Berlin - Reichstag

Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany. The city is one of Germany's 16 federal states.

The first records of towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. The central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns. Cölln on the Fischerinsel is first mentioned in 1237 and Berlin, across the river Spree in 1244. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties, and profited from the staple right on the two important trade routes Via Imperii and from Bruges to Novgorod.

In 1415, Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg. His successors established Berlin-Cölln as capital of the margraviate, and subsequent members of the Hohenzollern family ruled in Berlin until 1918, first as electors of Brandenburg, then as kings of Prussia, and eventually as German emperors.

The Thirty Years' War between 1618 and 1648 devastated Berlin. The city lost half of its population. Frederick William, known as the "Grosse Kurfürst" initiated a policy of promoting immigration and religious tolerance from 1640 on. In 1685, Frederick William offered asylum to the Huguenots. By 1700, approximately 30 percent of Berlin's residents were French Huguenots. Other immigrants came from Bohemia and Poland.

The Industrial Revolution transformed Berlin during the 19th century; the city's economy and population expanded dramatically, and it became the main railway hub and economic centre of Germany. Additional suburbs soon developed and increased the area and population of Berlin. In 1871, Berlin became capital of the newly founded German Empire.

In 1933 the Nazi Party came to power. After the "Kristallnacht" progrom in 1938, thousands of the city's Jews were imprisoned in the nearby Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Starting in 1943, many were shipped to death camps, such as Auschwitz.

During World War II, large parts of Berlin were destroyed by Allied air raids and the 1945 Battle of Berlin. Around 125,000 civilians were killed. After the end of WWII , by Berlin received large numbers of refugees from the Eastern provinces. The victorious powers divided the city into four sectors, analogous to the occupation zones into which Germany was divided. The sectors of the Western Allies formed West Berlin, while the Soviet sector formed East Berlin.

The Berlin Wall was a barrier that divided the city from 1961 to 1989, when it fell. In October 1990, the German reunification process was formally finished.

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The Reichstag was opened in 1894 to house the Imperial Diet of the German Empire. It housed the Diet until 1933 when it was severely damaged after being set on fire exactly four weeks after Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany. Partially blind Marinus van der Lubbe, a Dutch communist, was arrested on the scene. He was later sentenced and executed. As no one could have done this alone, the Nazis claimed that communists were plotting against the German government. The event "Reichtagsbrand" is pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany. A day after the fire the "Reichstagsbrandverordnung" ("Reichstag Fire Decree") was signed, that suspended most civil liberties in Germany, including habeas corpus, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, the right of free association and public assembly, the secrecy of the post and telephone. These rights were not reinstated during the Nazi reign. Most scholars today follow the theory, that the Nazis did the arson. The building was never used again as a parliament and severely damaged during the "Battle of Berlin", it fell into disuse after WWII. The Berlin Wall ran exactly east of the Reichtag.

After German reunification in 1990, it underwent a reconstruction led by architect Norman Foster. Before the reconstruction, American artist Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude wrapped the Reichstag in 1995. The "Wrapped Reichstag" attracted about 5 million visitors.

After its completion of the reconstruction in 1999, it once again became the meeting place of the German parliament - the "Bundestag".