The Reichstag
One of the most elaborate of the splendid Wilhelmine-era buildings, the Reichstag was erected in 1884-1894 by Paul Wallot in Italian Late Renaissance style and served as the meeting place of the parliaments of the German Reich and Weimar Republic. From the very beginning, it was a thorn in the side of reactionary forces. William II disparagingly referred to it as a “gossip shop”, the Nazis set it on fire.
After World War II it was declared an outpost of the federal parliament in Bonn. However, it had no real function until the reunification of Germany and the decision by the German Parliament to move from Bonn to Berlin. After being spectacularly wrapped by the American artist couple Christo and Jeanne-Claude in 1995, it was transformed into the new national parliament for a reunited Germany according to an “open” modernist design by British star architect Sir Norman Foster. The deliberately modest plenary chamber is transparent on all sides and even the huge dome, which is now a real tourist attraction, is made of glass and contains two spiral walkways, so that the populace can look down on its parliamentarians.
