Hall of the People

1939 model

Hall of the People ( German: Volkshalle ), also Hall of Fame , Great Hall - an architectural project created by A. Speer at the direction of A. Hitler , intended for the reconstruction of the new capital of the Third Reich of Germany planned for the post-war period.

The gigantic size of the building was to serve as a testament to the power of the German state and its superiority over other nations. The interior of the Hall was to become a cult center and a congress hall, accommodating from 150 thousand to 180 thousand people.

The building was planned to be erected in the north of Berlin , on one of the bends of the Spree . One of the samples that influenced the architecture of the Hall is the Roman Pantheon , which Hitler privately visited in May 1938 . The very first draft of the Hall, belonging to the Fuhrer, dates back to 1925 . In 1937 , when A. Speer was entrusted with the redevelopment of Berlin in the spirit of architecture of the era of National Socialism , the design of the Hall was also amended. The Hall of the People was part of the ensemble of the Great Square along with the Reichstag and the Fuhrer Palace .

The cost of creating the Hall was estimated by Hitler at 1 billion Reichsmarks . Its construction was planned to be completed by 1950 (like other buildings in the new capital). The building was to be constructed of granite and marble and, according to the Führer, would have lasted 10,000 years.

The foundation had a perimeter of 315 × 315 meters with a depth of 74 meters. The height of the entire structure was to be 320 meters. The dome , the volume of which was 17 times higher than that of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, was to become (by a significant margin) the largest in the world. The dome was to be crowned with a German eagle holding the globe in its claws. The largest water basin in the world with dimensions of 1200 × 400 meters adjoined the building from the north-west.