Berlin epitomises the continuities and disruptions in Germany’s history like no other German city. In Berlin, democratic traditions are just as omnipresent as traces of the German Empire, the Nazi regime and the division of Germany.

Since 1 September 2006, Berlin’s role as capital of Germany has been enshrined in the Basic Law. Article 22 (1) (1) provides that “Berlin is the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany.” By then, Berlin had witnessed an eventful history.

From the capital of the German Reich to the capital of the Federal Republic

From the foundation of the German Reich in 1871 until the end of the “Third Reich” in 1945, Berlin had already been the capital of the German Reich for 74 years, thus exceeding all other cities which served as capital in the course of Germany’s history. Frankfurt am Main served as seat of the German Confederation from 1815 to 1866; Bonn was the provisional seat of the Federal Government from 1949 to 1973 and served as capital of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1973 to 1990. During that period, East Berlin (the Soviet sector of the divided city of Berlin) was the capital of the German Democratic Republic.

The Unifikation Treaty of 31 August 1990 between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic declared Berlin to be the capital of the reunified Germany.

Seat of Germany’s federal parliament and government

Initially, however, the federal parliament and government stayed in Bonn. On 20 June 1991, the Bundestag decided by a slim majority to choose Berlin as the seat of parliament and government. The Bundesrat, which initially planned to remain in Bonn, decided by majority vote to move to Berlin, too.

In the summer of 1999 – 50 years after the foundation of the "Bonn Republic" and 10 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall – the Bundestag and the Federal Government moved to Berlin.