Tarpaulin showing a mock­up of the Berlin Palace

A full­scale mock­up of the Berlin Palace, which was blown up in 1950, went on display from July 1993 to September 1994. Catherine Feff and her team painted a remarkably realistic ­looking palace facade on a tarpaulin measuring 10,000 square metres. It was subsequently suspended from scaffolding at a height of thirty metres beside the East German Palace of the Republic to illustrate the original impact of the Berlin Palace in the urban space. Initiated by Wilhelm von Boddien, the mock­up triggered a debate lasting many years: Should the Berlin Palace be rebuilt or should the Palace of the Republic be preserved? In 2002, the German parliament decided to build the Humboldt Forum, re­constructing important parts of the Baroque palace facades.