Archive: The Capital City of Berlin - Documentation

A state capital relocates - a unique occurrence in Europe! In order to accomplish such a massive task, a maximum of co-ordination and precise timing is required. The Federation and State of Berlin very quickly established a functional work and organisation structure. The Federal Government appointed the Berlin/Bonn task force. The German Bundestag nominated the Concept, Federalism, Personnel and Building and Open Space commissions. Berlin established the State Capital Office in the Senate Chambers and the Capital City Department in the Senate Department for Building and Habitation in 1992. Furthermore, the Berlin Senate prepared all major decisions in the Berlin 2000 commission.

The Capital City Agreement signed on the 25 August 1992, regulated the collaboration between the Federal Government and the State of Berlin. It also established the Combined Commission of Federation, which was constituted in October the same year. Although not legitimated by parliament, the Combined Commission was, in its early stages, an instrument for resolving conflicts. It decided how the Palast der Republik was to be handled in March, 1993, in July of the same year, the solution for East-West traffic and in February 1995 decided for the retention of the former Staats rats building, which had served Gerhard Schröder as a provisional Chancellor's Office from 1999 to 2001. The Combined Commission later lost importance once the major questions had been solved. Agreement about financial planning of development measure was reached in recent years between the members of the commission by written consent.