East and West side by side
Daily life in the two states shown alongside each other rather than in sequence.
Axel Kirch โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Axel Kirch โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Videoteuse โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Axel Kirch โ CC BY-SA 4.0
After Germany's division in 1949 the Federal Republic needed a provisional capital, and Berlin was divided and surrounded by East Germany. Bonn โ a small university town on the Rhine โ was chosen precisely because it was modest and unsuited to being a permanent capital, underlining that the division was temporary. It remained the capital for forty years, and after reunification parliament voted in 1991, by a narrow margin, to move the capital to Berlin.
The Kunstmuseum Bonn for twentieth-century German art, the Bundeskunsthalle for major temporary exhibitions, and the Museum Koenig for natural history. All are within walking distance of each other, and most are ticketed. Choose two for one day rather than more.
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A museum telling the history of Germany from 1945 to the present, in Bonn, and among the most visited museums in Germany โ with free entry. Its location in Bonn is not accidental: Bonn was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990, and the museum stands on the Museum Mile near the former government buildings. The narrative begins with the ruin of 1945 and passes through the division into two states, the economic miracle, the building of the Wall, daily life in East and West shown side by side, the student movements, the fall of the Wall in 1989, reunification, and on to present-day questions. What distinguishes it is that it tells not only political history but life: cars, furniture, kitchens, clothes, advertisements and cafรฉs from every decade, Adenauer's first official Mercedes, a section of the Wall, and a railway carriage. Entry is entirely free, which is rare for a museum of this size and quality. Interpretation is in English. Allow two to three and a half hours.
Daily life in the two states shown alongside each other rather than in sequence.
Cars, kitchens, clothes and advertisements from every decade, not documents alone.
Five major museums on one street in Bonn โ two can be combined in a day.
Museum Mile, Bonn