Previously, the parliament had assembled in several other buildings in Leipziger Straße in Berlin but these were generally considered too small, so in 1872 an architectural contest with 103 participating architects was carried out to erect a new building.
Sebelumnya parlemen bersidang di beberapa gedung di Leipziger Straße ("Jalan Leipzig") di Berlin; tetapi dianggap terlalu kecil, maka pada 1872 diadakan sayembara dengan 103 arsitek peserta yang merancang gedung baru.