''Platz der Republik'' (, ''Republic Square'') is a square in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is located in the Tiergarten (borough

Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreuz ...

), directly in front (west) of the

Reichstag building The Reichstag (; ) is a historic legislative government building on Platz der Republik in Berlin that is the seat of the German Bundestag. It is also the meeting place of the Federal Convention, which elects the President of Germany. The Ne ...

. The square has an area of about 36,900 square meters and is almost completely covered by grass but is decorated with some hedges and a few trees. Before 1926 and between 1933 and 1948 it was called ''Königsplatz'' (, ''King's Square''). The

Victory Column A victory column, or monumental column or triumphal column, is a monument in the form of a column, erected in memory of a heroic commemoration, including victorious battle, war, or revolution. The column typically stands on a base and is crowned ...

stood here before it was moved to its present location in 1939. Also the Bismarck Memorial was located here until 1938.

History

The square was created in about 1735 and was used under King Frederick William I as parade-ground, a sandy field then known as "Exerzierplatz vor dem Brandenburger Tor". In 1844 the

Kroll Opera House The Kroll Opera House () in Berlin, Germany, was in the Tiergarten district on the western edge of the '' Königsplatz'' square (today ''Platz der Republik''), facing the Reichstag building. It was built in 1844 as an entertainment venue for th ...

was built on its west end, and in 1867 it was turned into a city square named "Königsplatz". Image:Königsplatz Berlin, um 1880.jpg, Eastern portion of the Königsplatz with the Palais Raczynski. Photographed from the Victory Column, about 1880 Image:Reichstag-1870.jpg, Eastern portion of the Königsplatz with the newly built Reichstag building, about 1894 In 1873 the Victory Column was erected in the center of the square, at the end of the newly created Siegesallee boulevard. At the east end of the square stood the Palais of the Polish-Prussian count Atanazy Raczyński, before the Reichstag building was built there from 1884 to 1894. Image:Berlin Reichstag mit Bismarck Denkmal um 1900.jpg, Königsplatz with the newly built Bismarck Memorial, about 1900 Image:Reichstag und Siegessäule um 1900.jpg, Königsplatz, with the Reichstag and the

, about 1900 During the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

, the square was named "Platz der Republik" to commemorate the abolition of the monarchy. When the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s took power in 1933, the square was renamed "Königsplatz". As part of a grandiose plan to create a "

Welthauptstadt Germania ''Welthauptstadt Germania'' (), or World Capital Germania, was the projected renewal of the German capital Berlin during the Nazi period, as part of Adolf Hitler's vision for the future of Nazi Germany after the planned victory in World War II ...

", the Victory Column was enlarged and moved to its present location in 1939. Also the Bismarck Memorial was moved in 1938.

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

ended in 1945 and in 1948 the square returned to the name "Platz der Republik". The Kroll Opera, severely damaged in the war, was finally demolished in 1951. The

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

ran past the back side of the Reichstag. The square, now a large lawn, was thus far away from traffic and was used as a recreational area for weekend barbecues etc. After

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

in 1990 the square regained its position of central importance in Berlin. A large German flag was raised on the square in the night from 2 to 3 October 1990. In 1991 the German Bundestag decided that Berlin would again be the seat of government and parliament. The renovation of the Reichstag building was completed in 1999.

Events

In the autumn of 1948, the square saw a huge demonstration protesting against the

Berlin Blockade The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...

. About 300,000 people participated, and mayor Ernst Reuter gave a haunting speech. A number of concerts had taken place at the Platz der Republik in the late 1980s, including in 1987

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

as part of the

Glass Spider Tour The Glass Spider Tour was a 1987 worldwide concert tour by the English musician David Bowie, launched in support of his album ''Never Let Me Down'' and named for that album's track "Glass Spider". It began in May 1987 and was preceded by a two ...

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British New wave music, new wave duo formed in 1980, consisting of Scottish vocalist Annie Lennox and English musician and producer Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in the Tourists, a band t ...

as part of the

Revenge Tour The Revenge Tour was a concert tour by Kiss (band), Kiss in support of the band's studio album ''Revenge (Kiss album), Revenge''. Background It was the first tour with drummer Eric Singer, replacing Eric Carr who died of cancer on November 24, 19 ...

and

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

as part of the Invisible Touch Tour and latterly in 1988

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

as part of the

A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour was two consecutive concert tours by the English rock band Pink Floyd. The ''A Momentary Lapse of Reason tour'' ran from September 1987 to August 1988; the ''Another Lapse tour'' ran from May–July 1989. Both t ...

and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

as part of the Bad World Tour

On 22 July 2005 an Ultralight aviation, ultralight aircraft crashed on the square, killing the pilot. The police later determined that it was a likely suicide. Berlin World of Football

Leading up to the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

, in April 2006 the sports company

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

began to asphalt the square in order to erect the "Adidas World of Football", a miniature version of the Olympiastadion Berlin with about 8,000 seats. It was used to show live coverage of the football games. After the event, Adidas restored the square to its prior condition; this included finding trees all over Germany that matched the trees that had to be removed.

References

Sources

* Hans-Werner Klünner: ''Berliner Plätze.'' Fotografien von Max Missmann. Nicolaische Verlagsbuchhandlung Beuermann GmbH, Berlin 1996, , S. 76–79. * Heinz Ohff, Rainer Höynck (Hrsg.): ''Das BerlinBuch.'' Stapp-Verlag, Berlin 1987, . * Wolfgang Ribbe, Jürgen Schmädicke: ''Kleine Berlin-Geschichte.'' 3. erweiterte und aktualisierte Auflage. Stapp-Verlag, Berlin 1994, .

External links

360°-panorama of the square and adjacent buildings
{{Authority control History of Berlin Squares in Berlin Mitte