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Atlas Obscura - Latest • Feb. 9, 2026, 5:15 p.m.
The Parliament of Trees in Berlin, Germany
A stone's throw from the seat of the German government lies another, more obscure parliament: the Parliament of Trees. It is the life’s work and legacy of a singular artist, Ben Wagin.
Born Bernhard Wargin in West Prussia in 1930, he was a witness to the horrors of World War II and the subsequent displacement. From 1957, he lived in Berlin and studied at the University of the Arts ( Hochschule der Künste ).
He belonged to the inner circle of artists from the anti-authoritarian movement of the 1960s, such as Klaus Staeck and Joseph Beuys, and was an early advocate for pacifism and ecology. In 1962, he opened Galerie S in Berlin and exhibited at Art Basel, but later turned his back on commercial art entirely.
Born Bernhard Wargin in West Prussia in 1930, he was a witness to the horrors of World War II and the subsequent displacement. From 1957, he lived in Berlin and studied at the University of the Arts ( Hochschule der Künste ).
He belonged to the inner circle of artists from the anti-authoritarian movement of the 1960s, such as Klaus Staeck and Joseph Beuys, and was an early advocate for pacifism and ecology. In 1962, he opened Galerie S in Berlin and exhibited at Art Basel, but later turned his back on commercial art entirely.
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