“Welthauptstadt Germania” – Adolf Hitler's vision for renewal of the German capital Berlin

A model of the Führer’s plan for Berlin formulated under the direction of Albert Speer, looking north toward the Volkshalle at the top of the frame.

 

 

Model of the „Volkshalle” in Berlin

 

„Volkshalle” („People’s Hall“), also called Große Halle („Great Hall“) – one of the glorious architectural projects of the Führer. A monumental domed building - its dimensions were so large that it would have dwarfed every other structure in Berlin, including those on the north-south axis itself. The oculus of the building’s dome, 46 meters (151 ft) in diameter, would have accommodated the entire rotunda of Hadrian’s Pantheon and the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica. The dome of the Volkshalle was to rise from a massive granite podium 315 by 315 meters (1,033 ft × 1,033 ft) and 74 meters (243 ft) high, to a total inclusive height of 290 meters (950 ft).

  

Model of the Adolf Hitler’s palace in Berlin

 

Aside from the great hall, the most important and psychologically the most interesting of the buildings was to be Hitler’s palace. It is no exaggeration to speak of a palace rather than the Chancellors residence. As the preserved sketches show, Hitler had been thinking about this building as early as November 1938. From the Chancellors residence of Bismarck’s day into which he originally moved to this projected palace, the proportions had multiplied by a factor of one hundred and fifty. Even Nero’s legendary palace area, the Golden House, with its expanse of more than eleven million square feet, would be outstripped by Hitler’s palace. Right in the centre of Berlin, it was to occupy, with the attached grounds, twenty-two million square feet. Reception rooms led through several series of salons into a dining hall which could have accommodated thousands. Eight vast entertainment halls were available for gala receptions.

 

The eight public rooms would have had a total area of 161 400 square feet. The theatre was to contain four hundred comfortable seats. Following the normal practice of allowing about two and a half square feet per seat in a theatre, the 3 442 square feet would have provided easily for eight hundred persons in the orchestra and another hundred and fifty in the balcony. Hitler planned to have a special box for himself in the theatre.

 

 

 

Model of the Office of the Reich Marshal in Berlin - architect Albert Speer