Reichstag in Berlin: Landmark and home to democracy

The Reichstag dome, created by celebrated architect Sir Norman Foster, is a must-see for Berlin tourists. At the top, the view from a height of 40 meters (about 130 feet) stretches over the government quarter and Brandenburg Gate. The glass dome was the express wish of the Bundestag. The plenary hall sits just below, symbolically allowing the people to monitor their members of parliament.

Whether relaxing, demonstrating or guerrilla knitting (photo), the lawn in front of the Reichstag provides plenty of room for ideas and signals to the elected members of parliament who shape German politics. Since 1999, the Reichstag Building in the center of Berlin has been the seat of the German Bundestag.

The Reichstag has stood on the banks of the Spree since 1894. Architect Paul Wallot created this first German parliament building when there was still a monarchy: the emperor ruled, and deputies in parliament — the Reichstag — debated. At the behest of parliamentarians, the inscription "Dem deutschen Volke" ("For the German People") was emblazoned on the side of the building in 1916.

The second window balcony to the left of the main portal became the real cradle of parliamentary democracy on November 9, 1918: it was here that Social Democrat politician Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the republic when the German Empire collapsed.

The Reichstag Building burned down on February 27-28, 1933. Then Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler instrumentalized the fire to impose the Nazi dictatorship with terror and violence. Communist politician Marinus van der Lubbe was convicted of arson. From then on, the Reichstag Building stood empty. Only parts of the cellar were used by the Charite Clinic during World War II as a maternity ward.

From afar, the row of upright, black cast-iron slabs in front of the Reichstag Building are reminiscent of the narrow grave slabs of Jewish cemeteries. If you take a closer look, Dieter Appelt's artwork reveals the names, dates and places of death of those Reichstag deputies who were murdered by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945.

The Reichstag is not only a symbol for the beginning, but also for the end of Nazi rule. Autographs and messages from Soviet soldiers who occupied the Reichstag on May 2, 1945 are still on the walls. As a sign of victory, they hoisted the red flag on the roof of the Reichstag. This marked the end of World War II in Berlin.

This speech by Berlin Mayor Ernst Reuter in front of the ruins of the Reichstag Building, destroyed in the war, moved people. In 1948, Reuter appealed to the world not to surrender West Berlin to the Soviet Union. And he impressed the occupying Allied powers US, Great Britain and France. The result: the Berlin Airlift, which supplied West Berlin by plane for over a year.

When the Berlin Wall went up in 1961, the Reichstag was located in West Berlin, right on the border. Just behind, a tarmac strip now marks the course of the wall. To the south, the Spree River formed the second border to East Berlin. People repeatedly used the river to try to flee to the West. Since the 1970s, white crosses near the Reichstag have been a reminder of those who died in the attempt.

Following the opening of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, the parliament building was once again in the center of Berlin. Four months later, excavators arrived to demolish the wall at the Reichstag. From October 2 to 3, 1990, hundreds of thousands of people euphorically celebrated German reunification in front of the Reichstag Building.

Ninety climbers, 100,000 square meters of silvery tarpaulins and 5 million enchanted visitors — the wrapping of the Reichstag Building in the summer of 1995 is considered the most spectacular work by artist couple Christo and Jeanne-Claude. From then on everything seemed possible, including the choice to once again make the Reichstag the seat of a democratically elected German parliament.

During a four-year conversion period, architect Norman Foster gave the Reichstag Building not only a modern interior, but also its spectacular dome. The Reichstag has been Germany's official seat of parliament since September 1999. Here, members of parliament discuss and decide on the political future of Germany in the presence of thousands of visitors in the upper galleries.