Bundesratsgebäude, Parliament building in Leipziger Street, Berlin-Mitte, Germany
The Bundesratsgebäude is the seat of the German Bundesrat on Leipziger Straße in Berlin-Mitte. The three-winged building, designed by Friedrich Schulze and completed in 1904, has a rusticated stone base and a central portico with six columns supporting a pediment carved by Otto Lessing. The wings frame a courtyard with a small garden.
The Prussian House of Lords occupied this location from 1904 to 1918, after which the building served as the Prussian State Council until 1933. The rooms were later adapted to serve the needs of the Federal Republic.
The pediment's central figure is a Borussia, an allegory of Prussian state power, carved by Otto Lessing. Inside, the three dome vaults above the foyer keep stucco ornaments and ceiling frescoes that restorers in the 1990s deliberately left incomplete. Eight bronze sculptures by Danish artist Per Kirkeby stand on the roof, and Rebecca Horn's moving gilded lances hang in the foyer skylights.
The building sits on Leipziger Street in a central location within Berlin and is easily accessible. Visitors should know that the interior is generally open only during guided tours or special events.
The plenary hall, destroyed in World War II, was rebuilt with parquet floors and wooden wall panelling, and the coats of arms of the 16 federal states hang above the presidency's seat. In the three dome vaults over the foyer, stucco ornaments and ceiling frescoes were deliberately left incomplete during the 1990s renovation.
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