Rotes Rathaus

The division of the city ended with the fall of the Wall on 9 November 1989 and reunification; the last troops of the former occupying powers left the city by 1994. On 20 June 1991, the Bundestag decided that Berlin would be the new seat of Germany’s parliament and federal government. During that same year, the Governing Mayor of Berlin moved with the Senate Chancellery from the Schöneberg Town Hall to the Berlin Town Hall in the Mitte borough. The House of Representatives, Berlin’s state parliament, has convened its sessions in the building of the former Prussian state parliament since 1993.

In a referendum on 22 October 1995, Berlin’s constitution was approved with 75.1 percent of the votes cast. To a large extent, it represents a continuation of the Berlin constitution of 1950. Significant new elements include the strengthening of enforceable fundamental rights and additions to the state’s goals (such as the right to employment, education, and adequate housing). Environmental conservation and the protection of privacy are also new constitutional issues. Citizen participation was enhanced with instruments of direct democracy like popular initiatives, petitions, and referendums. Berlin’s constitutional court monitors compliance with the constitution.