Originally
built as a palace for the royal family, the Hohenzollen Schloss served as such for over 500 years. Damaged in WWII, the palace was not rebuilt, although it
was entirely possible to do so. Instead it served as a parking lot for the
Soviets until the Palace of the Regime was built there in early 1970s. The
Regime Palace was ‘dismantled’ between 2006 and 2008 and the Schloss it being
‘rebuilt’. This change has created a serious discussion with many different
views. There seems also to be a significant split between those from the DDR
and BRD, a testament to the truth revealed in the Berlin sculpture (Tauentzienstraße) portraying the belonging yet
disconnects between the east and west of Berlin.
Some
believe that rebuilding the castle as it was, in a sense disconnects the
history of the space. As some people may only see this castle in passing, they
may have a skewed sense of its history from the rebuild, almost rewriting the
cities history. Others argue that the Schloss is necessary to complete the
districts urban identity, as it has the power and appeal to bring together all
other building in the area. Others still are concerned about the $788 million
dollar estimate. There were also some that believed it would be a step back
instead of a step forward for Berlin’s urban architecture. Some protestors have
gone so far as to charge the project manager with embezzlement.
References:
Ekici, Didem. "The Surfaces of Memory in Berlin." Journal of Architectural Education, 2007,
25-34.
Rainer Haubrich. “Der Neubau des Berliner Schlosses ist ein Wunder.”Die Welt, March 3, 2012.
Schneider, Peter. Berlin Now:
The City after the Wall. Farrar, Straus and Giroux: New York, 2014.
Torry, Harriet. “Re-creating the Baroque Glory of a Berlin Palace.” The Wall Street Journal, 2014.
“Hohenzollern Palace: Berlin’s Old-New Castle.” The Wall Street Journal Video. WSJ. August 13, 2014
2 comments:
Have another look at the fate of the Schloß after 1945. Who destroyed it and when? Was it really the Soviets who used it as a parking lot?
The DDR was responsible for completly destroying the Schloß in 1950,except for a balcony, which Karl Liebknecht had declared the German Socialist Republic while standing on (which was moved to a nearby building- Staatsratsgebäude). As such it was likely the West Berliners (and any remaining soviet representative) that were using the parking lot at the time. After the Forgein Ministry and State Council buildings were built in 1961 perhaps they also used it for parking.
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