Critics slam new U.S. Embassy in Germany

BERLIN, May 27 (UPI) -- The new $130 million U.S. Embassy in Berlin opened its doors Tuesday amid widespread criticism the design is more fortress and less fortitude, opponents say.

The location of the embassy in the Pariser Platz square, the symbol of the German capital Berlin, is in the heart of a "critical reconstruction" district. Buildings there are meant to invoke memories of Germany before World War II, but security restrictions imposed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks make the building look more like a prison, Der Speigel online said Tuesday.

The U.S. Congress cut the budget for the building by $50 million. That and the security precautions that mandate blast-proof windows and even the relocation of a major street left the structure as an imposing presence in the heart of the German capital.

"The foreign representations of the U.S. are no longer marked by inviting openness but instead by rejection and control," wrote the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel.

Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush official opens the embassy in a July 4 ceremony.