Berlin must postpone the construction of the palace to 2014 due to budget cuts

Berlin - The German government has postponed the construction of the Berlin Palace on the site of the former communist Palace of the Republic at least until 2014. The reason is planned budget cuts, which will leave no funds for the controversial project costing 552 million euros (14.3 billion CZK) in the next three years. According to the original plan, a replica of the residence of the Prussian rulers was supposed to be completed by now. Additionally, a recent survey revealed that most Berliners would gladly give it up.
The Hohenzollern Palace stood in the square near Alexanderplatz until 1950. However, it was heavily damaged during World War II due to bombing, and thus the East German government decided to demolish it. Twenty years later, the Palace of the Republic was built in its place, where the parliament of the former GDR met. Due to dangerously high levels of asbestos, this symbol of socialist East Germany was finally demolished two years ago. Today, a giant structure heralding the "resurrection" of the city palace stands here.
However, Berliners and visitors to the German capital will have to wait several more years for that. The project by Italian architect Francesco Stella, which combines historical elements of the original monument with modern architecture, was originally slated to begin construction this year and be completed within three years. Later, both the start and completion dates were pushed back by a year, and last year the German government admitted that the building housing the Humboldt Forum would not be completed before 2016.
Even this date is now seriously threatened, much to the disappointment of Berlin officials. German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed on Monday that there would be no funds for the construction of the palace in the budgets for 2011 to 2013. Therefore, construction may not begin until at least 2014. The state is supposed to finance this project, which has been the subject of passionate debates from the beginning, with 440 million euros, 32 million will be paid by the capital city, and the rest will come from private donors. However, the government claims it does not consider the project dead.
Nevertheless, this assurance did not satisfy the Berlin city hall. The city's mayor, Klaus Wowereit, warned against "short-sighted budget-cutting politics that are not financially beneficial." Similarly, Berlin's state secretary for culture, André Schmitz, reacted. "If the Humboldt Forum were not built, it would not be cheaper for the taxpayer," he warned in the Berliner Morgenpost. He pointed out the emergency state of the complex in the Berlin district of Dahlem, where collections are stored that are to be moved in the future to the palace next to the tourist-frequented Museum Island.
Some officials in the capital even believe that the delay in construction actually means its end. Reportedly, even Berliners would not be upset about it. In a recent survey for the Berliner Zeitung, about 80 percent of respondents expressed their desire for this project to be definitively canceled due to the empty state coffers.
And foreign tourists will not miss out on this attraction anyway. The Berlin Lego amusement center has already begun construction of a smaller replica of the original palace at a scale of 1:60. It is said that it will require about a quarter of a million plastic bricks.