Headquarters of the Federal Intelligence Service
{{short description|Government facility housing Germany's intelligence agency (BND) in central Berlin}}
{{Expand German|topic=struct||date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Headquarters of the Federal Intelligence Service
| native_name = {{lang|de|Zentrale des Bundesnachrichtendienstes}}
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| image = File:Zentrale des Bundesnachrichtendienst, Berlin.jpg
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| image_caption = View of building entrance from Chausseestraße
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| map_caption = Location in Berlin
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| status = Complete
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| topped_out = yes
| building_type = Office
| architectural_style = International Style
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| address = Chausseestraße 96, Mitte, 10115
| location_city = Berlin
| location_country = Germany
| coordinates = {{coord|52.533889|13.376667|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| altitude =
| current_tenants = Federal Intelligence Service (BND)
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| start_date = 2006
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| topped_out_date = March 2010
| completion_date = November 2016
| opened_date = 2017
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| cost = €1.086 billion
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| client = Institute for Federal Real Estate
| owner = Germany
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| floor_count = Nine stories above ground
| floor_area = {{Convert|260,000|m2|sqft|abbr=}}
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| architect = Jan Kleihues
| architecture_firm = Kleihues + Kleihues
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| rooms = 5,000+
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| public_transit = {{rint|berlin|U6}} Schwartzkopffstraße
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The Headquarters of the Federal Intelligence Service or the BND Headquarters ({{langx|de|Zentrale des Bundesnachrichtendienstes}}, colloquially the {{lang|de|BND-Zentrale}}) is the headquarters of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) of Germany, and is located at the Chausseestraße in the Mitte district in the centre of Berlin. The building that houses its headquarters is the world's largest intelligence building, somewhat larger than the CIA headquarters at Langley.{{Cite web|date=8 February 2019|title=World's biggest intelligence headquarters opens in Berlin|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/08/worlds-biggest-intelligence-headquarters-opens-berlin-germany-bnd|website=The Guardian}}
History
The complex was designed by the architect firm Kleihues + Kleihues. Construction started in 2006 and was completed in 2017. With 260,000 m2 (2.8 million ft²) and around 4,000 people working there, it is the world's largest intelligence headquarters. It is also Berlin's second largest building, after Berlin Tempelhof Airport.[https://www.berliner-woche.de/mitte/c-bauen/bnd-zentrale-3200-agenten-arbeiten-in-der-neuen-geheimdienstburg-an-der-chausseestrasse_a199948 BND-Zentrale: 3200 Agenten arbeiten in der neuen Geheimdienstburg an der Chausseestraße] The first employees moved into the new complex in late 2017; the relocation from the former headquarters in Pullach was completed in the autumn of 2018.{{cite news|url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/neue-zentrale-des-bundesnachrichtendienstes-in-mitte-die-spione-kommen-nach-berlin/20515168.html|title=Die Spione kommen nach Berlin|first=Frank|last=Jansen|newspaper=Der Tagesspiegel Online |date=27 October 2017|publisher=|via=Tagesspiegel}}
File:2019-08-30 BND Zentrale Berlin OK 0318.jpg
The headquarters is located near the former trace of the Berlin Wall, on the eastern side, some 350 meters (1150 ft) from the canal which marked the border to West Berlin during the Cold War, and directly adjacent to the former Chausseestraße crossing point. The headquarters are built on the site of the former stadium Stadion der Weltjugend.
Following the decision to build the new BND headquarters there, a massive urban renewal has taken place in the neighbourhood, with many new construction projects opposite the BND headquarters, including high-end apartment buildings, a new park, the Café Top Secret, a new hotel, and buildings housing office spaces and retail stores.{{cite web|url=https://www.morgenpost.de/berlin-aktuell/article121047915/Mein-Nachbar-der-Spion-Wie-der-BND-Mitte-veraendert.html|title=Mein Nachbar, der Spion – Wie der BND Mitte verändert|first=Judith|last=Luig|date=20 October 2013 |publisher=}}
The headquarters includes a visitor center that is open to the public; it is the first intelligence organisation to have such a center.{{cite web|url=https://www.n-tv.de/politik/In-der-neuen-BND-Zentrale-in-Berlin-article20236745.html|title=In der neuen BND-Zentrale in Berlin|first=n-tv|last=Nachrichten|publisher=}}
Although completed in 2017, the official opening was held in February 2019. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany attended and made this statement: "In an often very confusing world, now, more urgently than ever, Germany needs a strong and efficient foreign intelligence service". At the time, some 4,000 employees were expected to work from this location, moving here from the former headquarters in a suburb of Munich. The agency's total number of employees, in Germany and other countries, was approximately 6,500.{{Cite web |date=2019-02-08 |title=World's biggest intelligence headquarters opens in Berlin |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/08/worlds-biggest-intelligence-headquarters-opens-berlin-germany-bnd |access-date=2022-11-18 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Schuetze |first=Christopher F. |date=2019-02-09 |title=Germany Opens Massive Intelligence Complex (Maybe the World's Largest) in Berlin |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/09/world/europe/germany-intelligence-service-headquarters-berlin-bnd.html |access-date=2022-11-18 |issn=0362-4331}}
References
{{Commons category|Headquarters of the Bundesnachrichtendienst (Berlin)}}
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{{Authority control}}
Category:Buildings and structures in Mitte
Category:Intelligence agency headquarters
Category:Government buildings completed in 2017