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The Berlin City Palace ( in central Berlin , on Schlossplatz , next to Alexanderplatz . The City Palace was originally opened in 1443 , and was the winter residence of the rulers of Brandenburg , then Prussia , and finally, the German Emperor s. After the First World War , it was converted into a museum, and its innards were gutted during the Second World War . The Communist government of East Germany demolished the palace in 1950 as a symbol of " Prussia n Militarism ", except for the balcony of portal IV where Karl Liebknecht declared the formation of a German '' freie sozialistische Republik '' (free socialist republic) that never came to existence. The communists erected the Palast Der Republik , a modern Socialist Realist building, on the foundations of the City Palace, and the square in front was renamed Marx - Engels -Platz. The portal survived as a part of the former State Council Building (Staatsratsgebäude) at the southern end of the place. After German Reunification , the name of the square was changed back to Schlossplatz, and the Palast was found to be unsafe due to Asbestos . Despite vocal opposition from groups who claim that the Palast is itself historically important and should therefore be saved, in November 2003, the German parliament decided to demolish the Palast der Republik and reconstruct the City Palace. Work on demolishing the Palast begins in December, 2005 and the current situation (September 2005) on rebuilding, is that work should begin in 2009. The historic Neptunbrunnen fountain was originally located on the Schlossplatz in front of the Palace. EXTERNAL LINK
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