About

In 1949, West Germany was debating the location for its provisional government. After lengthy back-and-forth—the mayor of Frankfurt, Walter Kolb, had even pre-recorded a victory speech—the choice came to Bonn. A university town known as little more than the birthplace of Beethoven, Bonn had seen little wartime damage, had few ties to the Third Reich, and lacked the gravitas that a larger city might have commanded to keep the government upon reunification. Yet while Bonn offered the fledgling Federal Republic a fresh start, it lacked the culinary infrastructure to satiate hungry politicians.

Enter the Bundesbüdchen . Erected in 1957 by the family of Christel Rausch, the “federal kiosk” served sausages, sandwiches, and pastries to the builders of the Bonn Republic. Every day, politicians, diplomats, and reporters drifted in and out of the Bundestag and associated offices nearby to break at the Büdchen for a quick bite or to catch up on gossip or news.…