Reichstag

American  

[rahyks-tahg, rahykhs-tahk] / ˈraɪksˌtɑg, ˈraɪxsˌtɑk /

noun

German History.

1. the lower house of the parliament during the period of the Second Reich and the Weimar Republic.

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Reichstag British  

/ ˈraiçstak, ˈraiksˌtɑːɡ /

noun

1. Also called: diet.  (in medieval Germany) the estates or a meeting of the estates

2. the legislative assembly representing the people in the North German Confederation (1867–71) and in the German empire (1871–1919)

3. the sovereign assembly of the Weimar Republic (1919–33)

4. the building in Berlin in which this assembly met and from 1999 in which the German government meets: its destruction by fire on Feb 27, 1933 (probably by agents of the Nazi government) marked the end of Weimar democracy. It was restored in the 1990s following German reunification

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Etymology

Origin of Reichstag

< German: Reich diet

Example Sentences

The leading architect's previous work has included the Gherkin office block and the Great Court of the British Museum in London, and the Reichstag dome in Berlin.

From BBC • Jun. 23, 2025

Employment, standing at about 20 million in 1929, dropped to 11.5 million by the time the Reichstag voted to endorse the act.

From Salon • Feb. 16, 2025

Hitler abolished freedom of speech and justified phone taps the day after the Reichstag fire in February 1933.

From Salon • Nov. 15, 2023

The emperor credited von Tirpitz with persuading the Reichstag to expand the country’s fleet to rival Britain’s.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 1, 2023

The rally reached its climax that night when Adolf Hitler stepped before the German parliament, the Reichstag, to introduce three new laws.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown