Reichstag (building)

Reichstag
The Reichstag building. The words DEM DEUTSCHEN VOLKE – "To the German people" are written above the main entrance.
Location within Berlin
General information
Town or city	Berlin
Country	Germany
Coordinates	52°31′07″N 13°22′35″E / 52.5186°N 13.3763°E / 52.5186; 13.3763
Construction started	9 June 1884
Completed	1894
Renovated	1961–1964, 1992–1999
Height	47 m (154 ft)
Design and construction
Architect	Paul Wallot
Renovating team
Architect	Norman Foster

The Reichstag building was designed as a home to the parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894. The original building's design was made by Paul Wallot. It was built on the site of an old palace in Berlin, Germany.

The building was used by the parliament of the German Empire until 1918. The parliament of the Weimar Republic, also called the Reichstag, sat there until the 1933 Reichstag fire. The Third Reich seldom used its parliament, so the building remained empty and derelict until after German reunification.

Then it became the seat of the German parliament again in 1999 after a reconstruction led by British architect Lord Norman Foster.

Today's parliament of Germany is called the Bundestag. The Reichstag as a parliament dates back to the Holy Roman Empire and ceased to act as a true parliament in the years of Nazi Germany (1933-1945). In today's usage, the German term Reichstag refers to the building, while the term Bundestag refers to the institution.