Two types of video images are projected next to each other onto the wall. One shows the palace's dismantled and virtually deserted interior, scanning slowly across the part that used to be the parliament. The other consists of video footage of central Berlin shot from the palace's window. The simultaneous projection of these two types of images highlights the way only this building seems to be "frozen in time" while everything else in Germany has been subject to rapid changes since reunification.
Palast der Republik
Former multi-purpose facility on Berlin's "Unter den Linden" avenue, erected in 1976 on the site of the Berlin Stadtschloss (royal palace) that was damaged in World War II. Its halls were used by the Volkskammer (GDR parliament), and for concerts and TV program recordings. Further accommodated bowling and other amusement facilities, as well as restaurants and bars, the complex was a popular recreation spot for the citizens of Berlin.
However, shortly before the fall of the Berlin wall in 1990, it was decided to close the facility due to the toxic properties of asbestos contained in the palace's interior fittings. Clearance operations continued until 2003, after which the building had remained in a state ready for demolition.
Regardless of a dispute between those who suggested it should be preserved as symbol of the GDR, and others who advocated demolition and reconstruction of the Stadtschloss, after being used as an event space for two years, the palace was finally torn down in 2006. At present (2012), preparations for reconstructing the Stadtschloss are underway.
