• The Brandenburg Gate is an icon of the city of Berlin.Brandenburger Tor image by jnderblue from Fotolia.com
  
  From the days of the Roman Empire to the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany has featured prominently in many important historical events with global implications. Germany's many monuments, among them some of the most impressive castles and cathedrals in the world, bear testament to the country's long political and religious history.
  
  

Brandenburg Gate

• The Brandenburg Gate is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Berlin, the capital of Germany. Carl Gotthard Langhans designed and built the gate between 1789 and 1791. The iconic monument, the only surviving gate of the 14 that were erected in the eighteenth century, is modeled on the Propylaea, the entrance to the ancient Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Like the Propylaea, 12 Doric columns constitute the Brandenburg Gate. Atop the structure is a statue of a goddess riding a chariot led by four horses.
  
  In 1806, during the Napoleonic wars, French emperor Napoleon took the statue with him to Paris as a spoil of war. When the statue returned to Berlin in 1814, an iron cross replaced the original oak wreath on the statue's scepter. The goddess, which had originally meant to be a symbol of peace, became instead of a symbol of victory. The Brandenburg Gate survived the bombings of World War II but was severely damaged. It was restored between 1957 and 1958. The gate was inaccessible between 1961 and 1989 as it was blocked off by the Berlin wall.
  
  

Wartburg Castle

• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared Wartburg Castle in the city of Eisenach a World Heritage site in 1999 on account of its association with the feudal period in Europe and several important historical figures. According to popular lore, the construction of Wartburg Castle began in 1067. The oldest remaining section of the original castle is the Great Hall, which was built between 1155 and 1170 to house the counts of Thuringia. The Great Hall is a prime example of Romanesque architecture. St. Elizabeth called Wartburg Castle home from 1211 to 1228. In 1521, Martin Luther, the main figure of the Protestant Reformation, translated the New Testament to German for the first time at Wartburg Castle after being excommunicated by the pope. He worked in the bailiff's lodge in a room now known as the Luther Room. The castle underwent significant renovations in the eighteenth century and again between 1952 and 1954.
  
  

Cologne Cathedral

• The construction of Cologne Cathedral, a Roman Catholic church in the city of Cologne, began in 1248 and was not completed until 1880. It was built using various kinds of stones transported from around Germany. The cathedral is considered a masterpiece of Gothic architecture and since 1996 has been a UNESCO World Heritage site. Currently the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne, the cathedral withstood multiple aerial bomb hits during World War II and subsequently underwent significant reconstruction.