Berlin Palace

The Berlin Palace is a building in the centre of Berlin, located on the Museum Island at Schlossplatz, opposite the Lustgarten park. It was a royal and imperial palace and served as the winter residence of the Electors of Brandenburg, the Kings of Prussia and the German Emperors. Destroyed by the East German communist regime in the 1950s, the palace is currently being rebuilt, with completion expected in 2018. The reconstructed palace will be the seat of the Humboldt Forum, a museum for world culture which is a successor museum of the Ancient Prussian Art Chamber, which was also located in the Berlin Palace. The Humboldt Forum has been described as the German equivalent of the British Museum.The palace was originally built in the 15th century and changed throughout the next few centuries. It bore features of the Baroque style, and its shape, finalised by the middle 18th century, is attributed to German architect Andreas Schlüter, whose first design is likely to date from 1702, though the palace incorporated earlier parts seen in 1688 by Nicodemus Tessin. It served as a residence to various Electors of Brandenburg. It was the principal residence and winter residence of the Hohenzollern Kings of Prussia from 1701 to 1918. After the unification of Germany in 1871, it was also the central residence for the German Emperors. It became a museum following the fall of the German Empire in 1918. The palace was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in World War II. Although it could have been repaired, the palace was demolished in 1950 by the German Democratic Republic authorities, despite criticism.