Before the start of the reconstruction, the presidential palace in Berlin transformed into a gallery

Berlin - Due to the upcoming eight-year reconstruction, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had to leave his Berlin residence. However, Schloss Bellevue has already transformed into an art gallery even before the construction work begins. Thousands of people have taken the opportunity to explore the interiors of the publicly inaccessible neoclassical castle and the exhibited modern art. However, many left with a feeling of uncertainty.

Schloss Bellevue was built between 1785 and 1786 on the banks of the Spree River and has been the main residence of the German Federal President since 1994. The secondary residence remains Hammerschmidt Villa in Bonn, where German Federal Presidents resided during the division of Germany into the West German Federal Republic and East German Democratic Republic (GDR).

The current head of state must move from the castle to a replacement office building due to the reconstruction, which stands near Berlin's main train station, in sight of the Chancellor's office and the Bundestag. Before the closure of the castle for the eight-year reconstruction, modern art moved in. Until Sunday, works by Katharina Grosse, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Monica Bonvicini can be seen in 13 halls of the presidential residence.

A large sign on the roof of the castle, "Freiraum Kunst" (Free Space Art), which is the name of the unconventional pop-up exhibition, draws great attention even before entering the building. The most photographed exhibit inside is undoubtedly the figurine by Karin Sander "Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier 1:5", depicting a miniature head of state created using a 3D printer. Another artwork by the artist known as El Bocho is titled "Federal Presidentess".

Steinmeier's successor will be elected on January 30th of next year, and it is very likely that for the first time, a woman will become the head of the federal republic. Speculation surrounds the current Minister of Education, Family, Seniors, Women, and Youth Karin Prien, the Chairwoman of the Bavarian State Parliament Ilse Aigner, the Chairwoman of the Bundestag Julia Klöckner, or the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen. The only one who has commented on the speculation so far is former Chancellor Angela Merkel, who denied any ambition for the presidential office.

There was great interest in visiting the exhibition in the empty presidential castle. Tickets, which were free, saw up to half a million people trying to obtain them at the beginning of the distribution in mid-May. The sales server consequently stopped functioning.

Visitors whom ČTK spoke to were however uncertain after viewing the exhibition. "I’m glad I had the chance to see the castle from the inside; I had never been there before and probably never will again," said sixty-year-old Timo. "But the exhibited art did not impress me much," he added. Seventy-year-old Ute, who came to the exhibition with friends with whom she often visits modern art exhibitions elsewhere, echoed similar sentiments. "They could have chosen better works. However, the miniature of President Steinmeier amused us," she said. Mixed reactions to the exhibition also appeared in German media. For example, Die Welt wrote in the article "Schloss Bellevue or The Art of Helplessness" that the artworks in the palace hang without any "aesthetic-atmospheric connection".

The reconstruction of Schloss Bellevue, which will begin after the exhibition ends on Sunday, will cost at least 601 million euros (14.6 billion CZK). It was initially expected to last five years, but it will ultimately extend for at least eight. The goal is, among other things, to ensure that the castle and the adjacent administrative buildings are subsequently barrier-free and climate-neutral.