Reichstag Building

This is, as I'm sure you know, the Reichstag Building here in Berlin. The Reichstag was designed as a home to the parliament of the German Empire and was opened in 1894. It was used by the parliament of the German Empire until 1918, after which it was used by the Weimar Republis until 1933.

The Thrid Reich had no parliament, so the building remained empty and derelict until after German reunification.

(It was a much crappier first day - lots of fog and grey - I took many more pictures the second day).

In 1933 it was severly damaged in a fire supposedly set by Dutch communist Marinus van der Lubbe, although he has been since posthumously pardoned for the crime.

The fire has a story behind it, too. It was an arson attack on the Reichstag building on Feb 27 1933. The fire started in the session chamber, and by the time the police and firefighters had arrived, the main chamber of Deputies was engulfed by flames. Inside the building Marinus van der Lubbe was found. He was a Dutch communist, and the fire was used as evidence by the Nazis that teh Communists were beginning a plot against the German government. Adolf Hitler, who had been sworn in as Chancellor of Germany only 4 weeks before, urged the President to pass an emergency decree, suspending civil liberties. With these liberties suspended, the government instituted mass arrests of Communists, including all the parliamentary delegates. With them gone and their seats empty, the Naxis became a majority party; subsequent elections confirmed this position and thus allowed Hitler to consolidate his power.

After the WW2 and the Cold War, the building lay essentially in ruins. During the reconstruction of the building it was almost completely gutted, removing all by the outer walls. The glass dome on top of the building has also been reconstructed, giving visitors a lovely (although foggy in my case) view of Berlin.

The main hall of the parliament below and be seen from the dome, and mirrors reflect natural light into the hall. A large sun shield tracks the movement of the sun electronically and blocks direct sunlight which might glare at those beflow.

This picture is of the mirrors reflecting into the purple seats of parliament below, if you were confused.

Usually the land that spans the front of the building is grassy. In my case, it was soggy and swampy. Although in this picture you can see the glass dome better.

I like this picture because the moon is in it.

I sat in front of the Reichstag building until the sun went down on my last day, because the train station is only about a 10 minute walk from the Reichstag.