UN Platz Revival of historic kiosk inches closer
BONN · It may look like it’s seen better days - and it has. A group is trying to restore a popular piece of Bonn’s history.
A charming little piece of history from Bonn’s chapter as capital of Germany comes in the form of a kiosk. It’s called the Bundesbüdchen (Federal kiosk) and it thrived in the days when Helmut Kohl and his contemporaries governed Germany from Bonn. It was popular with politicians and journalists because of its convenient location between the former Chancellory and both parliament buildings.
The kiosk once sat where the United Nations square is today. In 2006, the kiosk was taken away to make room for the World Conference Center Bonn (WCCB). Plans to restore and erect the kiosk once again have been continually delayed since then. In 2015, an interest group formed to bring the historical kiosk back to life.
Of course, these kind of projects need money and this has been a main challenge for the group. On Thursday, they received good news - the federal government announced it would kick in 135,000 euro for the restoration. Total costs for restoring the kiosk are estimated at 270,000 euro. The federal funding and other donations still leave them 50,000 euro short but they will pursue further funding from the NRW-Foundation.
Jürgen Rausch is the owner of the kiosk and he has been operating a provisional wooden kiosk next to the WCCB parking garage. He had hoped they could put up the historical kiosk nearer to Heussallee, but it seems the city is not prepared to allow that. In any case, the revival group hopes to get the project up and running next year. Exposed to all the elements in open air storage, the condition of the kiosk is not getting any better as time goes on. (Orig. text: Alexander Barth, ck)
