Government Building sights in Berlin
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A
Reichstag
The quarter's historical anchor is the 1894 Reichstag, where the German parliament, the Bundestag, has been hammering out its policies since 1999. This followed a total makeover by Lord Norman Foster who preserved only the building's historical shell while adding the striking glass dome. It's well worth queuing for the lift ride to the top to take in the knock-out panorama and close-ups of the dome and the mirror-clad funnel at its centre. Queues are shortest early morning and at night. You can skip 'em altogether if you're disabled, happen to have a kid in a stroller, are on an organised tour or have reservations for the pricey restaurant on top. In these cases, proceed …
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B
Former Reichsluftfahrtsministerium
Another design springing from the fevered brow of Tempelhof architect Ernst Sagebiel, the Reich Aviation Ministry was Hermann Göring’s massive power centre. It’s one of the few Nazi-era architectural relics that survived the epic Battle for Berlin. After the war it was used by several GDR ministries and in 1990, quite ironically, became the seat of the agency charged with privatising East German companies and property. It is now the home of the Federal Finance Ministry and not open to the public.
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C
Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus
Across the river from the Paul-Löbe-Haus, on the former East Berlin side, the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus houses the parliamentary library. Its most eye-catching design elements include a massive tapered stairway, a flat roofline jutting out like a springboard over a plaza, and a cube with giant circular windows containing the library reading room. The building complex just north is a daycare centre for the kids of government employees; note the hilarious boob-like structure.
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D
Abgeordnetenhaus
The stately neo-Renaissance structure across from the Martin-Gropius-Bau, technically placing it in Mitte, has been a political power nexus since its late-19th-century days as the house of the Prussian parliament. Under the Nazis, it went through a stint as a courthouse before being turned into an air force officers’ club. Since reunification, it has been the seat of Berlin’s state parliament. Free changing exhibits are held in the foyer and on the mezzanine level.
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E
Schloss Bellevue
The German president makes his home in snowy white Schloss Bellevue. The neoclassical palace was built in 1785 by Philipp Daniel Boumann for the youngest brother of Frederick the Great, then became a school under Kaiser Wilhelm II and a museum of ethnology under the Nazis. It’s closed to the public. The president and his staff have their offices in the oval Bundespräsidialamt just south of the residence.
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F
Paul-Löbe-Haus
Part of the Band des Bundes, the Paul-Löbe-Haus houses offices for the 22 parliamentary committees, the PR division and the visitors’ service. From above it looks like a double-sided comb and on the inside there’s an atrium long enough to be a bowling alley for giants. It’s linked by a double footbridge to the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus across the Spree in a visual symbol of reunification.
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G
Bundeskanzleramt
The Bundeskanzleramt is an unusual H-shaped compound where Germany's chancellor keeps their office. From Moltkebrücke bridge or the northern river promenade you can best appreciate the circular openings that inspired the building's nickname 'washing machine'. Eduardo Chillida's rusted-steel Berlin sculpture graces the forecourt.
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H
Berliner Rathaus
The hulking 1860 town hall is where Berlin's governing mayor (currently Klaus Wowereit) and his senators make their offices. It sits smack dab in the city's geographical centre and is nicknamed 'Rotes Rathaus' (Red Town Hall) in reference to the colour of its bricks - not (necessarily) the political leanings of its occupants.
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