Berliner Stadtschloss
Encyclopedia
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, capital of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The palace bore features of the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style, and its shape, finalized by the mid 18th century, is attributed to Andreas Schlüter
Andreas Schlüter
Andreas Schlüter was a German baroque sculptor and architect associated with the Petrine Baroque style of architecture and decoration.-Biography:...
, whose first design is likely to date from 1702, though the palace incorporated earlier parts seen in 1688 by Nicodemus Tessin
Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
Count Nicodemus Tessin the Younger was a Swedish Baroque architect, city planner, and administrator.The son of Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and the father of Carl Gustaf Tessin, Tessin the Younger was the middle-most generation of the brief Tessin dynasty, which have had a lasting influence on...
. It was the principal residence (winter residence) of the Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
Kings of Prussia from 1701 to 1918 (the German Emperors from 1871 to 1918) and a museum following the fall of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
in 1918. Damaged by Allied bombing in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, although possible to repair at great expense, the palace was demolished in 1950 by the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(GDR) authorities, despite West German protests. Following the reunification of Germany, it was decided to rebuild the Stadtschloss.
History up to 1871
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
") is usually translated as "palace", and the later Stadtschloss replaced an earlier fort or castle guarding the crossing of the River Spree
Spree
The Spree is a river that flows through the Saxony, Brandenburg and Berlin states of Germany, and in the Ústí nad Labem region of the Czech Republic...
at Cölln
Cölln
In the 13th century Cölln was the sister town of Old Berlin , located on the southern Spree Island in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Today the island is located in the historic core of the central Mitte locality of modern Berlin...
(a town, which, on 1 January 1710, united with neighbouring Berlin under the latter name). The castle stood on Fishers’ Island, now known as Museum Island
Museum Island
Museum Island is the name of the northern half of an island in the Spree river in the central Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, the site of the old city of Cölln...
. In 1443 the Hohenzoller Frederick II
Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg
Frederick II of Brandenburg , nicknamed "the Iron" and sometimes "Irontooth" , was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg from 1440 until his abdication in 1470, and was a member of the House of Hohenzollern.-Biography:Frederick II was born in Tangermünde to Frederick I, Brandenburg's...
"Irontooth", Margrave and Prince Elector of Brandenburg, laid the foundations of the first fort or castle ever erected in Berlin in a section of swampy wasteland north of Cölln. At the completion of the castle in 1451 Frederick Irontooth moved in from Brandenburg's prior residence in Brandenburg upon Havel. The main role of the castle and its garrison in this period was to establish the authority of the Margraves over the unruly citizens of Berlin, who were reluctant to give up their mediaeval privileges to a centralised monarchy. In 1415 King Sigismund
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...
had enfeoffed the Hohenzollern with Brandenburg, who were now establishing their power and withdrawing electoral privileges, which the cities had alienated in the prior Brandenburgian interregnum (1319–1415).
The castle also included an originally Catholic chapel. In 1454 Frederick Irontooth, after having returned - via Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
- from his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, elevated the castle chapel to become a parish church, richly endowing it with relics and altars. Pope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V , born Tommaso Parentucelli, was Pope from March 6, 1447 to his death in 1455.-Biography:He was born at Sarzana, Liguria, where his father was a physician...
ordered Stephan Bodecker
Stephan Bodecker
Stephan Bodecker was the 37th Bishop of Brandenburg and a Christian Hebraist. He is known as the most important of all bishops of Brandenburg....
, then Prince-Bishop of Brandenburg
Bishop of Brandenburg
The Bishopric of Brandenburg was a Roman Catholic diocese established by Otto the Great in 948, including the territory between the Elbe on the west, the Oder on the east, and the Schwarze Elster on the south, and taking in the Uckermark to the north. Its seat was Brandenburg upon Havel...
, to consecrate the Chapel to Erasmus of Formiae
Erasmus of Formiae
Saint Erasmus of Formiae was a Christian saint and martyr who died ca. 303, also known as Saint Elmo. He is venerated as the patron saint of sailors...
.
On 7 April 1465, at Frederick Irontooth's request, Pope Paul II
Pope Paul II
Pope Paul II , born Pietro Barbo, was pope from 1464 until his death in 1471.- Early life :He was born in Venice, and was a nephew of Pope Eugene IV , through his mother. His adoption of the spiritual career, after having been trained as a merchant, was prompted by his uncle's election as pope...
attributed to St Erasmus Chapel a canon-law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
College
College (canon law)
A college, in the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, is a collection of persons united together for a common object so as to form one body. The members are consequently said to be incorporated, or to form a corporation.-History:...
named Stift zu Ehren Unserer Lieben Frauen, des heiligen Kreuzes, St. Petri und Pauli, St. Erasmi und St. Nicolai. This collegiate church
Collegiate church
In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
became the nucleus of today's Evangelical
Prussian Union (Evangelical Christian Church)
The Prussian Union was the merger of the Lutheran Church and the Reformed Church in Prussia, by a series of decrees – among them the Unionsurkunde – by King Frederick William III...
Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church, neighbouring the former site of the castle.
In 1538, the Margrave Joachim II demolished the palace and engaged the master builder Caspar Theiss to build a new and grander building in the Italian Renaissance
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
style. After the Thirty Years War (1618–1648), Frederick William
Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg
|align=right|Frederick William was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia – and thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia – from 1640 until his death. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as the "Great Elector" because of his military and political prowess...
(1620–1688), the "Great Elector", embellished the palace further. In 1688, Nicodemus Tessin
Nicodemus Tessin the Younger
Count Nicodemus Tessin the Younger was a Swedish Baroque architect, city planner, and administrator.The son of Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and the father of Carl Gustaf Tessin, Tessin the Younger was the middle-most generation of the brief Tessin dynasty, which have had a lasting influence on...
saw courtyard arcades with massive columns in front. Not much is known about the alterations of 1690–1695, when Johann Nering was the court architect. Martin Grünberg
Martin Grünberg
Martin Grünberg was a German architect and master builder.- Life :He was active in Berlin from 1687 onwards, after several trips to France and Italy...
had carried on with the alterations in 1695–1699.
In 1699 the Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg
Frederick I of Prussia
Frederick I , of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia in personal union . The latter function he upgraded to royalty, becoming the first King in Prussia . From 1707 he was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
(who took the title King in Prussia
King in Prussia
King in Prussia was a title used by the Electors of Brandenburg from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently they used the title King of Prussia....
in 1701, becoming Frederick I), appointed the architect Andreas Schlüter
Andreas Schlüter
Andreas Schlüter was a German baroque sculptor and architect associated with the Petrine Baroque style of architecture and decoration.-Biography:...
to execute so-called second plan in the Italian manner dating from 1697. Schlüter's first design is likely to date from 1702, who planned to rebuild the palace in the Protestant Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
style. His overall conception of the shape of a regular cube enclosing a magnificently ornamented courtyard was retained by all the building directors who succeeded him. In 1706, he was replaced by Johann Friedrich Eosander von Göthe, who designed the western extension of the palace doubling its size. In all essentials, Schlüter's balanced, rhythmical articulation of the façades was retained, but Göthe moved the main entrance to the new west wing.
King Frederick William I
Frederick William I of Prussia
Frederick William I of the House of Hohenzollern, was the King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death...
, who became king in 1713, was interested mainly in building up Prussia as a military power, and dismissed most of the craftsmen working on the Stadtschloss. As a result, Göthe's plan was only partly implemented. Nevertheless, the exterior of the Palace had come close to its final form by the mid 18th century. The final stage was the erection of the dome in 1845, in the reign of Frederick William IV
Frederick William IV of Prussia
|align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...
. The dome was built by Friedrich August Stüler
Friedrich August Stüler
Friedrich August Stüler was an influential Prussian architect and builder. His masterwork is the Neues Museum in Berlin, as well as the dome of the triumphal arch of the main portal of the Berliner Stadtschloss.-Life:...
after a design of Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel was a Prussian architect, city planner, and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassical and neogothic buildings.-Biography:Schinkel was born in Neuruppin, Margraviate of...
. Thereafter, only smaller changes in the palace’s exterior took place. Major work took place inside the palace, however, engaging the talents of Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
Hans Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff was a painter and architect in Prussia.Knobelsdorff was born in Kuckädel, now in Krosno Odrzańskie County. A soldier in the service of Prussia, he resigned his commission in 1729 as captain so that he could pursue his interest in architecture...
, Carl von Gontard
Carl von Gontard
Carl von Gontard was a German architect; he worked primarily in Berlin, Potsdam, and Bayreuth....
and many others.
The Stadtschloss was at the centre of the Revolution of 1848
Revolutions of 1848 in the German states
The Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, also called the March Revolution – part of the Revolutions of 1848 that broke out in many countries of Europe – were a series of loosely coordinated protests and rebellions in the states of the German Confederation, including the Austrian Empire...
in Prussia. Huge crowds gathered outside the palace to present an "address to the king" containing their demands for a constitution, liberal reform and German unification. Frederick William emerged from the palace to accept their demands. On March 18, a large demonstration outside the Stadtschloss led to bloodshed and the outbreak of street fighting. Frederick William later reneged on his promises and reimposed an autocratic regime. From that time onwards, many Berliners and other Germans came to see the Stadtschloss as a symbol of oppression and "Prussian militarism".
