Deutsche Geschichte

Die Berliner Mauer - Der Reichstag

Glossary

Der verhüllte Reichstag

The Wrapped Reichstag (1995)

Der verhüllte Reichstag
in Berlin, Juni/Juli 1995.
Foto: Wolfgang Volz,
Christo and Jeanne-Claude

The Reichstag building in Berlin has been a controversial symbol of German democracy ever since it was built in 1894. The wrapping of the Reichstag in silver-colored fabric was completed on June 24, 1995, but this massive art project took 24 years of persuasion and preparation (1971-1995). The actual installation itself required three months (April, May, June), following the project's approval by the German Bundestag (parliament) in early 1994, and the manufacturing of the special fabric that began in September 1994. The "wrapped art" exhibit lasted from June 17 to July 9, 1995, when it was dismantled.

Much like the 1991 vote to move the German seat of government from Bonn to Berlin, the vote to wrap the Reichstag was fairly close. In February 1994 the Bundestag debated for 70 minutes before taking a vote on the proposed project. The final vote was 292 in favor, 223 against, with 9 abstentions.

“The wrapping of the Reichstag my colleagues, enables us to see in another light and newly, perceptually experience this central and ambivalent place in German history. The wrapping is no debasement. It is an expression of reverence and creates room for contemplation of the essential. In the Catholic liturgy of Holy Week, the cross is wrapped so that it can be unwrapped in celebration at the high point of Good Friday. In the Jewish faith, the Torah rolls are wrapped in order to remind us of the preciousness of what they contain. The Reichstag will not be desecrated by Christo's wrapping, it will be ennobled - as strange as this may sound for a house of democracy.”
  — Konrad Weiss, in a speech to the Bundestag, Feb. 25, 1994

Two weeks after the completion of the official wrapping, the fabric was removed and preparation began for a complete reconstruction of the building. The structure's interior was completely gutted, retaining only the outside walls. A new glass dome, designed by the British architect Sir Norman Foster, replaced the old dome that had been destroyed during World War II. The first session of the Bundestag in its new home took place on April 19, 1999.

WEB > Wrapped Reichstag (Christo and Jeanne-Claude) - in English
WEB > Reichstagarchiv - ZLB - German and English (photos)

BACK > Die Berliner Mauer - Timeline 2

---

German Newsletters
Subscribe to a free newsletter!

German Chat

OUR GERMAN FORUMS

Apply now to guide this site