Christo and Jeanne-Claude:
Wrapped Reichstag®, Berlin 1971-95

After a struggle spanning through the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties, the wrapping of the Reichstag was completed on June 24th, 1995 by a work force of 90 professional climbers and 120 installation workers. The Reichstag remained wrapped for 14 days and all materials were recycled.

Ten companies in Germany started in September 1994 to manufacture all the various
materials according to the specifications of the engineers. During the months of April, May and June 1995, iron workers installed the steel structures on the towers, the roof, the statues and the stone vases to allow the folds of fabric to cascade from the roof down to the ground.

100,000 square meters (1,076,000 square feet) of thick woven polypropylene fabric with an aluminum surface and 15,600 meters (51,181 feet) of blue polypropylene rope, diameter 3.2 cm. (1.25?), were used for the wrapping of the Reichstag. The façades, the towers and the roof were covered by 70 tailor-made fabric panels, twice as much fabric as the surface of the building.

The work of art was entirely financed by the artists, as have all their projects, through the sale of preparatory studies, drawings, collages, scale models as well as early works and original lithographs.

The artists do not accept sponsorship of any kind.

The Wrapped Reichstag represents not only 24 years of efforts in the lives of the artists but also years of team work by its leading members Michael S. Cullen, Wolfgang and Sylvia Volz, and Roland Specker.

In Bonn, on February 25, 1994, at a plenary session, presided by Prof. Dr. Rita Süssmuth, the German Bundestag (parliament) debated for 70 minutes and voted on the work of art. The result of the roll call vote was: 292 in favor, 223 against and 9 abstentions.

The Reichstag stands up in an open, strangely metaphysical area, The building has
experienced its own continuous changes and perturbations: built in 1894, burned in 1933, almost destroyed in 1945, it was restored in the sixties, but the Reichstag always remained the symbol of Democracy.

Throughout the history of art, the use of fabric has been a fascination for artists. From the most ancient times to the present, fabric, forming folds, pleats and draperies, is a significant part of paintings, frescoes, reliefs and sculptures made of wood, stone and bronze. The use of fabric on the Reichstag follows the classical tradition. Fabric, like clothing or skin, is fragile, it translates the unique quality of impermanence.

For a period of two weeks, the richness of the silvery fabric, shaped by the blue ropes,
created a sumptuous flow of vertical folds highlighting the features and proportions of the imposing structure, revealing the essence of the Reichstag.

FACT SHEET
Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin 1971-1995

The Building: The German Reichstag
Height at roof: 105.5 ft / 32.2 m
Height at towers: 139.4 ft / 42.5 m
Length, East and West facade: 445.2 ft / 135.7 m
Width, North and South facade: 314.9 ft / 96 m
Total perimeter: 1,520.3 ft / 463.4 m
Number of towers: 4
Numberof inner courtyards: 2

The Materials
Length of yarn used for weaving: 48,836 miles / 70,546 km
manufactured by Bremer Woll-Kammerei, Bremen, Germany

Silver polypropylene fabric (fire-retardant B1): 119,603 sq yd / 100,000 sq m
woven by Schilgen, Emsdetten, Germany
Width of the original woven fabric: 5 ft / 1,55 m
Tensile strength of fabric: 4000 Newtons per 5 cm
Total weight of fabric: 135,582 lbs / 61,500 kg
Weight of aluminum for metallization for 100.00cm: 8.82 lbs / 4 kg
metallized by Rowo-Coating, Herbolzheim, Germany

Fabric panels: 70
sewn by Spreewald Planen, Vetschau, Germany and
Zeltaplan Taucha, Germany and Canobbio, Castelnuovo, Italy

Average size of panel: 121.4 ft x 131.2 ft / 37 m x 40 m
Length of sewing thread: 807.8 miles / 1,300 km
Total length of all seams: 568,678 yd / 520,000 m
Blue propylene rope with a diameter of 32 mm:: 17,060 yd / 15,600 m
manufactured by Gleistein, Bremen, Germany

Window-anchors: 110
Roof-anchors: 270
Weight of steel for roof: 440,917 lbs / 200,000 kg
Weight of steel for window-anchors: 77,160 lbs / 35,000 kg
Cages for statues: 16
Size of cages for statues: 31.2 ft x 16.4 ft x 14.7 ft / 9.5 m x 5 m x 4.5 m
All steel manufactured by Stahlbau Zwickau, Zwickau, Germany
Air-cushions (necessary during installation): 32
Manufactured by Heba, Emsdetten, Germany

FACT SHEET
Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin 1971-1995

Number of weights on ground, attached to fabric: 477 (1.5 tons per meter)
manufactured by EKO Stahl, Eisenhuttenstadt, Germany
Total weight on ground: 2,205,000 lbs / 1,000,000 kg

The Work Force
Chief executive officers: Roland Specker (administration) and Wolfgang Volz (technical and construction)
Engineering planning: IPL Ingenieurplanung Leichtbau, Radolfzell, Germany
Engineering advisors: Vince Davenport, John Thompson, Dimeter Zagoroff
Crew to install the fabric and the ropes: RVM, Berlin headed by Frank Seltenheim
Exclusive photographers: Wolfgang and Sylvia Volz
Monitor organization: Siegward Hausmann under the guidance of Simon Chaput

Number of monitors: 1200 (in 2 periods)
600 in four 6-hour shifts of 150 monitors each
Number of professional climbers: 90 ( in 2 shifts of 45 each)
Number of installation workers: 120 (in 2 shifts of 60 each)
Number of office staff in Berlin: 17
Number of office staff in New York: (Calixte Stamp and Vladimir Yavachev)
Number of live webSite workers in Berlin: 3 (Jok Church, Adam Kazimir Ciesielski and Von Wall)

Legal Background:
The project is being carried out by Verhullter Reichstag GmbH, a subsidiary of C.V.J. Corporation, Jeanne-Claude Christo-Javacheff, President and Treasurer, Scott Hodes, Secretary and Leal Counsel, Christo V. Javacheff, Assistant Secretary. Legal counsel is provided by attorneys Prof. Dr. Peter Raue and Scott Hodes. Architectural advice is provided by Prof. Jurgen Sawade. Historical advice is provided by Michael S. Cullen. Permits were required and recieved from the German Parliament, the Bundestag, and from the local administration in Berlin, the city district department Tiergarten and all concerned agencies.
Number of visits by the Christos to Germany: 54 (1976-1995)
Members of parliament visited: 352
Number of presidents of the Bundestag (German Parliament) involved: 6 (1976-1995)