In the 1960s, the most modern and fashionable guest house for the East German government and political party was built. It was a secret place where the elite of the country relaxed and where important political events took place. The guest house was also a place where cooks and head waiters overheard confidential conversations, such as arguments between Walter Ulbricht and the Soviet ambassador about the car production in Eisenach. The house was built to represent everything Ulbricht desired for East Germany after the construction of the Berlin Wall: a level of luxury similar to the West but with materials and technology from the East, including Saalburg marble, Thuringian slate, elevators from Thyssen, a TV studio, news center, and the best chefs and waiters in the country. After Ulbricht’s death in 1973, the guest house was used by the East German government as a vacation home for high-ranking officials. However, after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the reunification of Germany, the guest house was abandoned and fell into disrepair.
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