Later history
In 1871, King William IWilliam I, German Emperor
William I, also known as Wilhelm I , of the House of Hohenzollern was the King of Prussia and the first German Emperor .Under the leadership of William and his Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the...
was elevated to the status of Emperor (Kaiser) of a united Germany, and the Stadtschloss became the symbolic centre of the German Empire. The Empire was, however, at least in theory a constitutional state, and from 1894 the new Reichstag
Reichstag (building)
The Reichstag building is a historical edifice in Berlin, Germany, constructed to house the Reichstag, parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Reichstag until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire. During the Nazi era, the few meetings of members of the...
building, the seat of the German parliament, came to rival and overshadow the Stadtschloss as the centre of power. In conjunction with Germany’s defeat in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, William II
William II, German Emperor
Wilhelm II was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, ruling the German Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. He was a grandson of the British Queen Victoria and related to many monarchs and princes of Europe...
was forced to abdicate both as German Emperor and as King of Prussia. In November 1918, the Spartacist leader, Karl Liebknecht
Karl Liebknecht
was a German socialist and a co-founder with Rosa Luxemburg of the Spartacist League and the Communist Party of Germany. He is best known for his opposition to World War I in the Reichstag and his role in the Spartacist uprising of 1919...
, declared the German Socialist Republic from a balcony of the Stadtschloss, ending more than 400 years of royal occupation of the building.
During the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
, parts of the Stadtschloss were turned into a museum, while other parts continued to be used for receptions and other state functions. Under Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's National Socialist (Nazi) Party
National Socialist Party
Parties in various contexts have referred to themselves as National Socialist parties. Because there is no clear definition of national socialism, the term has been used to mean very different things...
, which laid to rest monarchist hopes of a Hohenzollern restoration, the building was largely ignored. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Stadtschloss was twice struck by Allied bombs: on 3 February and 24 February 1945. On the latter occasion, when the air defence and fire-fighting systems of Berlin had largely been destroyed, the building was struck by incendiaries, lost its roof and was largely burnt out.
The end of the war saw the Stadtschloss largely a burned out shell of its former glory, although the building had remained structurally sound and much of its interior decorations still preserved. It could have been restored, as many other bombed-out buildings in central Berlin later were. The old photographs of the building dated to 1945 clearly document this. But the area in which it was located was with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
zone, which became the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
. The building was used for a Soviet war movie ("the Battle of Berlin") in which the Stadtschloss was used a backdrop, with the live artillery shells fired at it for the realistic cinematic impact. This brought down nearly a quarter of the western facade and set ablaze the entire area around the main dome. What was not burned and destroyed during the war, was now damaged and destroyed through this wanton act of vandalism against art. This was at a time when the Soviets were furiously reconstructing the Czarist Winter Palace
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...
in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, nearly totally destroyed in the siege of Leningrad
Siege of Leningrad
The Siege of Leningrad, also known as the Leningrad Blockade was a prolonged military operation resulting from the failure of the German Army Group North to capture Leningrad, now known as Saint Petersburg, in the Eastern Front theatre of World War II. It started on 8 September 1941, when the last...
. The new Communist regime installed in East Berlin by the Soviet Union, declared the Stadtschloss as a symbol of Prussian militarism, although there seemed to be no plans to completely raze the building. Some parts of the building were in fact repaired and used from 1945 to 1950 as an exhibition space. Between September and December 1950, as a political act by the Communist party boss, Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht was a German communist politician. As First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971 , he played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany and later in the early development and...
, to promote himself as a loyal cadre, the building was dynamited and the rubble of the demolished building quickly carried off to the city suburbs for disposal, where it survives today as a quarry for marbles and architectural elements of the old Stadtschloss. Of the entire extensive building, only the balcony from which Liebknecht
Liebknecht
Liebknecht is the surname of several German socialists:*Karl Liebknecht *Sophie Liebknecht *Theodor Liebknecht *Wilhelm Liebknecht...
had declared the German Socialist Republic was preserved, and later removed the Council of State Staatsratsgebäude building where it formed the main entrance. The empty space was then used as a parade ground.
