Here are several views of the Reichstag in Berlin. I always thought the name itself had some vestige of a darker side of German history, but I was terribly uninformed. This- savagely lifted from Wikipediahelped me straighten myself out... The Reichstag building in Berlin was constructed to house the Reichstag, the original parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Reichstag until 1933. It again became the seat of the German parliament in 1999 after a reconstruction led by internationally renowned architect Norman Foster. Today's parliament of Germany is called the Bundestag. The Reichstag as a parliament dates back to the Holy Roman Empire and ceased to act as a true parliament in the years of Nazi Germany (1933-1945). In today's usage, the German term Reichstag refers to the building, while the term Bundestag refers to the institution.
The middle photo is also savagely lifted (web), but the other two were taken by Christian. We went there on a cold rainy evening and stood in line for an hour to go up in the 'transparent' cuppola. The main hall of parliment (the blue chairs, photo right) and its activities can be viewed from above. The circular area in the photo on right tells the history of the building. The shield (seen through the glass- photo left) tracks the movement of the sun electronically and alows filtered light, but blocks direct sunlight to the eyes of those below.