Dominating the east side of Marx-Engels-Platz in Berlin stands the Palace of the Republic, built in 1973-76. When completed it became an East German prestige symbol and was given the hardly flattering popular nickname of "Palazzo Protzi."
The palace, with its glass-covered exterior, is 180 m/590ft long and 85 m/280ft wide. The leading architect was Heinz Graffunder.
It was the seat of the East German Parliament (assembly hall and conference rooms) and was used to entertain foreign representatives. It was intended that, in future, the Palace of the Republic would be used as a culture center offering a broad spectrum of facilities. However, like a lot of buildings in the 1970s, asbestos material was used in its construction and this led to its being closed in September of 1990 for health reasons. No decision has yet been made on what to do with it. The majority appears to be in favor of pulling it down and rebuilding the Berlin City Palace in its place.
The Palace of the Republic was built on the site of the Berlin City Palace which had been badly damaged in the Second World War. The huge palace was 200 m/660ft long and 120 m/395ft wide, with a dome 70 m/230ft high extending over the whole area now taken up by the present palace and the square in front of it. Its Baroque form -- which received praise from far and wide -- and its magnificent interior were the result of the conversions carried out by Andreas Schlüter in 1700. It was his masterpiece. After 1945 the palace was a burnt-out ruin. A lot of experts, and many Berliners too, talked about rebuilding it, but the East German leaders of the time had other ideas. They regarded the palace as a symbol of Germany's "feudalist and imperialist" past and ordered the buildings to be blown up, which was done in 1950. This left a wide-open space where demonstrations and marches took place, and finally the Palace of the Republic was built on it.
Surroundings
Portal IV is the only section of the palace that remains. It was from there that Karl Liebknecht proclaimed the Socialist Republic in 1918. Today it forms part of the facade of the former Council of State Building on the southern side of the square.
South of the Palace of the Republic, on the other side of Rathausstrasse on the west bank of the Spree at Nos. 32-34 Breite Strasse, will be found the City Library with its attractive entrance. Designed by F. Kuhn, it shows 117 different forms of the letter "A".
Between the Spreeufer northeast of the Palace of the Republic and Spandauer Strasse is the site of the Marx-Engels-Forum, a central square lined with lime trees, oaks, maples, chestnuts and Japanese cherries. There is also a bronze group in memory of the founders of the Communist philosophy: Karl Marx (seated) and Friedrich Engels (standing), as well as several metal tablets etched with photographs of the "History of the Class Struggle." Shortly after the Wall fell, some joker scrawled on the base "We are innocent."
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