The nearly overgrown gate. Still standing years later.
The Brandenburg Gate is a famous 18th century neoclassical monument in Berlin, Germany, which was built in 1791 during the Batavian Revolution. It stands as a symbol of not just the history between Germany and Europe but of its unity as well. During the Cold War, the Brandenburg Gate was restored by the Soviets and made as a border between East and West Germany, which the wall had passed right through the gate, making it the last remnant of the Berlin Wall still standing. Without people, how long can the famed gate stand as the former border of two lands?
Timeline[]
1 Year After People[]
Nobody visits the gate but the few animals that wander around the empty city, looking for food and maybe a new shelter. The quadriga on top depicts of four horses driving a chariot, on it, Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory is at the reins. However, in a life after people, not even the goddess of victory can guarantee the gate's longevity against the mighty forces of nature.
25 Years After People[]
As the streets of Berlin turn green from the rooting of trees, bushes and grass, the Brandenburg Gate still stands well, but the statue isn't faring so good. The staff that Victoria holds has rusted from the rainstorms and moisture that it had faced without paint or any cleaning. Now, the staff snaps off of the statue, the start of the decomposition of the entirety of the gate itself. The goddess of victory is powerless against her inevitable fate.
100 Years After People[]
Many of Berlin's structures have collapsed, such as buildings and weak hotels, along with some schools around as well. However, among most of the ruins of the city, the Brandenburg Gate still stands, although suffering from nature's wrath as well. A majority of the Doric columns are now covered in vines, moss, and plants, slowly forming in the cracks of the structure. On top, having rusted and deteriorated after a century, the statue of Victoria nearing the end of her life. The details long disappeared, the horses and the chariot have also fallen apart, and within a few minutes, the crumbling statue breaks and falls to the ground, which is now simply grass and bushes, the concrete below barely visible in what was once Berlin.
450 Years After People[]
Over the past 450 years without people to take care of Berlin, the entirety of the city has collapsed and fallen into the hands of nature, like they had when the Soviets and Allies took over after WWII. What remains of Berlin is mostly nothing but a large forest, yet one structure still stands out in the midst of it all. Still bearing the scars and memories of even the Berlin Wall, the Brandenburg Gate is the last structure of the city left standing. Having held out this long, thanks to its neoclassical style and Doric columns, the gate has dealt various bits of damage over the years. Now, the cracked and ruined façade of the gate has reached its breaking point. As the Doric columns snap open and fall, the top of the gate can no longer hold on, and falls onto the rest of the pillars below. The final piece of Berlin has fallen to nature and now, nothing is left. Nature has torn this wall down.