Reichstag building and seat of government in Berlin
The
Reichstag building
was designed by
1884
bis
1894
built
The architect of the
Reichstag building
is
Paul Wallot
(born June 26, 1841, † 1912)
been
Germany's
official seat of government
has been
in the
Reichstag building
again
since
1999/2000
The
Reichstag building
in
Berlin
has been
in
the
Tiergarten
district of
Berlin
for over
130
years
and is now not only the seat of government, but also a popular tourist magnet.
The exact address of the Bundestag is Platz der Republik 1 in Berlin-Mitte.
In
2019
alone
, over
8,000
visitors came to the
Reichstag building
every day
.
Many of them visit only the imposing dome, daily from
8
bis
24
is opened clock.
The
dome
is via a ramp from the roof terrace
open to the public after prior registration.
There is also the option of
booking
tours of the
German Bundestag
or listening to a plenary session.
There are also guided tours that deal with art and architecture or the history of
parliament
.
Due to the strong demand and limited capacities, early registration is recommended.
There are also guided tours in
English
for guests from abroad
.
Furthermore, there are
always changing art exhibitions
in the
German Bundestag
in which artists present their works.
Reichstag building in Berlin Reichstag fire and consequences
On February
28, 1933
, there was a fire in the
Reichstag building
.
The real background has not yet been clarified.
However, the fact is that the fire was based on arson.
Above all, the then aspiring
NSDAP
used the fire for their own purposes, thus paving the way for a
National Socialist dictatorship
.
On February
28,
immediately after the events, the
“Ordinance of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State” was issued.
Reichstag building, communist Marinus Lubbe is held responsible for the fire
The ordinance made a kind of
“state of emergency” possible
and opposition members were also dealt with with the utmost severity.
Shortly after the fire of were mainly Communists and deputies
KPD
and
the Social Democrats
and
left-wing intellectuals
of the police and
Sturmabteilung
of
NDSDAP
detained and arrested.
Due to the overcrowding of the prisons,
temporary concentration camps
were set up by the
Sturmabteilung
.
The Dutch communist
Marinus von der Lubbe
(born January 13, 1909, † 1934) was
charged and made responsible for the fire
.
Although the crime could never be solved, it came on
December 23,
1934
to the conviction and use of the death penalty.
Reichstag building storming and end of National Socialism
In
May 1945
, at the end of the
Second World War
, fierce fighting broke out in
Berlin.
After heavy fighting, the building was
towered and taken
by
Soviet
soldiers.
Finally the
Soviet
flag was hoisted over the Reichstag.
The
Soviet
photographer
Yevgeny Chaldej
(* 23 March 1917, † 1997) captured this scene with his camera.
The photo taken symbolizes the end of the
Second World War
and is one of the most important visual documents in contemporary history.
Reichstag building in Berlin interesting facts
The footprint of the entire building is
more than 13,000 square meters
There
is currently
space for
709
members in the
plenary hall of the
Bundestag
The
Reichstag building
has three towers, which are always flagged with the federal flag and the European flag
The subsequently created
glass
dome
with a height of
23.5 meters
is particularly popular with tourists
Two opposing ramps in the
dome
lead to the viewing platform.
The viewing platform above the
glass dome
measures over
200 square meters
To the east of the dome is the
roof garden restaurant
Reichstag building in the post-war period and during the division of Germany
Large parts of
Berlin's
urban area were completely destroyed
by the numerous bombing raids by the
Allies
at the end of the
Second World War
.
The
dome of
the
Reichstag
was also badly damaged, so that the controlled demolition of the
dome
finally became
necessary.
The other parts of the building were also badly damaged, so that provisional safeguards were made to avoid endangering passers-by.
In
1955 it
was finally decided to rebuild the
Reichstag
.
In
1971
the decision was finally made that
due to the eventful past, no more plenary sessions should be held
in the
Reichstag building
.
At the time, the restored building housed a
British museum
that
educated and informed
visitors about
Berlin's history
.
The
Reichstag
was at that time also directly at the
inner-German
border within sight of the
Berlin Wall
.
Reichstag building in Berlin after reunification
Immediately after the official
reunification of Germany
,
the first
German Bundestag session took
place on
October 4th
,
which was again held in the
Reichstag building
.
A few months later, in the so-called
capital city
resolution, a
narrow majority
decided
to move the
seat of government back to
Berlin
in the course of reunification
.
Many years before that, the parliament of the
Federal Republic of Germany was located
in the so-called
Bundeshaus
in
Bonn
.
All plenary sessions of the
German Bundestag
took
place there from
1949
to
1999/2000
.
The last session of the
German Bundestag
in
Bonn
took place on
July 1, 1999
.
To this day, however, some
ministries
still have their first official headquarters in
Bonn
.
These include the
Federal Ministry of Health
and the
Ministries of the Environment and Defense.
Reichstag building in Berlin from 2000 until today
Today the
Reichstag building
offers
over
11,000
meters of
usable space, which is used intensively for the smooth running of
federal politics
.
In addition to the generously designed plenary hall, the building has offices and reception rooms for the
Federal President
on the second floor of the building
.
There is also a meeting room for the
council of elders
and
numerous rooms are
also available for those involved in
parliamentary operations
.
The parliamentary groups' offices and meeting rooms are also located on the third floor of the building.
There are often statements from the MPs in front of the journalists present during the session.
The center of the
Reichstag building
, however, is the plenum, which is therefore also in the middle of the building.
This is where the heart of
democracy
beats
and decisions are made visible to the public in debates.
The
elections for
the
Federal Assembly also
take place in the
plenary hall
.
This comes together every five years for the
election of the Federal President
.
The members of the
German Bundestag
, on the other hand, are elected directly by the people every four years.
Reichstag building architecture and special features
The
Reichstag building
combines the historical with the modern, but today it stands for progress and cosmopolitanism.
The roof terrace is particularly impressive, from where the striking glass dome can be visited.
A funnel-shaped light control element, a so-called
cone,
ensures that dimmed daylight is directed into the plenary hall, which is about ten meters below.
The light is redirected via
30
rows of
mirrors,
each with
12
mirrors.
Thus, a total of
360 individual
mirrors reflect
the sunlight.
If the sunlight is too strong, it is possible to darken the mirror facing the sunny side with the help of a sun protection element.
Reichstag building and work of Norman Foster
The striking glass dome of the
Reichstag building was designed
by the architect
Norman Foster
(born June 1, 1935),
who designed a structure made of steel and glass with engineers.
The
dome of
the Reichstag consists of more than
24
main steel ribs that rest on a ring support and
extend
downwards.
In
addition, over
3,000
square meters of glass were processed
in the
dome
.
The diameter of the
dome
is
40 meters.
Above the
dome
there is
a viewing platform at a height of
40.7 meters
, which is particularly popular with tourists.
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