Reichstag

The Reichstag in Berlin is the home of the Bundestag, or German Parliament. The large classical building was constructed between 1884 and 1894 as the seat of the Reichstag, the Parliament of the German Empire. On 27 February 1933, shortly after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, a fire broke out in the Reichstag building. Although the origins of the fire remain shrouded in mystery - a young Dutch communist, Marinus van der Lubbe, was tried and executed for alleged arson - the Nazis used outrage at the incident as a pretext to impose emergency legislation outlawing political opposition in Germany. The building was badly damaged during the 1945 Battle of Berlin, and remained empty until its restoration in the 1990s by the British architect Sir Norman Foster, and in 1999 it became the seat of the Bundestag.