The Palace of the Republic versus the Stadtschloss

The Dilemmas of Planning in the Heart of Berlin

Bibliographic Data

ID3644423
AuthorsSusanne Ledanff (corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume21
Issue4
Pages30-73
Publication date2003-12-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueGerman Politics & Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1045-0300 • E-ISSN: 1558-5441
PublisherBerghahn Books (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.3167/104503003782353330
OpenAlexW2009406942
LanguageEN
Citations received4

On 4 July 2002, the German Bundestag had to decide on the futureof one of the capital city's principal historical sites: the square knownas the Schlossplatz, where the Hohenzollern Palace once stood butthat since 1976 had been the site of the German Democratic Republic'sflagship Palace of the Republic. It was not the first time thatGerman politicians had been called upon to decide issues relating toart and architecture. On previous occasions votes had been taken onthe wrapping of the Reichstag by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, SirNorman Foster's dome, Hans Haacke's artistic installation "DerBevölkerung" inside the Reichstag, and Peter Eisenman's design forBerlin's Holocaust memorial.1 Their decision to rebuild the historicalpalace, however, differed in that the politicians did not vote onan architectural design, "in eigener Sache."2 That is, it was not abuilding or monument belonging to the governmental or politicalsphere of the capital city but rather a site likely to house culturalinstitutions. Parliamentarians, thus, were called upon to settle atwelve-year-old planning and architectural controversy after all othermeans, including architectural competitions, had failed

Archaeology · Art history · Democracy · Economic history · German · Political science · Politics · Sociology · European history and politics · History · Law · Architecture

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