Walking the path to democracy in Bonn, capital of erstwhile West Germany

Most people associate Bonn, Germany today, only with the famous composer Beethoven or its famous university, once called the Harvard of Germany, but once it was a buzzing capital of West Germany, until in 1990, Berlin became the capital of unified Germany. Residents of Bonn feared that the city's relevance might fade with the move,  but the  1991 legislation provided 1.5 billion euros to the city to cope with the changes and impact.

Bonn, today, is a global hub for sustainable development and at the forefront of research and policymaking. It is also a hub for arts, with an excellent Museum Mile. Seventy-two per cent of the electricity supplied here is derived from renewable sources.

I am travelling back in time, walking the 'Path to Democracy' in Bonn, a historical walking route that takes you through the former government district, along the River Rhine, and more than 65 significant sites in Germany's democratic development after World War II. Illustrated panels explain Germany's democratic history and smaller plaques have interesting facts.

Governing out of Berlin was impossible after the war, so Bonn was chosen as the capital of West Germany in 1949, because of its distance from Berlin, which was associated with the Nazis, and its modest size. Bonn became the capital of West Germany, and many important institutions and buildings related to German democracy were first set up here. It was chosen because it was 'a beginning, a city without a past', in the words of West Germany’s first chancellor, Konrad Adenauer. 

The city on the Rhine reinvented itself after the government relocated to Berlin. Today, many of the office buildings are used by the UN since Bonn was appointed German UN city in 1996. It hosts 25 UN organisations, including the important UN climate secretariat, which has been housed in the new "Climate Tower" since 2022. Deutsche Welle, the international German broadcast house, also has its headquarters in this area.  

We start at the impressive Villa Hammetschmidt, with its striking white façade, known as Bonn’s own 'White House', which was the residence of the President of Germany, during the time Bonn was the capital. Today, it is retained as the second official residence of the Federal President, and can only be visited by prior appointment.

Surrounded by extensive lawns, and old trumpet and ginkgo trees, as well as magnolias in bloom, this was built as a villa by a German industrialist in 1863 on the banks of the Rhine. This minimalistic structure is elegant with French Empire-style furniture and items on loan from federal states and museums, but understated, as was the intention after the war when Germany's image had to be rebuilt, and excesses of the past redeemed.  

Today, it's used as a venue for official functions, and also as a unique venue for civil weddings. On the top floor, are the Federal President's private apartments, and downstairs are the rooms like the grand hall, the fireplace room and the terrace room, furnished with artworks and portraits by famous photographer, Hugo Erfurt. Nearly all heads of state and royalty, including former Indian PM Indira Gandhi have visited the villa.

Across the road from here is the impressive Museum Koenig, the natural history museum that the zoologist Alexander Koenig founded and handed over to the city of Bonn in 1929. Though today it's popular with groups of school children, this was where the first session of the Parliamentary Council took place in 1948.  

Konrad Adenauer used the museum as his office for two months, after his election to Chancellor in September 1949, and the cabinet meetings were held in the auditorium. We are awed by the majestic office room with the stucco ceiling, and the magnificent walls of books that can still be visited. It was in the domed hall of the museum, in 1946, that Adenauer said, "Bonn has a duty to be the spiritual and cultural centre on the Rhine".

We walk to the bronze head statue of Konrad Adenauer, on the Bundeskanzlerplatz. He is considered to be the founding father of the post-World War II European institutions, including the Council of Europe and the European Union. Crafted in 1981, by the artist Hubertus von Pilgrim, the back of the head displays important stages in Adenauer's life, like the Cologne Cathedral, which commemorates his time as mayor of Cologne, and tied hands, representing the Nazi dictatorship.

The new Chancellors' office blocks with glass and bronze-coloured aluminium panels, surrounded by lawns and art installations, look more like a corporate office. Helmut Schmidt was the first occupant, who is supposed to have said that the building has the "charm of a Rhineland savings bank". He added a green area and the sculpture 'Large Two Forms' by Henry Moore, which still graces the lawns.

From 1992 to 1999, the Deutsche Bundestag (Lower House of Parliament) met in what was then a new building and is now part of the World Conference Center, Bonn. This is a modern glass building allowing the public to observe parliamentary proceedings and was symbolic of transparency in the new Germany. We also see the tower block of offices for the Bundestag deputies, which are today UN offices.

Passing the small kiosk called Bundesbudchen, we would have missed it, if not for our guide, Gabrielle Zoller, who tells us its importance. Politicians, journalists and others met in this small kiosk from 1957 to 1999 and had casual meetings and exchanged news, over a snack and coffee.

We walk along broad boulevards lined with old stone Art Nouveau villas, many of them used today by banks and other companies. Our walk ends at the Kunstmuseum Bonn, a museum for contemporary art, and one of the architecturally stunning buildings in Bonn. As I browse through the paintings of German artist August Macke, I muse on how well the city has re-invented itself and made sure that it did not become irrelevant when it ceased to be a capital city.

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