70 Years of the Bundesrat

A perspective view of the garden and building ensemble of the Bundesrat. At the bottom centre, the institution's name 'BUNDESRAT' and the country code 'D'. Above the image, the year '2019'; to the left, the mint mark ('A', 'D', 'F', 'G' or 'J'). The initials of artist Michael Otto complete the design at the upper right.

The Bundesrat is one of the pillars of the German constitutional system. As a constitutional body, it represents the sixteen federal states at national level and takes part in legislation as well as in matters concerning the European Union. Its origins lie in the Basic Law of 23 May 1949, which anchored the federal character of the Federal Republic of Germany from the outset. This construction was not a foregone conclusion: it deliberately drew on federal traditions of the German Empire and the Weimar Republic, while also learning from the failures of those systems. Ever since, the Bundesrat has acted as a counterweight to the Bundestag in the legislative process, preventing an excessive centralisation of state power.

The Bundesrat has been based in Berlin since 2000, having previously met in Bonn. The building on Leipziger Platz, today's Bundesrat building, originates from the Prussian House of Lords and became the new seat of the body after German unification. Germany marked the 70th anniversary of the Bundesrat in 2019 as part of the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the Basic Law. Many regard the long continuity of this constitutional body as an expression of the stability and reliability of German federal democracy.