On the northern edge of the city center is a complex covering around 40,000 square meters, which was intended to serve the National Socialists as a headquarters for propaganda and administrative purposes. The building complex was designed by architect Hermann Giesler. Adolf Hitler was involved in the planning and was also present at the ground-breaking ceremony in Weimar in 1936. The Gauforum was to become the seat of the Gauleitung. Five large buildings were planned, three of which were for administration and representation. An assembly hall for 20,000 people was planned on the east side, and there was also to be a central parade ground. The prestigious building in Weimar was long regarded as the prototype for 40 other planned Gauforen throughout Germany. Prisoners from the Buchenwald concentration camp were used in the construction work. The buildings in Weimar were completed after the end of the war and were then mainly used by educational institutions. Since 1990, the listed site has been the headquarters of the Thuringian State Administration Office. The former assembly hall has been home to a shopping center since 2005. A new permanent exhibition on the history of the town will open in the tower building in 2023.