Why go
This chapter connects today's Berlin government district with the former capital Bonn and the continuing differences between eastern and western regions. It also explains why European institutions and decisions appear throughout Germany's recent political history and why reunification remains visible in the built landscape.
The full story
The fall of the Berlin Wall did not itself create a new German state. In 1990 the re-established eastern states joined the Federal Republic, which retained its international memberships. The Two Plus Four Treaty with the former occupying powers settled the external questions of reunification and restored full sovereignty. Integrating eastern infrastructure and industry became a long and uneven process. Berlin again became the capital, while Bonn kept a federal role and some ministries. The Berlin/Bonn Act of 1994 set out this division, and the main government move was completed by 1999. In the same period, Germany deepened its role in European integration. It signed the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, joined the euro area from its start, and signed the Lisbon Treaty in 2007. Later debates about energy transition and public finances grew within this united republic. When moving between Berlin and Bonn, or between eastern and western cities, remember that reunification changed institutions quickly but reshaped places and economies over a much longer time.