In 1964, the GDR built a new Staatsrat or State Parliament building on part of the site, incorporating Liebknecht’s balcony in its facade. From 1973 to 1976, during the reign of Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1971 until 1989, serving as Head of State as well from Willi Stoph's relinquishment of that post in 1976....
, a large modernist building was built, the Palast der Republik
Palast der Republik
The Palace of the Republic in Berlin was the seat of the parliament of the German Democratic Republic, the People's Chamber, and also served various cultural purposes...
(Palace of the Republic), which occupied most of the site of the former Stadtschloss. Shortly before German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
in October 1990, the Palast der Republik was found to be contaminated with asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
and was closed to the public. After reunification, the Berlin city government ordered the removal of the asbestos, a process which was completed by 2003. In November 2003, the German federal government decided to demolish the building and leave the area as parkland pending a decision as to its ultimate future. Demolition started in February 2006 and was completed in 2008.
Plans for reconstruction
Berliner Dom
Berlin Cathedral is the colloquial name for the Evangelical Oberpfarr- und Domkirche in Berlin, Germany...
, the Lustgarten
Lustgarten
The Lustgarten is a park on Museum Island in central Berlin, near the site of the former Berliner Stadtschloss of which it was originally a part...
and the museums of Museum Island
Museum Island
Museum Island is the name of the northern half of an island in the Spree river in the central Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, the site of the old city of Cölln...
.
There were also many Germans who opposed this proposal: some advocated the retention of the Palast der Republik
Palast der Republik
The Palace of the Republic in Berlin was the seat of the parliament of the German Democratic Republic, the People's Chamber, and also served various cultural purposes...
on the grounds that it was itself of historical significance, while others argued that the area should become a public park. Opponents of the project argued that a new building would be a pastiche
Pastiche
A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
of former architectural styles, would be an unwelcome symbol of Germany’s imperial past, and would be unacceptably expensive for no definite economic benefit. This despite the fact that the building served as a museum after 1918 and until its deliberate destruction in 1950 by the order of Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht was a German communist politician. As First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971 , he played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany and later in the early development and...
as a purely political gesture. They also argued that it would be impossible to reconstruct accurately the interior of the building, since neither detailed plans nor the necessary craft skills are available. This objection was groundless in face of the fact that Stadtschloss was a building with sufficient photographic documentation of its interior when it was converted to a museum following 1918, and because of the survival of nearly all detailed plans of its interior and exterior construction and decoration. In fact, compared to the Czarist Russia's Winter Palace
Winter Palace
The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was, from 1732 to 1917, the official residence of the Russian monarchs. Situated between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square, adjacent to the site of Peter the Great's original Winter Palace, the present and fourth Winter Palace was built and...
in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, which was nearly totally destroyed in the course of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and later reconstructed largely through guesswork by the Soviet authorities, the Stadtschloss was rather reasonably well preserved by the end of the war. In view of the opposition, most importantly the psychological and political objections, but also the high cost, successive German governments declined to commit themselves to the project. By 2002 and 2003 cross-party resolutions of the Bundestag
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
reached a compromise to support at least a partial rebuilding of the Stadtschloss, but no definite decision was made. In 2007, the Bundestag (German parliament) made a definitive decision about the reconstruction. According to this compromise, three façades of the palace will be rebuilt, but the interior will be a postmodern structure to serve as a cultural-political forum. Work on the 'Humboldtforum', as the new palace will be called, has been delayed until at least 2014 due to German government budget cuts. Meanwhile, off-site stonemasonry has already commenced. Even after accepting that the external reconstruction of all but the eastern facade is to follow the historic original as closely as possible, it is still uncertain how the large amount of masonry can be provided with the limited available funds. There seems to be a strong traditional opposition to casting the figures, although this would allow many of the often elderly sponsors to experience the palace while still alive. The traditional German way of "archaelogical reconstruction" by local stonemasons seems impossible both regarding costs and time. A proposal has been made of contracting this work to the effectively mechanized stone carving enterprises in Xiamen
Xiamen
Xiamen , also known as Amoy , is a major city on the southeast coast of the People's Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of and population of 3.53 million...
, China.
External links
- The Berliner Stadtschloss website
- Gallery showing the past, present and one proposal for the future of the Schlossplatz
- Förderverein Berliner Schloss e.V. (Association for the Promotion of the Berlin City Palace)
- Berlinprojektor Videoanimation of City Palace Infobox
- schlossdebatte.de, Blog with information about the debate of the reconstruction in English
- WSWS, The rebuilding of the Berlin City Palace
- Kimmelman, Michael, Rebuilding a Palace May Become a Grand Blunder, The New York Times, January 1, 2009, page C1