A replica of the Building Academy by Schinkel will be created in Berlin

Berlin - The budget committee of the German parliament today released 62 million euros (1.7 billion CZK) for the construction of a replica of the former Building Academy in the center of Berlin. The 19th-century building designed by the famous architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, which was heavily damaged by bombing during World War II, was demolished by the communist regime of the former German Democratic Republic in 1962.

The Building Academy, known by its architect's name as the Schinkel Academy, will thus become another historical building returning to the map of the German capital. For several years, a replica of the city palace of the Prussian kings and German emperors from the Hohenzollern dynasty has been under construction in the immediate vicinity of the academy.

Currently, the Building Academy, which was created between 1832 and 1836 in the very center of the then Prussian metropolis, is represented by an iron structure covered with a tarpaulin printed to imitate a red facade. Since 2004, one corner has been formed by a brick replica of part of the building in its original size.

After completion, an exhibition about the work of architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, who significantly contributed to the face of central Berlin, will be established in the academy. He designed, for instance, the Neue Wache memorial, the Concert House, the Old Museum, and the Friedrichswerder Church. After its completion, a state library is expected to move into part of the academy building.