Steinmeier Relocates Official Duties to Temporary Seat at the Spreebogen

The official name of the new residence is "Official Seat at the Spreebogen." It is a modern modular building at a street intersection in Moabit, which cost 205 million euros. The annual rent amounts to 16 million euros. The building is to serve as a temporary official seat for eight years.

New Architecture, Different Aesthetic

The reception rooms are located on the sixth floor and offer views of the Chancellery, the Reichstag, and other Berlin office buildings. The large hall, where the Federal Chancellor will in future be appointed and Federal Ministers dismissed, is kept in a royal blue. The gallery hall was painted in a strong dark green. State banquets are also to take place in the new rooms.

The kitchen with blast freezer, stove, and steamer is on the ground floor. "Down below we produce all the food. Then an elevator takes it directly up to the large serving area," explained the head chef responsible for catering, Jan-Göran Barth. A total of three elevators must function reliably so that events can run on time. Modern art is also to be installed in the rooms, along with flowers and plants.

Head of Protocol Maike Liebschner described the new official seat with the words: "No stucco, no gold, no splendor - that doesn't fit in here." Foreign delegations will in future be received with their respective national flags. The design thus remains deliberately restrained and functional.

Why Schloss Bellevue Is No Longer Usable

The background to the move is the dilapidated condition of Schloss Bellevue. The heritage-protected building, constructed in 1785, shows corrosion on the floor ceilings, cracks in the facade, and a leaky roof. The windows are neither burglary- nor bullet-resistant, and the ventilation systems no longer function properly. A renovation during ongoing operations would not have been possible.

For the renovation of Schloss Bellevue and the building of the Federal President's Office, 601 million euros are budgeted. In addition, there are 259 million euros for incalculable risks and possible construction cost increases, which do not necessarily have to be drawn upon. The construction measures are to take up to eight years. First, the exact structural condition of the castle will be examined. In the course of the work, a new guard building and various underground facilities will also be created, including security upgrades on the recommendation of the Federal Criminal Police Office.

Costs, Duration, and Consequences

Steinmeier himself had recently stated that he "actually hates moves." The Federal President will leave office in March of next year and will not return to Bellevue. His successor will also spend the entire first term in the temporary seat at the Spreebogen.

After the end of the presidency, a federal authority is later to move into the transitional building. The Federal President's Office had previously stated that no existing Berlin building "met the security-related necessities and the constitutionally required representational requirements." From 2018 to 2020, it was therefore examined whether an existing property could serve as a temporary seat.