Berlin REICHSTAG
Technically, the word Reichstag refers to the legislative assembly representing the people in the North German Confederation between 1867 and 1871, the German Empire between 1871 and 1919, and the sovereign assembly of the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1933. The Bundestag is the legislative assembly, which is elected by universal adult suffrage and elects the federal chancellor. The Reichstag Building or Reichstagsgebäude refers to the place where the assembly convened and the German government meets beginning 1999. It was opened in 1872 until being destroyed by the fire on February 27, 1933 which marked the end of the Weimar Democracy. After World War 2, the building wasn’t used because the parliament of the German Democratic Republic met in the Palace of the Republic in East Berlin and the parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany met in the Bundeshaus in Bonn.
After 183 designs have been submitted in the competition held for the Reichstag building design, it was Paul Wallot who was given the honor. He made an amazing neo-renaissance design 137 metres long and 97 metres wide. The construction of the building was started in 1884 and ended around 1894. It was financed using the wartime reparation money from France. After which, the well known bronze engraving 'Dem Deutschen Volke' which means ‘To the German People’ was added by Emperor Wilhelm II in 1916. The controversial fire that destroyed the building in 1933 is perhaps the most unfortunate event that happened to the building. It never became known who started the fire or whether the fire was deliberately started in the first place. Nevertheless, the communists were pointed as the culprits for that ill-fated event which gave way to Hitler and his party’s prominence which led NSDAP to great power.
As if the fire wasn’t enough, fate allowed the Soviets to bring more damage to the building at the end of the war. Germany’s defeat was even epitomized by the widely recognized image of the 20th century, the photo of a Red Army Soldier with a raised Soviet Flag on the Reichstag. Following the war, the Reichstag became part of West Berlin. A series of renovation followed after that, the building was renovated from 1958 to 1972 while the central dome and other embellishments were taken away. Germany’s reunification brought more positive changes, one of which was the transferring of the Bundestag from Bonn to Berlin. Another renovation followed suit between 1995 and 1999. The widely recognized and controversial glass dome design of Sir Norman Foster was added later.
The Reichstag became, once again, the center of the Bundestag from April 1999 up to the present. Visitors and tourists can visit certain parts of the building. For convenience, the building’s roof is accessible through an elevator and a curved pathway leads to the topmost part of the dome. The Reichstag Dome is one of the most interesting structures in Berlin as it provides a 360-degree view of the surroundings. Although, visitors must remember that a registration is needed before anybody will be allowed to enter.