Germany: the imperial palace is reborn in Berlin amid controversy

Inaugurated on December 16, 2020, the reconstructed Imperial Palace in Berlin houses the Ethnological Museum of the Humboldt Forum.

AP - Michael Sohn

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

Virtual inauguration for the Berlin castle this Wednesday December 16.

In the heart of the German capital, a private initiative funded the almost identical reconstruction of the former palace of the Prussian kings on Unter den Linden avenue.

The castle is to house the African and Asian art collections of the capital.

Controversies. 

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With our correspondent in Berlin,

Nathalie Versieux

The building is a witness to Berlin's turbulent history.

Imperial palace from the time of the Prussian kings, heavily bombed during the Second World War, razed after the war by the communist regime which instead erected a modern building devoid of any charm but dear to East Germans, razed to its Reunification for an almost identical reconstruction of the palace of the kings of Prussia ... the site is controversial.

Several reasons: first of all the symbol, but also the cost of the works, which amount to nearly 700 million euros.

Without forgetting the use to be made of this 40,000 square meter building intended to house the Humbold Forum, which brings together Berlin's collections of primitive and Asian art.

That is to say 20,000 pieces in total, mostly from the former German colonies. 

Last week, the Nigerian ambassador called for the return to his country of bronzes from Benin: 180 busts and sculptures dating from the 16th and 18th centuries.

A delicate issue for Germany, which strives to be exemplary in the case of works looted by the Nazis, but has more difficulty in confronting its colonial past. 

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To read also: “Africa seen by African photographers” at the Völklinger Hütte

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