It's hard, being a generation removed from the trauma of the mid 20th century, to truly imagine the damage dealt to Berlin and other cities across Europe, but Berlin is still bouncing back from the damage. Restoring the Berlin City Palace and bringing a beautiful new construction for visitors and locals to visit, Berlin is finally closing some very old wounds.

Berlin on Wednesday kicked off the reconstruction of a palace whose post-war remnants were razed by communist leaders, a divisive 590-million-euro ($783 million) project to recreate the baroque architectural jewel.

President Joachim Gauck attended the official laying of the foundation stone for the Berlin City Palace, on the legendary leafy axis, Unter den Linden, which Prussian princes once called home.

The new building, due to be inaugurated in 2019, will house a cultural centre instead but has faced a bumpy road in its years-long planning over the site's historic significance and the price tag for a city famously known as "poor, but sexy".

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