The Zeughaus (, ''

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

'') is a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

and the oldest structure on

Unter den Linden Unter den Linden (, "under the Tilia, linden trees") is a boulevard in the central Mitte (locality), Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. Running from the Berlin Palace to the Brandenburg Gate, it is named after the Tilia, linden trees (known ...

boulevard in the historic centre of

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 ...

. Erected from 1695 to 1706 according to plans by

Johann Arnold Nering Johann Arnold Nering (or Nehring; 13 January 1659 – 21 October 1695) was a German Baroque architect in the service of Brandenburg-Prussia. A native of Wesel, Cleves, Nering was educated largely in Holland. From 1677 to 1679 he also travell ...

Martin Grünberg Martin Grünberg or Martin Ginsberg (born 1655, Insterburg, then in the Duchy of Prussia, now in Russia – between 16 and 23 October 1706 or 1707Precise date of death unknown) was a German architect and master builder. Life He was active in B ...

Andreas Schlüter Andreas Schlüter (1659 – ) was a German baroque sculptor and architect, active in the Holy Roman Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and Tsardom of Russia, Russia. Biography Andreas Schlüter was born probably in Hamburg, in ...

and

Jean de Bodt Jean de Bodt (1670 – 3 January 1745) was a Baroque architect of the 18th century. Biography Bodt was born in Paris to French Huguenot parents, but his father came from Mecklenburg. He studied architecture, but was forced to flee from France a ...

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

, it was later converted into a

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

. Damaged during the Allied bombing in World War II, it was rebuilt from 1949 to 1967 as part of the Forum Fridericianum. Since 2003, it has been home to the

Deutsches Historisches Museum The German Historical Museum (), known by the acronym DHM, is a museum in Berlin, Germany devoted to German history. It describes itself as a place of "enlightenment and understanding of the shared history of Germans and Europeans". It is often ...

(German Historic Museum). Since June 2021 it is closed for necessary renovations and for the renewal of the Permanent Exhibition probably until the end of 2025.

History

The Zeughaus is the oldest structure at

. It was built by Frederick III,

Elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of t ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

between 1695 and 1730 in the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style, to be used as an artillery arsenal for the display of cannons from Brandenburg and Prussia. The first building master was

. After his death in 1695, he was followed by

, then

and finally

. Andreas Schlüter designed the keystones above the round-arch windows in the form of heads of giants.

Georg Friedrich Hitzig Georg may refer to: * ''Georg'' (film), 1997 *Georg (musical), Estonian musical * Georg (given name) * Georg (surname) * , a Kriegsmarine coastal tanker * Spiders Georg, an Internet meme See also * George (disambiguation) George may refer to: ...

(1811-1881) constructed the monumental flight of steps to the upper floor of the north wing and also a roof over the courtyard. The building was converted into a military museum in 1875. In March 1943,

Rudolf von Gersdorff Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff (27 March 1905 – 27 January 1980) was an officer in the German Army. As a Wehrmacht intelligence officer, he attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler by suicide bombing on 21 March 1943; the plan failed wh ...

tried, but failed to assassinate by suicide bombing

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

, during the opening of an exhibition in this museum. From 1949 to 1965 the ''Zeughaus'' was restored after heavy war damage, the interior being completely redesigned. In 1952, the government of the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

opened the

Museum for German History The Museum for German History (''Museum für Deutsche Geschichte'' or ''MfDG'') was the central historical museum of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), established in 1952 and closed in 1990. History On 20 October 1951 the seventh plenary of t ...

in the ''Zeughaus'', which presented the history of

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 ...

, especially in the modern era, from a

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

point of view. Today, the ''Zeughaus'' is the site of the ''

'' (German Historical Museum).

References

External links

Deutsches Historisches Museum
Buildings and structures in Mitte History museums in Germany Museums in Berlin {{Berlin-struct-stub