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The Palast Der Republik was opened on April 23, 1976 after after a construction period between 1973 and 1976 under the direction of the chief architect Heinz Graffunderand.

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The Palast Der Republik was built on a 15,300 m² part of the building ground of the Berliner Stadtschloss,

which had burned out during the Second World War.

After the  decision of III. Parteitags der SED 1950 ,the burned-out Berliner Stadtschloss was blown up, in spide of all-German and

international protests in favor of a parade area.

The Palast Der Republik was used for DDR Volkskammer and SED Parteitage but also for cultural events, concerts and tv shows.

Various restaurants, cafés and bars were open to the public, even a sauna.

From 1990 the building was closed due to the emission of carcinogenic asbestos fibers.

 

. In spring 2004, temporary uses of the gutted Palast Der Republik began under the name Volkspalast.

These included art exhibitions, concerts and theatrical performances, which were held in the interior with the help of temporary auditoriums. 

The demolition of the Palace of the Republic postponed several times. On January 19, 2006, the German Bundestag rejected applications from Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen and the  Linkspartei.PDS to postpone the demolition or to preserve the building. The Petitions Committee of the German Bundestag dealt with 880 objections to the demolition, all of which were rejected. 

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After the demolition work was completed, the basement basin of the palace was filled with 20,000 m³ of sand. The area was landscaped, as an interim solution until the Berliner Stadtschloss was rebuilt as Humboldt Forum. From September 2008 to August 2010, the Temporäre Kunsthalle Berlin was open to the public on the directly adjacent area of ​​the former Schloßfreiheit.

Construction work on the Berliner Stadtschloss began in March 2013. 

On June 12, 2013, Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck laid the foundation stone. 

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