World War II and the subsequent reconstruction of East Berlin as the capital of the German Democratic Republic meant the end for several of Berlin's important and well-known buildings. The most prominent of course being the Stadtschloss (“city palace”). It was first built as a castle as early as 1443 under Frederick II, Elector of Brandenburg. It was largely rebuilt as a palace a hundred years later and became the family seat of the House of Hohenzollern, rulers of the Kingdom of Prussia and later of the German Empire. The building was demolished in 1950 on the order of the East German government. It was replaced by the Palast der Republik, which was demolished from 2006 until 2008, after the removal of asbestos.