The German Bundestag (abbreviation BT) is the parliament and thus the legislative body of the Federal Republic of Germany, based in Berlin. As a representative body, the Bundestag acts in its own right when performing its duties. The decisions it makes are attributed to the German people - like the decisions of the other organs of state; “the will of parliament is considered the (hypothetical) will of the people”. The Bundestag is the lower of two federal chambers, in contrast to the upper chamber, the Bundesrat. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people, comparable to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom or the House of Representatives of the United States.

The Reichstag building (colloquially known as the Reichstag for short) on Platz der Republik in Berlin has been the seat of the German Bundestag since 1999. Since 1994, the Federal Assembly has also met here to elect the German Federal President.

The building, a national symbol of Germany, was built between 1884 and 1894 in the neo-Renaissance style according to plans by architect Paul Wallot. It housed both the Reichstag of the German Empire and the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic. 

After severe damage caused by the Reichstag fire of 1933 and the Second World War, the building was restored in a modernized form in the 1960s. From 1995 to 1999, the Reichstag was fundamentally redesigned by Norman Foster for its permanent use as a parliament building, which was decided in 1991. The keys were handed over to Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse on April 19, 1999. Since then, the German Bundestag has met there. A landmark in the cityscape is the walk-in glass dome above the plenary chamber, designed by Gottfried Böhm.

With almost three million visitors a year, the Reichstag is the most visited parliament building in the world. (Source: Wikipedia)