The Patrimonialization of the Historical Center of Berlin: A Case of Scheduled Oblivion?

Abstract

The urban redevelopment of the Castle Square in Berlin reveals the way in which some politic actors and community leaders participate in a “re nationalisation” of the speech about the local urban specificities. The redevelopment of this central area implied the dismantling of the Palace of the Republic, emblematic building of East Berlin set up in 1976 in place of the castle of Hohenzollern that worked during almost 14 years until the events of 1989 put back into question its existence. In 2002, the Bundestag voted for its destruction and for the reconstruction of the former castle. At first, we shall show that the creation of a patrimonial object by architectural cloning aims at filling the urban space of fictions relating to the local identities. Secondly, we will see how some actors contested these narratives about urban identity. We will finally investigate the exclusive effects of the dismantling of the Palace of the Republic.

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