Palace Square

Palace Square

　 Guide In the 1970s, to further demonstrate its socialist stance, the Honecker regime built the Palace of the Republic (Palast der Republik) on the site of the former palace. It was called “Honecker’s lamp shop” due to the many lavish light fittings on the ceiling of its hall, and served as the parliament of East Germany until 1989.

It was soon closed and underwent an expensive renovation. In 1993, a French artist covered the building with plastic sheeting, designing it to resemble the old palace, which sparked a series of movements to restore historical monuments. The idea gained popularity for a time, but today, the high costs have frozen these plans, and the fate of this East German “palace” remains undecided. Introduction Today, Palace Square (Schlossplatz) no longer features the grand structure that once stood here from 1451 to 1951 — the Berlin City Palace (Berliner Stadtschloss). In 1951, the East German (GDR) government stubbornly demolished this building, which had barely been damaged by war, because they considered it a “symbol of Prussian militarism.” The only part that was preserved is a triumphal arch, where Karl Liebknecht proclaimed the Socialist Republic of Germany in 1918; now the arch is combined with the Reichstag building to the south of the square as a single attraction.

Germany Berlin