Empire, fire and the return of German democracy
Discover how Berlin’s Reichstag changed from an imperial parliament into the home of the Bundestag, and explore the stone façade, modern glass dome and surviving traces of its past.
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Berlin, Germany
INTRODUCTION
From Platz der Republik, the Reichstag presents a broad stone façade, corner towers and a glass dome rising behind the entrance. The exterior belongs to an imperial parliament; the roof announces a much later rebuilding. Between them lies a history of revolution, dictatorship, war and Germany’s division.
Inside, the building combines working parliamentary spaces with surviving traces of its troubled past. Its name can cause confusion: the Reichstag is the historic building, while the Bundestag is the federal parliament that uses it today.
This guide follows how that change happened and explains what different visits actually include. A dome reservation offers an architectural experience and city views; exploring the building’s interior requires a separate programme. For the wider setting, use our Berlin history and travel guide.
KEY HISTORICAL MOMENT
On 20 June 1991, the Bundestag voted to move the seat of parliament and government from Bonn to Berlin. Reunification had already taken place, but the location of national political life remained contested. The decision gave the damaged, repeatedly altered Reichstag a new purpose: it would become the permanent working home of a democratically elected parliament in reunited Germany.
ORIGINS
The German Empire, founded in 1871, needed a permanent parliamentary building. Deputies initially occupied temporary premises, including a former porcelain factory. Paul Wallot won the second architectural competition in 1882, and construction followed between 1884 and 1894. His design gave the legislature a monumental presence beside the Tiergarten.
Its stone façades and original dome expressed the ambitions of a newly united state. However, an imposing parliament did not mean that elected representatives controlled the government.
Kaiser Wilhelm I and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck attended the foundation ceremony in June 1884. Parliament finally moved into its new home a decade later, in December 1894.
Male citizens elected the Reichstag, which approved legislation and the national budget. The imperial chancellor, however, was appointed by the Kaiser and did not depend on a parliamentary majority to remain in office.
The building therefore housed a legislature with real powers inside a monarchy that restricted its authority. That tension helps explain why its later conversion into a republican parliament mattered far beyond architectural fashion.
FIRE AND DICTATORSHIP
On 9 November 1918, as imperial rule collapsed, Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed a republic from a Reichstag window. The building became associated with a political order very different from the one that had commissioned it.
The new constitution was drawn up in Weimar during unrest in Berlin. Parliamentary activity subsequently returned to the Reichstag, where the republic’s increasingly bitter political struggles unfolded.
The proclamation connects one identifiable part of the exterior with the end of the monarchy. It also explains why the building features so prominently in accounts of the German Revolution.
On the evening of 27 February 1933, fire devastated the debating chamber. Marinus van der Lubbe was arrested in the building; the full circumstances and responsibility for the blaze remain disputed. Hitler’s government immediately exploited it, presenting the fire as evidence of a communist threat.
The decree issued the following day suspended fundamental rights and enabled mass repression of political opponents. Parliament relocated to the nearby Kroll Opera House, where the Enabling Act was passed in March. The Reichstag building was no longer its meeting place as the dictatorship consolidated power.
ACROSS CENTURIES
In 1945, Soviet forces fought for the Reichstag as a symbolic prize during the Battle of Berlin. Heavy wartime damage compounded the destruction left by the fire. The ruined original dome was demolished in 1954.
The building stood in West Berlin, close to the border later sealed by the Berlin Wall. Paul Baumgarten’s post-war rebuilding provided meeting and exhibition spaces, but Germany’s federal parliament continued its ordinary work in Bonn.
After the decision to move to Berlin, Norman Foster redesigned the building for parliamentary use. The Bundestag formally received the transformed Reichstag on 19 April 1999; regular parliamentary work moved to Berlin later that year.
The exterior preserves much of Wallot’s monumental shell, while the chamber, circulation spaces and glass dome belong to the modern conversion. Today’s dome is a new design, rather than a reconstruction of the imperial original.
INTERESTING FACTS
The dedication above the west entrance was added only in December 1916, more than two decades after the building opened. Peter Behrens designed the lettering, and the Jewish family firm S. A. Loevy cast it. Bronze came from two captured French cannons. The inscription dedicates the building to the German people, giving military trophies a conspicuous civilian role.
Soviet soldiers covered interior walls with Cyrillic inscriptions in 1945, recording names, origins and messages. Some were concealed during the post-war rebuilding and rediscovered during Foster’s renovation. Selected examples were conserved as historical evidence. Their survival reflects a deliberate decision to retain uncomfortable traces within a functioning public building, rather than presenting every wall as newly finished.
In summer 1995, Christo and Jeanne-Claude temporarily wrapped the Reichstag in silvery fabric. Their proposal had taken more than two decades to gain approval, including a parliamentary vote in 1994. The completed artwork lasted from 24 June to 7 July. For a brief interval before reconstruction, the building became the subject of an enormous public art project.
