The Zeughaus of Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 is the oldest structure on the Unter den Linden

Unter den Linden

Unter den Linden is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways....

. It was built by the Brandenburg Elector Frederick III between 1695 and 1730 in the baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 style, to be used as an artillery arsenal. The first building master was Johann Arnold Nering

Johann Arnold Nering

Johann Arnold Nering or Nehring was a German architect active in the Electorate of Brandenburg.-Life:...

; after his death in 1695, he was followed by Martin Grünberg

Martin Grünberg

Martin Grünberg was a German architect and master builder.- Life :He was active in Berlin from 1687 onwards, after several trips to France and Italy...

, then Andreas Schlüter

Andreas Schlüter

Andreas Schlüter was a German baroque sculptor and architect associated with the Petrine Baroque style of architecture and decoration.-Biography:...

 and finally Jean de Bodt

Jean de Bodt

Jean de Bodt was a Baroque architect of the 18th century.- Biography :Bodt was born in Paris to French Huguenot parents. He studied architecture, but was forced to flee from France after the Edict of Fontainebleau in the entourage of William III of Orange, the later William III of England to the...

.

The building was transformed into a military museum in 1875. From 1949-65 the Zeughaus was restored after heavy war losses, the interior being completely redesigned. In 1952, the government of the German Democratic Republic

German Democratic Republic

The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...

 opened the Museum of German History (Museum für Deutsche Geschichte) in the Zeughaus, which presented the history of Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, especially in the modern era, from a Communist point of view. Today, the Zeughaus is the site of the Deutsches Historisches Museum

Deutsches Historisches Museum

The German Historical Museum , DHM for short, is a museum in Berlin devoted to German history and defines itself as a place of enlightenment and understanding of the shared history of Germans and Europeans....

(German Historical Museum).