Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
select your preferred visit date and time (you can request up to three different time slots)
and fill in your contact information. Once you complete the form and agree to their privacy
policy, you'll be sent a confirmation email with a link to a website where you'll enter the
nameandbirthdateforeachpersoninyourpartyandconfirmyourrequest.Aftercompleting
this form, you'll receive a confirmation of your request (not a confirmation of your visit) by
email. But you still have to wait for yet another email confirming your visit. If the English
page isn't working, you can try using the German version: Go to
https://www.bundestag.de/
besuche/besucherdienst/index.jsp
and call up a German-speaking friend to help you out. Or,
if you use Google's Chrome browser, simply click the “Translate” button to see the steps in
English.
While they claim it's possible to
email
a reservation request (
kuppelbe-
such@bundestag.de
), you won't receive a confirmation until the day before your vis-
it—which can be stressful. Use the website instead.
Getting In:
Once you have a reservation, simply report to the visitors center at the ap-
pointed time, and be ready to show ID. Give your name to the attendant, and you'll be let
right in.
Tours:
Pick up the English
“Outlooks” flier
just after the visitors center. The free GPS-
driven
audioguide
explains the building and narrates the view as you wind up the spiral
ramp to the top of the dome; the commentary starts automatically as you step onto the bot-
tom of the ramp.
Self-Guided Tour:
As you approach the building, look above the door, surrounded
by stone patches from WWII bomb damage, to see the motto and promise:
Dem Deutschen
Volke
(“To the German People”). The open, airy lobby towers 100 feet high, with 65-foot-
tall colors of the German flag. See-through glass doors show the
central legislative cham-
ber.
The message: There will be no secrets in this government. Look inside. Spreading his
wings behind the podium is a stylized German eagle: the
Bundestagsadler
(a.k.a. “the fat
hen”), representing the Bundestag (each branch of government has its own symbolic eagle).
Notice the doors marked
Ja
(Yes),
Nein
(No), and
Enthalten
(Abstain)...an homage to the
Bundestag's traditional “sheep jump” way of counting votes by exiting the chamber through
the corresponding door (for critical votes, however, all 669 members vote with electronic
cards).
Ride the elevator to the base of the glass
dome.
Pick up the free audioguide and take
some time to study the photos and read the circle of captions—around the base of the cent-
ral funnel—for an excellent exhibit telling the Reichstag story. Then study the surrounding
architecture:abrokencollageofnewonold,tornbetweenantiquityandmodernity,likeGer-
many's history. Notice the dome's giant and unobtrusive sunscreen that moves as necessary
with the sun. Peer down through the skylight to look over the shoulders of the elected rep-
