The previously unnamed square received the name "Frankfurter Tor" on 8 November 1957 in the course of its reconstruction after
World War II. The designation recalls both the historic city gate of the
Berlin Customs Wall, providing access to the road to the city of
Frankfurt (Oder), as well as two former street names, Große Frankfurter Straße and Frankfurter Allee, for the
Wilhelmine east–west axis of the major intersection at this location. The original location of the gate, however, was approximately west of today's Frankfurter Tor intersection, near
Weberwiese station. The densely built-up area was largely destroyed by the
bombing of Berlin in World War II and the
Battle of Berlin in 1945. Both Große Frankfurter Straße and Frankfurter Allee were renamed Stalinallee in 1949 in honor of the Soviet leader. In a clandestine operation in 1961 after Stalin's personality cult had been denounced by the Soviet Union the western portion of Stalinallee, the former Große Frankfurter Straße, was given the name Karl-Marx-Allee, and the eastern portion received back its former name, Frankfurter Allee. The prominent twin towers on the western side of the square, significant examples of the Stalinist architectural style, were built between 1953 and 1956 as part of the
socialist Stalinallee ensemble according to plans designed by
Hermann Henselmann. and the
Fernsehturm (2005) Their architecture evokes the idea of a city entrance (thus the designation "Tor", gate, gateway), because the height of their domed towers and their location form a prominent beginning for today's Karl-Marx-Allee, once the imposing western portion of Stalinallee. The tops of the two towers are in the style of the domes designed by
Carl von Gontard for
Gendarmenmarkt. The buildings, square and street intersection at Frankfurter Tor are a listed ensemble, protected for its historic relevance. ==Gallery==