The Stadtschloss (English: Berlin City Palace), was a royal palace in the centre of Berlin, capital of Germany. The palace bore features of the Baroque style, and its shape, finalized by the mid 18th century, is attributed to Andreas Schlüter, whose first design is likely to date from 1702, though the palace incorporated earlier parts seen in 1688 by Nicodemus Tessin. It was the principal residence (winter residence) of the Hohenzollern Kings of Prussia from 1701 to 1918 (the German Emperors from 1871 to 1918) and a museum following the fall of the German Empire in 1918. Damaged by Allied bombing in World War II, although possible to repair at great expense, the palace was demolished in 1950 by the GDR authorities, despite West German protests. Following the reunification of Germany, it was decided to rebuild the Stadtschloss.
By 2002 and 2003 cross-party resolutions of the Bundestag reached a compromise to support at least a partial rebuilding of the Stadtschloss, but no definite decision was made. In 2007, the Bundestag (German parliament) made a definitive decision about the reconstruction. According to this compromise, three façades of the palace will be rebuilt, but the interior will be a postmodern structure to serve as a cultural-political forum. Work on the Humboldtforum, as the new palace will be called, has been delayed until at least 2014 due to German government budget cuts. Meanwhile, off-site stonemasonry has already commenced.
Now a big majority of the budget committee of the Bundestag approved a 590 million Euro budget for the final reconstruction of the Berlin City Palace. The construction work on site will definitely start in 2014.
