First conceived in 1985 and unveiled by the husband-and-wife sculpting team of Brigitte Matschinsky-Denninghoff and Martin Matschinsky in 1987,[1] the sculpture's principal motif, a "broken chain", was meant to symbolize the severed connections between West and East Berlin due to the construction of the Berlin Wall.

[2] After the Wall was dismantled, the sculpture was bought by the city from Matschinsky-Denninghoff to commemorate this period in German history.

[2] The Matschinsky-Denninghoffs chose the Tauentzienstraße in front of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, which was heavily damaged during the Bombing of Berlin in World War II, as the place to build and unveil their sculpture.

[2] The surface of the tubes are covered by chrome nickel steel, which can darken or shine depending on the time of day.

Our sculpture is specifically designed as a big, 'organically grown' gate, forming a double arch which is not just necessary and practical, [but an] invigorating emphasis...we are trying to communicate something of Berlin's situation in a symbolic way.