The federal capital : Germany

On 10 May 1949, the university town of Bonn on the Rhine, which at the time had a population of about 100,000, was chosen as the provisional federal capital (in the face of strong competition, especially from Frankfurt am Main) by the Parliamentary Council. The Bundestag confirmed this decision on 3 November 1949 but at the same time stated that the federal bodies would be moved to Berlin following free elections in the GDR. Over the years Bonn came to be synonymous worldwide for the Federal Republic of Germany and its democratic policies.

After the reunification of Germany, the German Bundestag on 20 June 1991 resolved by a majority of 337 to 320 to move the parliament and the government from Bonn to Berlin. On 27 September 1996, the Bundesrat likewise resolved to move to Berlin. Eight ministries are staying in Bonn and will merely have an office in Berlin. The ministries in Berlin will conversely have an office in Bonn. Furthermore, 18 federal authorities such as the Federal Cartel Office and the Federal Court of Audit will be moved to Bonn, which has been given the title “federal city”. With the aid of substantial compensation payments, Bonn is to be developed into a center of science, scholarship and culture.

Considerable resources are presently being invested to build the government district in the curve of the Spree River in Berlin and to convert the Reichstag building into the seat of the German Bundestag. Moving the ministries and authorities to Berlin and purchasing and erecting the approximately 12,000 dwellings that will be needed will likewise consume tremendous sums of money. Improvements in Berlin’s infrastructure, especially in the area of transport, will incur further costs.

Details of the move are governed by the “Act to Complete the Unity of Germany”, usually referred to as the “Bonn/Berlin Act”, which was adopted by the Bundestag on 10March 1994 and stipulates moving costs of DM20 billion. The Bundestag and the Federal Government will move to Berlin sometime between 1998 and the year 2000. In the spring of 1999, the converted Reichstag building will be opened to the Bundestag for use.