'Imperial Assembly'), a historic legislative government building on Platz der Republik in Berlin, is the seat of the German Bundestag.

The Neo-Renaissance building was constructed between 1884 and 1894 in the Tiergarten district on the left bank of the River Spree to plans by the architect Paul Wallot.

The building took further damage during World War II, and its symbolism made it an important target for the Red Army during the Battle of Berlin.

A landmark of the city is the redesigned walk-in glass dome above the plenary chamber, proposed by artist and architect Gottfried Böhm.

The plan incorporated the Königsplatz (today's Platz der Republik), which was then occupied by the palace of a Polish-Prussian aristocrat, Athanasius Raczyński.

The direct model for Wallot's design was Philadelphia's Memorial Hall, the main building of the 1876 Centennial Exhibition.

The building's four corner towers represented the four German kingdoms at unification, Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Württemberg, and the heraldic coat of arms of each kingdom, as well as smaller devices representing various German city-states, flanked the main entrance, celebrating the process of unification.

[6] In 1916, the iconic words Dem deutschen Volke ("To the German People") were placed above the main façade of the building, much to the displeasure of Wilhelm II, who had tried to block the adding of the inscription for its democratic significance.

[7][8][9] On 27 February 1933, there was an arson attack on the Reichstag building, precisely four weeks after Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany.

Instead, the nearby Kroll Opera House was modified into a legislative chamber and served as the location of all parliamentary sessions, whilst the Reichstag building became the setting for political exhibitions.

During the Battle of Berlin in 1945, it became one of the central targets for the Red Army to capture, due to its perceived symbolic significance.

[17] In 1956, after some debate, the West German government decided that the Reichstag should not be torn down, but be restored instead under the guidance of Paul Baumgarten.

The cupola of the original building, which had also been heavily damaged in the war, was dismantled, and the outside façade made simpler with the removal of ornaments and statues.

[22] Before reconstruction began, the Reichstag was wrapped by the Bulgarian-American artists Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude in 1995, attracting millions of visitors.

[27] The Reichstag is now the second most visited attraction in Germany, not least because of the huge glass dome that was erected on the roof as a gesture to the original 1894 cupola, giving an impressive view over the city, especially at night.