Reichstag Building
Reichstagsgebäude
The German parliament building, completed in 1894. It was the scene of the 1933 Reichstag fire and the 1945 raising of the Soviet flag. Its glass dome by Foster can be visited for free.
The Reichstag was completed in 1894 for the Imperial Diet of the German Empire. In 1918 the Weimar Republic was proclaimed from its balcony. The 1933 Reichstag fire became the pretext for the Nazis' seizure of power. In 1945, a photograph of Soviet soldiers planting a red flag on its roof became a symbol of the end of World War II. During the Cold War it stood right beside the Berlin Wall and was nearly empty. The German reunification ceremony was held here on October 3, 1990. In 1995, artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped the entire building in silver fabric for two weeks. It was then remodeled by Norman Foster, and the Bundestag moved back in 1999. The glass dome Foster designed on the roof is 23.5 meters high. A double helix ramp spirals upward, and a central mirrored cone reflects daylight down into the chamber below. Visitors can look down on members of parliament in session and enjoy 360-degree views of the Brandenburg Gate, the Tiergarten and the Chancellery, making it Berlin's most popular free observation deck. Entry is free but must be booked in advance on the Bundestag website, bundestag.de. Enter your name and date of birth; your passport is checked on arrival. You can book slots up to 2 hours ahead, and popular times often sell out weeks in advance. If you have not booked, you can register on the spot at the service point on Scheidemannstraße on the south side of the building for the nearest available slot (usually a wait of more than 2 hours). The main entrance is on the west side. After security, take the lift to the top, where free multilingual audio guides (including Chinese) are available. The full visit takes about 45 minutes. The restaurant Käfer on the roof can also be booked. Getting there: U-Bahn line U5 to Bundestag station, or S-Bahn to Brandenburger Tor station, then a 5-minute walk. The dome may be closed during some sitting-week periods and during security alerts.
Opening hours
8:00 AM–midnight (last entry 9:45 PM); reservation required
Nearby sights
- Brandenburg Gate
- Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
- Potsdamer Platz
- Topography of Terror
- Gemäldegalerie
- Gendarmenmarkt
- Checkpoint Charlie
- Museum Island