Schloßplatz
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Schloßplatz (German for "Palace Square") is a square on Museum Island (Museumsinsel) in Berlin, Germany. It measures about 225 m by 175 m, with its long side oriented on an axis approximately southwest/northeast. At its west corner is the Schloßbrücke (Palace Bridge), from which Unter den Linden leads west to the Brandenburg Gate. From the same corner Karl-Liebknecht-Straße runs northeast alongside the square and on to Alexanderplatz.
It was the site of the Berliner Stadtschloß (Berlin City Palace). From 1949 to 1990 it was part of East Berlin, the capital of East Germany. In 1950, the remains of the city palace were blown up, and in 1951 the square was renamed Marx-Engels-Platz (Marx-Engels Square) after Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. New buildings erected included the Palast der Republik, the Council of State building, and the Foreign Ministry building. The Council of State building contains a balcony from the former city palace, where Karl Liebknecht proclaimed a socialist republic on November 9, 1918.
Following German reunification in 1990, the name Schloßplatz was restored in 1994.
The Palast der Republik was originally scheduled to be destroyed in 2005-06. The German parliament has decided to reconstruct the City Palace at Schloßplatz. This new building will have the same exterior as the Prussian palace, but the inside will be a modern conference venue. Demolition of Palast der Republik started in February 2006, and is expected to continue until the Easter of 2007, according to a report on the ARD Taggesshau news.
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