Bundestag anniversary

A ceremony commemorating the 60th anniversary of the opening of the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, took place on Monday in the former plenary chamber room of the parliament in Bonn. Speaking at the event, Bundestag President Norbert Lammert said that the nation could be proud of its government.

The plenary chamber in Bonn was packed as leaders from across the country converged on the former capital for the ceremony. Among them were German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Horst Koehler as well as present and past members of parliament.

In 1949, almost no one expected to be able to look back after 60 years and see such a successful past, Lammert said.

When the parliament convened for the first time memories of the Nazi regime and the war were still fresh, causing the Bundestag's first president, Paul Loebe, to say in his opening address that the task now was to provide the country with a stabile government, a healthy economy and a new social order.

Small city becomes capital

The new status as the capital of West Germany and the seat of the Bundestag was an immense challenge for Bonn. The city's residents were called on to provide apartments for the new members of parliament as well as offered jobs in the new government.

The plenary chamber where the Bundestag met was completed in only five months and was used until 1986, when construction began on a new one. During that time the Bundestag was temporarily moved to a former water works facility.

The Bundestag met in the new plenary chamber in Bonn from 1992 to 1999, after which the body moved to Berlin's Reichstag building in the reinstated capital of reunified Germany.

mrm/dpa/AFP
Editor: Nancy Isenson