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Trip ideas  /  4 days of wall art and late nights in Berlin  /  Reichstag Building
Reichstag Building, Berlin, Berlin
Historic site · Berlin, Berlin

Reichstag Building

A foundation stone in 1884.Four towers for four kingdoms.A line added in 1916.A glass dome since 1999.

Photo: Ansgar Koreng, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons

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1884

Four corner towers stood for the four kingdoms of the German Empire

The Neo-Renaissance building was built between 1884 and 1894 to plans by Paul Wallot. Wilhelm I laid the foundation stone on 9 June 1884. The four corner towers represented the four German kingdoms at unification: Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg.

1916

The words To the German People were added over Wilhelm II's objection

In 1916 the words Dem deutschen Volke, To the German People, were placed above the main facade, much to the displeasure of Wilhelm II, who had tried to block the inscription because of its democratic significance.

1933

The fire of 1933 ended its use as a parliament

Severe damage in the Reichstag fire of 1933 prevented further use, and the parliament moved to the nearby Kroll Opera House. The fire was a pivotal event in the entrenchment of the Nazi regime. Its symbolism made it an important target for the Red Army during the Battle of Berlin.

Foster

From 1995 to 1999 Norman Foster remade it for a reunited Germany

From 1995 to 1999 the Reichstag was fundamentally redesigned by Norman Foster for permanent use as a parliament building in the reunified Germany. The keys were ceremonially handed over to the Bundestag's president on 19 April 1999. A landmark is the walk-in glass dome above the plenary chamber.

Day 1, afternoon

It comes after Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Then Tiergarten.

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The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Reichstag building, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.

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