Demolition for East German hotel.

21 Feb, 2006

Yet another reminder of East Germanys communist past, the Soviet-style Hotel Unter den Linden is to be demolished to make way for an eight-storey block of shops, offices and apartments. The hotel on the famous Unter den Linden boulevard once housed important guests of the regime, but since the fall of the Berlin Wall, it has become a favourite option for travellers on a budget. Not for much longer however. At the end of February the hotel is to close its doors and demolition is scheduled to begin on 1 March. A super-size screen will be erected on the empty block for the duration of the World Cup which starts in June, with football matches screened live. Another of East Germanys symbolic buildings, the Palace of the Republic, has also just had its demolition confirmed. Germanys lower house has finally voted to pull down the building after over ten years of controversy.