Cold War
When the Cold War emerged, the building was within West Berlin, but only a few meters from the border of East Berlin, which in 1961 was closed by the Berlin Wall. During the Berlin blockade, an enormous number of West Berliners assembled before the building on September 9, 1948, and Mayor Ernst Reuter held a famous speech that finalized in the call, Ihr Völker der Welt, schaut auf diese Stadt! (Peoples of the world, look upon this city!)
After the war, the building was pretty much a ruin. In addition, there was no real use for it, since the capital of West Germany had been moved to Bonn in 1949. Still, in 1956, after some debate, it was decided that the Reichstag should not be taken down, but instead be restored. Unfortunately, the cupola of the original building, which had also been heavily damaged in the war, was demolished. Another architectual contest was held, and the winner, Paul Baumgarten, reconstructed the building from 1961-1964. The artistic and practical value of his work was the subject of much debate after German reunification. Due to the provisions set forth for Berlin by the Allies in the 1971 Vier-Mächte-Abkommen, the Bundestag, the parliament of West Germany of that time, was not allowed to assemble formally in West Berlin (even though East Germany was in violation of this provision since it had declared East Berlin its capital anyway). Until 1990, the building was thus used only for occasional representative meetings and for a widely lauded permanent exhibition about German history called Fragen an die deutsche Geschichte (Questions to German history).
Related Travel Information
The victory column (in German: Siegessäule) is one of the more famous sights of Berlin. Originally designed by Heinrich Strack after 1864 to commemorate the victory of Prussia in the Danish-Prussian war, by the time it was inaugurated on 2 September 1873, Prussia had also defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War and France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870/1871), giving the statue a new purpose. Different from the original plans, these later victories inspired the addition of the bronze sculpture of Victoria of 8.3 meters height and 35 metric tons of weight, designed by Friedrich Drake. Berliners, with their fondness for
The Reichsbank was one of the central banks of Germany.
It was founded on 1st January 1876 - shortly after the initial unification of Germany in 1871. The Reichsbank was founded by the take over of the central bank of Prussia. Its first president was Herrmann von Dechend.
Before the unification in 1871 Germany had 31 central banks - the Notenbanken (note banks). Each of the independent states issued their own money. In 1870 a law was passed that forbid the formation of further central banks. In 1874 a banking law was put in front of the Reichstag (the German parliament). After
Museum fùr Kommunikation Berlin (Museum for Communication)
This magnificent building in Leipziger Straße has been extensively renovated and has re-opened in 2000. It contains the united collections from east and west. In the basement you can admire the Blue Mauritius and Bell’s first telephone. The architecture of this builing is worth a visit alone. Admission free
The Rathaus Schöneberg is the city hall for the Borough of Schöneberg in Berlin. It was constructed between 1911-1914 for Schöneberg, at that time an independent city not yet incorporated into Berlin. After World War II, with Berlin divided, the Rote Rathaus (Red City Hall), the traditional seat of the Berlin government, was off limits to West Berlin. As a 'temporary' measure the Rathaus Schöneberg on Rudolph-Wilde-Platz became the city hall for West Berlin. After the re-unification, the Rote Rathaus has been once again the city hall for a united Berlin.
Rathaus Schöneberg on Rudolph-Wilde-Platz is the location where US President
The Berlin exhibition of a larger collection owned by Mr. and Ms. Hoffmann, housed here since 1998 in its own specially restored building complex. The main focus is on West European and American art in various media. The exhibition covers Western European and North American works of art in the most different media, raises thereby however no musealen requirement, but shows, how one lives and works with and in contemporary art. In each case in the summer those of hoping man change their installations.
Connection: U Weinmeisterstr.
Address: Sophie-Gipshofe (between Sophienstr. and Gipsstr.), Berlin-Mitte
Openings: Sat 1 1am -5pm, by
