Reichstag Building in Berlin

The Reichstag Building is located in Berlin, Germany, and was the German Empire’s first parliament building.

The building was opened in the year 1894, and resided the Reichstag until 1933 when Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist, set the building on fire. The building was severely damaged and was in ruins until reunification of Germany. The building was reconstructed under the supervision of Norman Foster, an internationally famous architect. The building construction was completed in 1999 and named “The Bundestag” and serves as a meeting place for the German Parliament.

History:
The original building construction began in the year1871. The parliament had been gathering in various buildings in Berlin, but there was not enough space for the parliament meetings. An architectural contest was held in the year 1872, where 103 architects participated and displayed several plans of the building. The work wasn’t started for 10 years due to the problems in purchasing the land and the disputes between Otto von Bismarck, Wilhelm I and Reichstag members about the construction methods.

Again, in the year 1882, an  architectural contest was held where 189 architects participated, finally Paul Wallot, Frankfurt architect stood as the winner and his plans were taken into consideration. The construction began in the year 1884 on June 4th and the building was completed in 1894. Several structural elements of the building were built of glass and steel. The building was known as one of the best engineering masterpieces of that period. In the year 1916, the words “Dem Deutschen Volke” which means “To the German People” was carved on the building’s main face.

In the year 1933 on the 27th February, the building was set on fire and for about 12 years the parliament sessions were not held here. During the time of World War II, the building was used for party line presentations by the military. The building was repaired after the fire accident, but later the building was severely damaged again by air bombings in Battle of Berlin in 1945.

There were several debates held about restoring the building and another architectural contest was even held. Paul Baumgarten stood as the winner and he reconstructed the Reichstag building in the between the years 1961-1964.

The German reunification was held on October 3rd, 1990, in the Reichstag building.  Parliament sessions were held on 20 June 1991 in the building as well. In the year 1991 a dome was added to the Reichstag building. Today, a number of people visit the Reichstag building so that they can view the Soviet graffiti on the smoky walls on the roofs.

Reichstag Building in Berlin