Erich’s lamp store closing for good
It’s been a slow death for this awful thing, but the Berliner Palast der Republik (Palace of the Republic) will finally be biting the dust this month.
The Berliners used to call it Erichs Lampenladen (communist boss Erich Honnecker’s lamp store – lit up all the time like a showcase etc.). Now they just call it what it is; ugly.
Yup, this sublime architectural communist monstrosity has seen better days, that’s for sure. The new/old communists (PDS etc.) are painfully aware of this, too. They wanted to keep the thing (for some inexplicable reason) and spruce it up and eventually hold revolutions there or something but nobody has the money so, well, you're history baby.
The furniture has been removed. The cutlery has been auctioned off. They’ve even taken the damned asbestos out for goodness sakes. Once it’s gone the Bundestag is planning to build a “cheap imitation” of the old Hohenzollern Stadtschloss that stood there before the war. But there’s no money for that either, of course. And yet, making plans is a positive and proactive thing and always a a lot of fun, I find.
PS: Word is we’ll be able to watch this thing being torn down per webcam. So stay tuned or something...
Aufwiedersehen Palazzo Prozzi!
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