Reichstag

Reichstag review

The imposing Reichstag was controversial from the beginning. Architect Paul Wallot struggled to find a style that would symbolise German national identity at a time - 1884-94, shortly after Unification - when no such style or identity existed. It was burned on 17 February 1933; the Nazis blamed Dutchman Marius van der Lubbe, and used it as an excuse to suspend basic freedoms. But since its celebrated renovation by Lord Foster, the Reichstag has again housed the Bundestag (the Federal German parliament). Foster conceived it as a 'dialogue between old and new': graffiti scrawled by Russian soldiers in 1945 has been left on view, and there has been no attempt to deny the building's turbulent history.

No dome appeared on Foster's original plans, but the German government insisted upon one. Foster, in turn, insisted that unlike the structure's original dome (damaged in the war and demolished in the 1950s), the new dome must be open to visitors. A lift whisks you to the roof; from here, ramps lead to the top of the dome, which affords fine views of the city. At the centre is a funnel of mirrors, angled so as to shed light on the workings of democracy below but also lending an almost funhouse effect to the dome. A trip to the top of this open, playful and defiantly democratic space is a must, but beware of queues: come first thing or in the evening if possible, and note that the dome is occasionally closed to the public (check the website for details).