Bellevue Palace
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Bellevue Palace on the banks of the Spree in Berlin-Tiergarten is the official residence of the Federal President of Germany.
The immaculately-looking white neoclassical palace on the Spreeweg, just off the Tiergarten's northwestern corner is the official residence of the German Federal President – Bundespräsident.
The palace was erected in 1786 as a private residence for Frederick the Great's youngest brother Prince Ferdinand of Prussia. It was designed by architect Philipp Daniel Boumann as a three-winged palace ideally situated on the Tiergarten hunting grounds. Over the centuries it became a school under Emperor Wilhelm II (1888 – 1918) – the last German Kaiser – and a Reich guesthouse in 1939. The round arched windows of the side wings were converted from the original side entrances. The present building is the 1959 reconstructed version and only one room - the Oval Saal (Oval Office) from Carl Gotthard Langhans - is original.
The President's offices are located in the new building, the Bundespräsidialamt (Office of the Federal President), south of the Palace, a contrasting glass and black granite edifice under heavy guard.
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