site.bta30 Years since Christo’s Emblematic “Wrapped Reichstag”

On June 24,1995, artist Christo Javacheff-Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude displayed the wrapping of the emblematic Reichstag, the symbol of German unity. After years of planning, the art installation stayed on for only 14 days.

The building played a significant role in German history ever since its construction in 1894. In 1933, it partially burned down. Nazi Germany dictator Adolf Hitler used the fire as reason to persecute political opponents. Later, it was heavily damaged in World War II Soviet bombings. During Berlin’s division, the Reichstag stood in West Berlin, meters away from the Berlin Wall.

The completion of the “Wrapped Reichstag” took 24 years of negotiations with German, British, American, French and Soviet governments due to its contradictory location in central Berlin. Six years after the fall of the Berlin wall, the artists were finally able to obtain permission for the wrapping.

A total of 120 installation workers and 90 professional climbers worked with 100,000 square metres of silk fabric to wrap the building.  The project cost USD 15 million and the artists refused any government funding for it.

For Christo, the project meant more than the two weeks it stayed on. The title “Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin, 1971-95”, shows the 24 years of effort, negotiations, and teamwork that went into the creation of the installation, according to Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s foundation website.

Christo’s “Wrapped Reichstag” was the first art installation to be approved by a vote in a national parliament. The German Bundestag debated the artwork for 70 minutes before finally allowing it. After witnessing the positive social reaction to Christo’s work, the German government asked him to extend the installation. The artist refused, comparing his art to “tents of nomadic tribesmen.” He said works represented the temporary nature of life in Jennifer Mundy’s case study of his art.

To commemorate the 30-year anniversary since the wrapping, a light show, mimicking Christo’s original installation, illuminated the western facade of the Reichstag for 10 days earlier in June 2025.