on the gate for 5 more years.

A black-and-white photograph of the damaged Brandenburg Gate with twisted remains on its top, and the ruined Reichstag behind.
The Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag in 1945. The wrecked Quadriga is still on the gate.Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-M1015-331 / Donath, Otto / CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Two men on the roof of the gate look at the torn, shot-through copper horses of the Quadriga.
The shot-up Quadriga on the gate in April 1950 (archive caption). It was taken down and scrapped that year.Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-M1015-327 / Donath, Otto / CC BY-SA 3.0 de

In 1950 the wreck was taken down and destroyed, 157 years after it went up. The Märkisches Museum judged just one horse’s head worth keeping. It has been there since October 1952.

From 1950 to 1958 the gate carried nothing at all.

A red-brick museum building with a tower, set in a park.
The Märkisches Museum, where the one surviving horse’s head of the original has been since October 1952.Photo: Jörg Zägel, 2010. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0.

04West to East

The new Quadriga was made in West Berlin, from casts taken in secret during the war

In 1942, fearing for it in the war, Berlin had plaster casts taken of the Quadriga. From them came the plaster models of 1957/58, and from the models the Hermann Noack foundry in West Berlin made a replica.

It reached Pariser Platz in September 1958, and the last horse was lifted onto the gate on 27 September 1958. By then the East Berlin city government had the Iron Cross and the eagle sawn out of Victoria’s staff, leaving a bare wreath.

A crane lifts a copper horse in the air above the gate, where Victoria and three horses already stand.
27 September 1958: the fourth and last horse of the replica is lifted onto the gate (archive caption).Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-58697-0001 / Sturm, Horst / CC BY-SA 3.0 de
The figure of Victoria seen close, holding a long staff that ends in a plain wreath.
Victoria on the gate, September 1958. Her staff ends in a bare wreath: the Iron Cross and eagle have been sawn out.Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-58697-0007 / Sturm, Horst / CC BY-SA 3.0 de
A crowd of people in coats on the square in front of the Brandenburg Gate, with the Quadriga on top.
Sunday, 28 September 1958: Berliners come to see the Quadriga back on the gate (archive caption).Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-58720-0002 / Quaschinsky, Hans-Günter / CC BY-SA 3.0 de

So a sculpture made in the West went up, without its Prussian emblem, on a gate in the East. On 14 August 1961 the border closed the gate itself.

Who ordered the replica is told two ways. The Bundestag says West Berlin rebuilt the Quadriga while East Berlin restored the gate; the Humboldt Forum says Noack worked on commission from East Berlin.

A metal name plate reading Hermann Noack Bildgießerei on a wall.
The name plate of the Hermann Noack foundry, which made the replica in West Berlin, at its present works, 2013.Photo: Fridolin freudenfett (Peter Kuley), 2013. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0.

What Victoria held

The top of her staff, 1793 to today, on the same time scale

05Down and up again

After the Wall fell, the Quadriga was damaged again, and came back with its Iron Cross

The crowds celebrating on New Year’s Eve 1989/90 damaged the replica. It was taken down in 1990 and restored at the Museum für Verkehr und Technik, where it was unveiled on 7 July 1991, with Schinkel’s emblem back on the staff. It returned to the gate on 16 July 1991, after 33 years without the Iron Cross.

The Brandenburg Gate in colour with nothing on its top, and visitors in the foreground.
The gate without its Quadriga, 3 April 1991, while the replica was being restored.Photo: FkMohr, 1991. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0 de.
A close view of a crowned eagle with spread wings above a wreath enclosing an Iron Cross.
The Iron Cross in its wreath under the Prussian eagle, back on the staff, July 1991.Photo: Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F088693-0013 / Thurn, Joachim F. / CC BY-SA 3.0 de
The Quadriga standing at ground level in a hall, with Victoria holding a staff topped by an eagle.
7 July 1991: the restored Quadriga is unveiled at the Museum für Verkehr und Technik before going back on the gate (archive caption).Photo: Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F088693-0001 / Thurn, Joachim F. / CC BY-SA 3.0 de

06The whole span

Of its 233 years, the original stood on the gate for 144

Add up the record year by year and the replica has already been on the gate for 67 years. The rest is 8 years in Paris, 5 as a wreck, 8 with nothing there at all, and about one down for restoration.

Where the Quadriga spent its years, 1793–2026

Whole years, from the dates in the record; one scale for every bar

Of the chariot Schadow put on the gate, one horse’s head is left. Everything up there today was made in 1958, in the other half of a divided city.

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{{cite web |title=The Quadriga’s five journeys, 1793–today |url=https://berlinfographics.com/quadriga-five-journeys/ |website=Berlinfographics |publisher=Berlin Experiences |date=2026-11-09 |access-date=2026-11-09}}