The Reichstag Building

Filed under: Travel

The Reichstag, the seat of the German Parliament, is one of Berlin’s most historic landmarks. It is close to the Brandenburger Tor and previous to the unification, it was right beside the wall.

After the establishment of the German Empire in 1872, there had been a necessity for a big parliamentary building in Berlin. Paul Wallot planned an majestic neo- renaissance building, 137m long and 97m wide ( 450×318 ft ).
The building was made between 1884 and 1894, mainly funded with wartime reparation money from France. The well-known inscription ‘Dem Deutschen Volke’ ( To the German folks ) was only added in 1916. It was to the discontent of Wilhelm II who had attempted to dam the adding of the inscription for its democratic significance. After World War I had finished and Wilhelm had abdicated, in the revolutionary days of 1918, Philipp Scheidemann announced the establishment of a republic from one of the balconies of the Reichstag building on 9 Nov. The building continued to be the seat of the parliament of the Weimar Republic ( 1919-1933 ), which was still called the Reichstag.

In 1933 fire broke out in the building, destroying much of the Reichstag. It is to date still unclear who started the fire, but the Communists were blamed. It gave a lift to Hitler’s Party, the NSDAP, who would soon come to power.

The building was damaged even more at the end of the war, when the Soviets entered Berlin. The picture of a Red armed forces Soldier raising the Soviet flag on the Reichstag is one of the most famed 20th century pictures and symbolized Germany’s defeat.

The central dome and most of the ornamentation were removed during the reconstruction after the war. After the unification the decision was made to move the Bundestag from Bonn back to Berlin.
Before reconstruction started, the Reichstag was wrapped by the North American artists Christo and his other half Jeanne-Claude in 1995, captivating millions of visitors. The project was financed by the artists through the sale of preparatory drawings and collages, as well as early works of the 1950s and 1960s.
in the reconstruction, the building was first just about completely gutted, taking out everything except the outer walls, including all changes made by Baumgarten in the 1960s. Although not undisputed for its lack of respect for the building’s original design and furniture, the reconstruction, finished in April 1999, is widely considered to be a hit. The Reichstag is one of the most visited attractions in Berlin, not least thanks to the huge glass dome that was erected on the roof as a gesture to the original 1894 cupola, giving a formidable view over the city, especially at night.
The design by Sir Norman Foster added a glass dome over the plenary hall. At first the topic of much controversy, the dome has changed into one of the city’s most recognized landmarks. Since April 1999, the Reichstag is once more the seat of the Bundestag. You may visit the Reichstag and walk all the way to the top of the dome.

The Reichstag dome is the giant glass dome at the very top of the building. The dome has a 360-degree outlook of the encompassing Berlin cityscape. The main hall of the congress below can also be seen from the cupola, and natural light from above pumps out down to the parliament floor. A large sun shield tracks the movement of the sun electronically and blocks direct sunlight which might bedazzle those below. Construction work was finished in 1999 and the seat of parliament was transferred to the Bundestag in April of that year. The dome is open to anyone with no prior registration, though the waiting queues can be very long, especially in summer.