DRESDEN, GERMANY (AP) - Dresden’s Museum of Military History is reopening to the public after a dramatic redesign by Daniel Libeskind.
The U.S. architect added a five-story wedge of glass, concrete and steel that slices through the former armory built for the armies of Kaiser Wilhelm I. The addition interrupts the symmetry of the neoclassical building, symbolizing how democracy in Germany has pushed aside the authoritarian past.
More than just a radical addition, the euro62.5 million ($85 million) renovation that was started in 2004 rethinks the approach toward military history _ contrasting the perspective of the soldier with that of the civilian and moving past the focus on heroes, battles and weaponry.
The 150,000-square foot (14,000 square-meter) museum has about 10,500 items on display and reopens Saturday.
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