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Reichstag EU06 
Berlin, Germany Theme - Europe Other themes: Buildings, Towns, Villages & Cities
Reichstag EU06, EU13, EU14, EU15, EU16,  Dome EU11, EU17
 
 
Reichstag EU06 The Reichstag is the German Parliament building in Berlin. Today the word "Reichstag" only refers to this building, but in the past it was the name of the German Parliament, now called the "Bundestag". The building housed the German Parliament from 1894 until 1933, when, on February 27th, and shortly after the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Reichskanzler, it mysteriously caught fire. After that it was not used again as a parliament building until 1999.

During the second world war the Reichstag was a symbolic target and was considerably damaged by bombing and by shell fire. During the Cold War the Reichstag was just (by a few metres) within West Berlin. The West German parliament had moved to Bonn and the possibility of demolishing the Reichstag was under serious discussion. However it was decided to rebuild it and substantial works were carried out between 1961 and 1964. 
After the re-unification of Germany in 1990 the architect Norman Foster won a competition for the reconstruction of the Reichstag. The building was gutted and (perhaps in particular!) the 1960s changes were removed and the Reichstag was substantially rebuilt. The new design includes an impressive and futuristic Cupola (dome EU11, EU17) replacing the original destroyed in the second world war.

The German parliament was moved back to the Reichstag in 1999 - after an absence of 66 years!

More information on the Reichstag at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_(building)