The Reichstag or Diet of the Realm opened in 1894 to house the Imperial Diet. It could not have been used further than 1933 due to a fire and the preceding dictatorial rule by the Nazi party. It was only after the German reunification that the Reichstag underwent massive reconstruction and rebuilding. Since 1999 the building has again become the seat of the German Parliament and Bundestag. This historical edifice is situated in the German capital city of Berlin and is a massive tourist attraction.
History
There are also some stories around the building which has today taken an almost mythical turn. For instance, Kaiser Wilhelm I while laying the foundation stones of the building, he had to make three attempts in that regard. The tool for digging in-fact cracked and nor did Wilhelm I appreciate the plans of the building. This was not taken as a good sign but they anyway continued with the construction process. It took ten years to complete the structure and to Wilhelm II’s (the grandson of Wilhelm I) regret, the dome did tower over the City Castle. He was enraged and referred Reichstag as the Reich’s monkey house.
As per the etymological roots of Reichstag, it translates into ‘imperial parliament’ and also as a reference to the very building it is housed within. Thereon from being home to the various governing bodies of Germany, it had also witnessed the Prussian in 1867 and then the German legislative bodies today. The official name of the building is das Reichstagsgebäude and also caters to the Bundestag. With the transition in Germany in 1999, when Berlin officially became the capital city, the Bundestag (Federal Diet) or the constitutional and the legislative body of the federal level moved from Bonn to Berlin.
Though, the building has often been popularly regarded to reminisce over the Nazi past and also over the Weimer Republic of Germany. Some crucial and fascinating history is missed out due to the overwhelming notions of the past and popular culture. The building in-fact speaks volumes of the various political dramas and numerous clashes between monarchic, dictatorial and democratic governments of Germany. It first began to be used in 1894 and functioned as the seat of the government till it was burnt down in 1933. Furthermore, across history the Reichstage have been three in number.
The first Reichstag existed during the era of Charlemagne and worked in close association with the Holy Roman Empire. It was in-fact a composition of a range of governing bodies at that time which in the beginning were not particularly formal structures. Later on it was only in 1489 when officially Reichstag was constituted in Regensburg. The assembly would meet perpetually in different cities and was able to preside till 1663. Moreover, it is also important to understand that there was no regional unity then and the many Germanic regions were actually under the control of many dukes and small kings. In 1871 Deutsches Reich or the German Empire came into existence and thereon after a little wait of another twenty three years certain permanence was brought forward in terms of management of the empire. Therefore permanent buildings and official chambers were constituted.
The second Reichstag was realised first in 1806 with the fall of the old empire and remained in operation till 1867 post which the North German Confederation was founded. It was expanded and reinstated in 1871 and held its grounds till the end of the Second World War, in 1945. In Berlin Reichstag was first located in the Prussian House of Lords or Preußische Herrenhaus, furthermore, today you will find it housing the Federal Council (Bundesrat).
As the German Empire was taking its first breath sometime in 1871, brand new plans for an expanded parliament building began to be drawn by Paul Wallot. He had introduced chambers for both the lower (Reichstag) and the upper (Bundesrat/Reichsrat) houses. It took a little while but it was completed on the 5th of December 1894. The building turned out to be a state of the art marvel. So much so that it was equipped with a centrally temperature control and heating mechanism along with the usual reading rooms, conference halls and libraries. The legislator’s office spaces were appreciated quite a bit. On the gate of the building you can find: DEM DEUTSCHEN VOLKE (To the German People) inscribed.
Reichstag the third came along at the time when the monarchy was collapsing and of the First World War. It was known as the Weimer Republic which was Germany’s attempt to a democratic republic. Though, it was not very successful due to regional and international conditions. Moreover, the year was 1933 and it was the 27th of February when Reichstag was completely obliterated in a fire. The source of the fire yet remains unclear but as per many speculative theories, the Nazi party was to be blamed, as it was the very next month, on the 23rd of March when official power was ceded to Nazi dictatorship.
With the end of the Second World War the Berlin Wall was erected and the wall passed almost through the building. Bonn was to become the governing capital of West Germany and thus Reichstag could not be used thereon.
An interesting anecdote emerged during the Berlin Blockade when a huge crowd comprising of people from West Berlin congregated in-front of the building on 9th September 1948. Ernst Reuter, the Mayor conducted a speech which famously ended with: Ihr Völker der Welt, schaut auf diese Stadt! (You peoples of the world, look upon this city!). It can be understood as a cry for recognition of the glorious Germanic past.
