Portal:Berlin/Article of the month/June

The Reichstag

The Reichstag is an historic edifice in Berlin, Germany, built to house the Imperial Diet, of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Diet until 1933, when it was severely damaged after being set on fire. After World War II, the building fell into disuse; the parliament of the German Democratic Republic met in the Palast der Republik in East Berlin, while the parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany met in the Bundeshaus in Bonn.

The Reichstag was made safe and partially refurbished in the 1960s, but no attempt at full restoration was made until after German reunification in 1990, when it was reconstructed under architect Norman Foster. After its completion in 1999, it once again became the meeting place of the German parliament: the modern Bundestag.

The term Reichstag, connoting a diet, dates back to the Holy Roman Empire. The building was built for the Diet of the German Empire, which was succeeded by the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic. The latter became the Reichstag of Nazi Germany, which left the building (and ceased to act as a parliament) after the 1933 fire and never returned; the term Reichstag has not been used by German parliaments since World War II. In modern usage, Reichstag usually refers to the building, while Bundestag refers to the institution. → more...