Building bridges between Bonn and Berlin

DW's headquarters in Bonn is located on the bank of the Rhine River. In Berlin, DW has offices and studios on Voltastrasse.

Deutsche Welle, BonnImage: DW

Germany's international broadcaster has been based in the former government quarter of Bonn since 2003. There are editorial offices, TV and radio studios and most of DW's administrative staff works here. Bonn is also the central hub for DW Akademie's media development and training.

Since 1992, Deutsche Welle has also had offices on Voltastrasse in Berlin. In addition to the several hundred people who are devoted to DW's television broadcasting services, there are also editorial offices, studios and engineering departments, as well as teams from DW Akademie and the administration.

A small team of reporters is working from the Federal Press Conference building at Schiffbauerdamm close to the federal government buildings such as the Bundestag (Parliament) and the Federal Chancellery.

DW's broadcasting center, Voltastrasse Berlin Image: DW

Deutsche Welle and German reunification

The building in Bonn was originally planned to house the elected members of the German parliament (Bundestag). After the reunification of Germany in October 1990, however, the members of parliament voted to move from Bonn to Berlin.

Construction of the building in Bonn - designed by architect Joachim Schürmann - continued. New plans were developed to accommodate Germany’s international broadcaster. DW moved into its new Bonn headquarters in the summer of 2003, precisely 50 years after it was founded.

The Schürmann complex, Bonn Image: DW

Impressive array of dishes on the roof

DW's broadcasting center in Berlin's Voltastrasse was completed in 1996. The building was designed by architect Josef Paul Kleihues. DW's global television service had begun to operate in 1992 in an adjacent building, where the producers of RIAS TV had been working since 1988. DW took over RIAS TV's facilities after it disbanded following German reunification.