Kumsusan Palace of the Sun
The Kumsusan Palace, is a building in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. It is located northeast of downtown in Taesong guyŏk - district in the district Miam -dong.
The building was the official residence of the "eternal president" Kim Il-sung and his mausoleum is today. It is also the largest existing mausoleum, which is dedicated to a communist rulers. The body of Kim Jong -il was, after his death in December 2011, also in state in Kumsusan palace and the building initially closed for renovation.
Architecture and interior design
Before the monumental building in the style of neoclassicism is a vast place. On the northern and eastern side it is surrounded by a moat. The gate in the entrance is fitted with eye-catching gold fittings. The palace is allegedly tunneled with a connection to the number 15 in the southern district of Jungsung -song and equipped with an underground bunker system.
After the death of Kim Il-sung in 1994, his son and successor Kim Jong- il had renovated the house and rebuild the resting place of his father. In the so-called tears Room there is a crystal sarcophagus containing the embalmed body of Kim Il -sung, laid his head on a traditional Korean pillows and whose body is covered with the flag of the Workers' Party of Korea.
In the third of the five -appointed with marble and granite floors large halls of the official car of the deceased, a Mercedes -Benz 600 SEL, and the railway wagon on display in which Kim Il-sung traveled the country. In another hall whose itineraries are displayed on an electronic scoreboard. Roller conveyors are used to transport the visitors inside the building. Acoustically, the rooms were sonicated by speakers with Korean songs. Before entering the tomb the shoes of the visitors are cleaned with brushes and clothes with a fan.
Others
Of the visitors, formal dress is required and expected each a bow on each side of the corpse. For foreign visitors to the Kumsusan palace is only open on Tuesdays and Sundays, and is accessible only after prior registration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photography, filming, smoking and talking are prohibited inside the building.
The building is depicted on the front of the 500 -Won - certificate from 2008.
As part of the Football World Cup 2011 Women first traveled in a larger German delegation with 30 people to North Korea, including Claudia Roth ( Alliance 90/The Greens ), DFB President Theo Zwanziger, Thomas Feist (CDU ) Kunert Katrin (The Left ) and Patrick Kurth (FDP). Within the delegation there was this controversy over the visit to the Kumsusan palace, which was denied by Feist and Kurth.