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138 Section 6. BERLIN. Konigs-Platz.
To the W. of the Wandel-Halle is the Reading Room, with
panelled walls and ceiling. About 400 newspapers are laid out here.
The frieze of putti is by M. Koch; the wall-paintings, representing
the Marienburg, the Wartburg, the Harbour of Hamburg, Arcona,
the Frauen-Kirche at Dresden, Speyer Cathedral, and Tangermunde,
are by Ludwig, Kiihl, Prell, Dill, Hertel, and Brucht. — The ad¬
jacent Writing Room, in the N.W. tower, is also finished throughout
in wood. In the corners are wooden statues of Vulcan, Neptune,
Mercury, and Ceres. The wall-paintings (Strassburg, the Wendel-
stein, the Teufels-Schlucht, the Chiemsee, and the Bastei) are by
Schbnleber, Ludwig, Bracht, and Ruupp.
The central space beneath the great glass dome is occupied by
the *Hall op the Diet, 95 ft. long, 69 ft. wide, and 43 ft. high.
The walls are panelled in light oak and adorned with ornamental
designs, coats-of-arms, and figures. Beneath the glass roof runs a
circular vaulting, embellished with coats-of-arms. In the middle
of the E. side is the seat of the president, beside which is the
secretaries' desk. In front is the tribune, whence members address
the house, flanked by the places for the ministers and members of
the Federal Council. Immediately in front of the tribune are the
seats of the shorthand-writers and beyond these, the table of the
house. The seats for the 397 deputies are arranged amphitheatri-
cally, facing the president, to whose 'right' and 'left' sit the political
parties grouped under these names. The doors on the N. and S.,
leading to the division lobbies, are embellished with intarsia designs
representing Ulysses escaping from Polyphemus and Rubezahl
('Number Nip'). — The hall is surrounded by a broad panelled
corridor, the beams of which are supported by small half-figures,
each bearing a gilded letter of the motto 'Erst das Vaterland, dann
die Partei' ('country before party').
To the W. of the S. end of the Wandel-Halle are the Refreshment
Rooms. The main room has a barrel-vault, embellished by Hupp
with coats-of-arms and festoons of thistles, amid which are sportive
putti with the imperial insignia. — The ceiling of the corner-room
displays the phases of the moon in metal; in the angles of the
vaulting are low reliefs of the four elements.
We now descend to the S. Vestibule, with rich Renaissance
portals in sandstone, by Vogel. Above that to the E. are the arms
of Prussia supported by Wisdom and Strength; above that to the
W. the arms of Bavaria, with Justice and Unity. The stained-
glass windows are both by Linuemann: to the N. is seen the im¬
perial eagle, bearing the arms of the federal states on its wings;
over the S. portal is Germania. — In front of the columns are
eight colossal bronze statues of early emperors, viz. Charlemagne,
by Breuer, Henry I., by Briitt, Otho I., by Maison, Henry III.,
by Manzel, Frederick Barbarossa, by Baumbach, Rudolf of Haps-