At the heart of the Tiergarten, this is the traditional home of the German parliament, where on the October 2, 1990, East and West Germany where reunited. Largely abandoned during the years of separation, thanks to a facelift from British architect Lord Norman Foster, it is now once again the home of the German Parliament and also the city’s biggest tourist attraction.
The foundation stone for architect Paul Wallot’s Reichstag Building was laid on the June 9, 1884, as construction began on the new home of the Parliament of the German Empire. Construction work took a decade to complete, and the magnificent façade with its giant inscription, "Dem Deutscher Volke" ("For the German People"), has become a symbol of German nationhood. So much so that it was from the balcony here on June 9, 1918, following the collapse of the empire at the end of WWI, that Philipp Scheidermann of the SPD proclaimed the Republic. Fire ravaged the building on February 27, 1933, supposedly the work of a Dutch communist; Hitler used this as an excuse to seize totalitarian powers. The building was in ruins at the end of the war and the construction of the Berlin Wall alongside it on August 13, 1961 sealed its fate for the next 30 years. Following reunification, the decision was made to move the parliament, and on June 23, 1995, the building was wrapped by French artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude to drum up public support. After which Foster set to work on reconstruction, ceremonially handing over the key to Wolfgang Thierse, President of the Bundestag, on April 19, 1999.
The heart of the building is the Plenary Chamber where the Parliament sits; the room is transparent on all sides, giving unparalleled views of the inner workings of government to all visitors. An enormous engraved eagle seemingly floats in space, flanked by the flags of Germany and the EU, below which on a raised platform sits the President of the Bundestag, who runs the proceedings. To his right sits the Federal Government, headed by the Chancellor, and to his left the Bundesrat (upper house). In front of him is the speaker’s podium and stenographers, around which are spread elliptically the elected members of the Bundestag (lower house). The whole thing is capped by Foster’s magnificent dome, which replaces the cupola torn down at the end of WWII. This extraordinary feat of modern engineering in glass and steel, provides light and ventilation to the chamber below and magnificent views across Berlin to the visitors above. Other works of art to look out for include German artist Gerhard Richter’s curious elongated glass flag and American artist Jenny Holzer’s speech quoting column.
The dome is open to visitors daily from 8am to midnight and admission is free, but security is, unsurprisingly, tight, and Germans, it must be remembered, have no sense of humour, as my rather glib response to the guard’s question "What have you got in your water bottle?" quickly proved.