The parliamentary budget committee gave the final green light late Wednesday to rebuild the Berlin City Palace.

All of the parliamentary factions with the exception of the Left party agreed to up the construction budget by 38 million euros ($54 million). Some 552 million euros had already been provided for building.

Culture Minister Bernd Neumann said it was a "good day for culture in Berlin and throughout Germany," following the meeting of the Budget Committee on Wednesday.

The groundbreaking ceremony is planned for 2013, with the project to be completed by the end of 2017 or beginning of 2018.

A complex history

The pompous Baroque building was largely destroyed in World War II, and what remained of it was later demolished under the rule of the communist government in what used to be East Germany. In the 1970s, a large modernist building - the Palace of the Republic - was built in its place.

Following Germany's reunification in 1990, the Palace of the Republic was torn down because of its association with the communist regime.

In 2002, the Bundestag voted to reconstruct the historic castle, but the project was delayed for cost reasons. The Italian architect Francesco Stella won a competition in 2008 to redesign the building with his plan to recreate three of the four original facades.

Author: Sarah Harman (dpa, DAPD)
Editor: Kate Bowen