19481948–1990 · Bonn
Bonn, capital of West Germany
The Parliamentary Council that drafted West Germany's Basic Law opened in Bonn's Museum Koenig, a natural history museum, in September 1948, and the constitution was signed in the city on 23 May 1949. Chosen over Frankfurt partly because it looked temporary, the small university town remained the seat of government until reunification, and its low-key parliament and chancellery reflect a deliberately modest democracy.
Sites
- Site 1: Museum KoenigThe atrium among stuffed animals where the Parliamentary Council opened in 1948.Map ↗
- Site 2: House of the History of the Federal Republic of GermanyGermany's main museum of history since 1945.Map ↗
- Site 3: Path of Democracy: former Bundestag and Palais SchaumburgThe old plenary hall and chancellery on a signposted walk through the government quarter.Map ↗
Guides who take you there
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Also in Cologne, Bonn and Aachen
More from the Cold War
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