The Berlin Reichstag

The Reichstag, the seat of the German Parliament, is one of Berlin’s most historical attractions. It is not far off the Brandenburger Tor and previous to the unification, it was right next to the wall. With its central location there are many Ferienwohnungen Berlin around.

After the founding of the German Empire in 1872, there was a need 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, principally financed with wartime reparation cash from France. The well-known words ‘Dem Deutschen Volke’ ( To the German folks ) was just added in 1916. It was to the discontent of Wilhelm II who had attempted to block the adding of the inscription for its democratic importance. After World War I had ended and Wilhelm had surrendered, in the revolutionary days of 1918, Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the establishment of a republic from one of the balconies of the Reichstag building on 9 November. 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 lots of the Reichstag. It is to date still confusing 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 military Soldier raising the Soviet flag on the Reichstag is one of the most famous 20th century pictures and designated Germany’s defeat.

The central dome and the majority of the ornamentation were removed during the reconstruction after the war. After the unification the choice was made to move the Bundestag from Bonn back to Berlin.
Before reconstruction commenced, the Reichstag was wrapped by the american artists Christo and his spouse Jeanne-Claude in 1995, tempting 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.
during the reconstruction, the building was first almost completely gutted, taking out everything except the outer walls, including all changes made by Baumgarten in the 1960s. Though not undisputed for its shortage of respect for the building’s original design and furniture, the reconstruction, finished in Apr 1999, is widely regarded as a hit. The Reichstag is one of the most visited attractions in Berlin, not least due to the enormous glass dome that was erected on the roof as a gesture to the original 1894 cupola, giving aformidable view over the town, especially at night.
The design by Sir Norman Foster added a glass dome over the plenary hall. At first the topic of much squabble, the dome has become one of the town’s most recognized landmarks. Since Apr 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 massive glass dome at the top of the building. The dome has a 360-degree view of the encompassing Berlin cityscape. The main hall of the parliament below can also be seen from the cupola, and natural light from above pumps out down to the parliament floor. Abig 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 moved to the Bundestag in Apr of that year. The dome is open to anyone with no prior registration, though the waiting queues can be very long, particularly in summer. The best is to go there very early from your Berlin Ferienwohnung