Furthermore, it was in 1955 when the Bundestag decided to renovate and preserve the building. The job of rejuvenation was given to Paul Baumgarten and the task was performed from 1961 to 1964. In 1971 the museum carried an interesting exhibit which was called Fragen an die Deutsche Geschichte or Questions concerning German history. However, the building came to use only after the German unification in 1990. It was in-fact in 1992 that the famous architect Norman Foster won the contract for the reconstruction project. In 1995 Reichstag was wrapped by the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Reichstag was on display for two weeks and attracted a lot of global attention, millions visited the site. Moreover, both the artists manged to finance this entirely on their own by selling preparatory drawings, models and collages of their works.
Architecture
Initially there were a lot of issues concerning the external shape of the building, especially the location of the dome. In-fact a consensus was never reached to centrally locate the stony dome but was rather forced upon the architects by the company. Later on when Hermann Zimmermann took the charge, a solution was achieved by reducing the height of the dome. Though, despite this change it still managed to dwarf the Berlin City Palace.
Paul Wallot in his designs of the building had incorporated inspirations from a combination of Italian High Renaissance along with German Renaissance and also with the tendencies of neo-Baroque, and finally the modern steel and glass structures. The result was definitely fascinating and new, but regrettably, it did not get much appreciation.
Furthermore, the building was designed in complete consonance with the technologies of the time. There was a dedicated power house which provided electricity to the building. It was also needed for the heating and cooling systems, electric fans, double windows, telephones, flush toilets, and others. The library was well spaced for over 300,000 volumes, but as is said, there were only 90,000 volumes in stock. The archives on the other hand had managed to store considerable amount of documents and ingenious pneumatics.
The interior designing team comprised of a lot of people. Eugen Bracht and Franz Stuck were invited especially to provide their expertise of jewellery shapes. Most of the rooms in the building were constructed in such a manner that they ran in line with the larger historicist design. The furniture’s and fixtures were stylised taking que from German Renaissance of the 16th and 17th centuries.
When it was being reconstructed a lot of salvaging work had to be done so that some of the authentic design could be reproduced. It was mandated to the new architects that they need to respect and revive the distorted historical heritage pieces from the building. A new building was constructed in place of the older one; moreover, both the north and south wings were retro fit along with heritage furnishings. The designers used a new more developed colour concept so that the building appears to be brighter and clearer. The newly designed dome which later became the hallmark attraction measures 38 meters in diameter and 23.5 meters in height, it is supported by a massive 800 ton steel skeletal structure. A total of 3000 square meters worth of glass was used. This glass structure weighed almost 240 tonnes. This magnificent dome is quite an eye catcher, so much so that it receives a footfall of nearly 8000 visitors per day.
When visiting
It is said that to experience the effects of the architecture and the design of any building a certain time of the day has to be chosen for the best effect. With the Reichstag there isn’t any such choice to be made. As a matter of fact the building looks fascinatingly gorgeous at every hour of the day.
These days before visiting the building complex you will have to make bookings online (via email) due to certain security concerns, unless otherwise you are just passing by, then one absolute glance would be enough to mesmerise you. Moreover, if you land up reservations then you can go on and visit the dome and the upper terrace along with the Bundestag. There are also tour guides available on hire who are well versed in the desired subject knowledge and interesting anecdotal references.
The dome provides the visitors with a 360-degree view of Berlin’s cityscape. Due to this large glass structure of the dome light seems to radiate down to the parliament houses below. There is a sunshield mechanism which electronically prevents direct sunlight from entering the building, otherwise due to which people would be dazed and confused.
The Reichstag houses many art pieces as well. To mention a few:
- Paintings by Katharina Sieverding: These are memorial for those who were killed by the Nazis and can be found in the Member’s Lobby.
- Glass panels: Sigmar Polke and Gerhard Richter are credited for installing 21 meters in glass panels in yellows of ambiguous variations to the German national colours, and in black and red.
- A stele: It was designed and installed by Jenny Holzer in the northern entrance hall. It denotes speeches by noted parliamentarians between 1871 and 1992.
- Paintings by Caspar David Friedrich: These are paintings with motifs which were installed by George Baselitz.
- Time and Life: It is a paining which was donated by Hans Haacke, et cetera.
In addition to all of these and if your luck is in favour the tour guides just might direct you towards the secret tunnels which connect the Reichstag with the Presidential Palace. These tunnels were discovered during the reconstruction process and now a portion of these tunnels operate as a pedestrian passage way.
Opening hours
The Dome: 8 am to mid night.
Note: Last admission in the dome ends at 11:00 pm. Also, cameras are allowed only after a strict screening process. There are eateries on the ground floor of the dome and a roof-top diner.
What else is around?
- Memorial to the SInti and Roma Murdered under the National Socialist Regime
- Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor)
- SANDEMANs NEW Berlin Tours
- Pariser Platz
- The Holocaust Memorial – Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
- Tiergarten
- Madame Tussauds
- Brewer’s Berlin Tours
- Palace of Tears
- Berlin Philharmonic
- Friedrichstadt-Palast
- Axica