A cone fitted with 360 mirrors directs daylight towards the plenary chamber beneath the dome. The roof structure therefore does more than provide a viewpoint. Its mirrored centre connects the visitor route with the building’s lighting system, making an element of parliamentary infrastructure visible to people walking above it. Look for that relationship while following the curved ramps.
HIGHLIGHTS
Begin on Platz der Republik, allowing space to appreciate the entrance, pediment and four corner towers together. Compare the heavy stonework with the glass structure above the roofline. This is the clearest exterior view of the relationship between Wallot’s building and its modern addition.
You can inspect the exterior without a dome reservation. Keep public approaches clear and follow any temporary security barriers around this working parliamentary site.
After admission and security checks, the visitor route reaches the roof terrace and dome. Curving ramps lead around the mirrored cone, progressively changing your view across central Berlin. The free audioguide provides commentary about the building, parliament and surrounding landmarks.
Take time to compare the dome’s construction with the older masonry visible outside. Access depends on your confirmed booking and on operational conditions; the dome can close independently of the terrace.
From the terrace, orient yourself towards the Brandenburg Gate, Tiergarten and the surrounding parliamentary district. The view helps explain why the Reichstag’s position mattered during Berlin’s division: the former border ran close to the building.
Treat this as a chance to understand distances before continuing on foot. The roof and dome are exposed to weather, so visibility and comfort vary considerably with the conditions on your visit.
For the history within the walls, investigate the Bundestag’s separately booked guided tours. These explain parliamentary work alongside the building’s architecture and past. Programmes and routes vary; check the description before choosing one, particularly if you hope to see preserved graffiti.
A standard dome booking does not provide free access to corridors, offices or the debating chamber. English-language group tours have specific arrangements, so individual travellers should check which options suit their party.
WHY VISIT?
The Reichstag rewards travellers interested in how buildings change when political systems change. Architectural decisions become unusually tangible here: a preserved stone shell, a replacement dome and historical marks retained within modern interiors.
Choose the experience that matches your interest. The dome suits visitors who enjoy architecture and understanding a city from above; an interior programme offers more context about parliamentary life. Afterwards, walk towards the Brandenburg Gate to continue exploring the former border area. Neither stop requires a sweeping overview of German history to be meaningful, but knowing this building’s particular story makes both more revealing.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
The address is Platz der Republik 1, Berlin. Bundestag station on U5 is close by; Berlin Hauptbahnhof and Brandenburger Tor provide other walking approaches. Follow the meeting-point instructions supplied with your booking, since visitor access is controlled.
Dome and terrace admission is free. Register through the official Bundestag visitor service, supplying each participant’s name and date of birth. Bring original identification and your booking confirmation. A request is not a confirmed appointment; wait for acceptance before fixing the rest of your itinerary.
Use the official booking calendar for available visiting times and maintenance closures. The published last admission is 21:45. Parliamentary business, security measures and weather can interrupt access, including at short notice. Recheck the official notices before travelling rather than relying on a general tourism timetable.
Maintenance may leave the terrace accessible while the dome itself is shut. If the climb is your main reason for coming, check that distinction when selecting a date.
As an editorial estimate, allow 60–90 minutes for the dome, terrace and entry procedures, with additional time outside. Official guided tours generally last 90 minutes; allow extra time if a subsequent dome visit is available. Follow the arrival instructions in your confirmation.
Consult the official guided-tour descriptions before requesting an interior visit. Do not assume a commercial city walk includes parliamentary admission. For mobility requirements or other access needs, contact the visitor service in advance so that the appropriate arrangements can be clarified.
Location
Berlin, Germany
Site type
Working federal parliament building
Original architect
Paul Wallot
Construction
1884–1894
Key decision
Move to Berlin approved, 1991
Modern conversion
Norman Foster; handed over in 1999
Highlights
West façade, roof terrace and glass dome
Suggested visit
60–90 minutes for dome visit (editorial estimate)
Official visitor information and historical context for your Reichstag visit
EXPLORE MORE
Continue exploring Berlin’s political history, from landmarks near the Reichstag to places that tell the story of the Nazi era, the Cold War and German reunification.
Walk to the Brandenburg Gate, the landmark just south of the Reichstag that became a symbol of Berlin’s division and German reunification.
Follow Berlin’s historic boulevard from the Brandenburg Gate through the former Prussian centre, with major monuments and institutions along the way.
Visit the nearby Holocaust memorial, a place of remembrance that adds essential context to Germany’s twentieth-century history.
Discover the former border-crossing hall at Friedrichstraße station and the personal stories of separation during Berlin’s Cold War division.
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