Palaces help Germans recall a prouder past

BRAUNSCHWEIG, Germany, May 4 (Reuters) More than four decades after Braunschweig tore down its palace, the western city's landmark has risen from the rubble, in Germany's latest attempt to recapture a past people can be proud of.

Where the city's dukes once entertained aristocratic guests in the original palace, Braunschweig locals and tourists can now sip lattes, read a paper or pop into their favourite stores in a replica ''Schloss'' -- built in front of a giant mall.

''We've opened up the Buckingham Palace of Braunschweig to the public,'' said Wolfgang Zwafelink, the city councillor for construction, relaxing with a glass of wine on the balcony of the palace portico, which is now part of a trendy cafe.

The reconstruction efforts are also a way for Germans to look back beyond the grim years of Hitler's rule and reclaim symbols of a colourful part of its history, said Gerd Biegel, a historian and director of Braunschweig's state museum.

''It's the history that came before that catastrophe, history with a hint of past splendour,'' Biegel said.

At cafe tables, teenagers tucked into ice creams and elderly couples gazed out over the surrounding square at other building projects underway in the city centre, 90 per cent of which was destroyed by allied bombing in World War Two.

''It's a time for new foundations in Braunschweig,'' said councillor Zwafelink, describing what he sees as a new approach to urban architecture, especially from young generations who are less ''prisoners of history'' than their older relatives.

The 270 million dollars privately financed project is one of several initiatives in Germany which point to a shift away from the post-war tendency to rebuild with a modern face.

The reconstruction of Dresden's bombed-out Frauenkirche, or Church of our Lady, in 2005, has drawn visitors from far and wide to the east German city and spurred on other towns to reclaim symbols of past lustre.

Mannheim, in western Germany, has recently refurbished its baroque palace, and other restoration plans are afoot in cities including the capital Berlin.

'TEMPLE TO CONSUMERISM' But the rebuilding of Braunschweig's palace as the facade of a colossal shopping mall has also sparked criticism: one German newspaper called it a prime example of how not to reconstruct.

It has met a mixed response from locals.

''From the outside it's nice, but inside it's a temple to consumerism. I would have liked it to be more like a museum. But it's just shops left, right and centre,'' said Karl-Heinz Hartmann, 69, recalling the years when there was a park where the palace now stands.

Zwafelink defends the construction of the shopping mall as a compromise the city had to make for a privately financed rebuilding of the palace, which was based on an original constructed in the early 19th century.

He stressed the building would also be a cultural centre for the city including a library, archives and a museum.

''After a few months, people won't be able to imagine that the building was not here for four decades,'' he said, recalling the controversial council decision in 1960 to knock down the war ruins of the palace.

Braunschweig is relying on private money to restore its palace, but it is not yet certain how a new building planned for the site of Berlin's former Prussian Schloss will be financed, though private donations are being raised to pay for the reconstruction of the facade.

The overall cost of the project is estimated at roughly half a billion euros, of which Germany's Transport, Building and Urban Affairs Minister, Wolfgang Tiefensee, is proposing the government pay the large chunk.

Despite left-wing opposition, Berlin is now tearing down the former East German parliament to make way for a building with a replica facade of Kaiser Wilhelm II's former residence -- which was on the site until it was demolished by authorities in 1950.

LOOK BACK BEYOND HITLER Berlin's new building is planned as a forum dedicated to art, culture and sciences. Its reconstructed palace facade is designed to fill in Berlin's historical centre in the former east, where communist leaders favoured large open spaces.

''In Berlin, the palace was the gravitational point of the city.

It was like the sun and the other buildings were its satellites. But satellites do not work without a sun,'' said Wilhelm von Boddien, the director of the association raising funds to construct the facade.

''We have a lot of support from young people. My son says he is not prepared to reduce German history to the 12 years of Nazism.

German history is Goethe, German history is Beethoven, it's Gothic times, it's much more.'' After heavy bombing in World War Two wiped out large sections of Germany's cities, most were rebuilt quickly in a modern style which has left many centres strewn with large functional buildings with scant aesthetic appeal.

Von Boddien highlighted the importance of historical landmarks in creating a sense of identity.

''The pride of a city begins in its buildings. You find it everywhere: in Paris, in London, even in New York. Some buildings are just symbolic, and make all inhabitants say 'this is my town'.'' REUTERS AM ND1008