Kanzlerbungalow, Bonn

The former residential and reception building of the German Chancellor in Bonn is known as the Kanzlerbungalow. It was used for this purpose from 1964 to 1999. The bungalow is located in the park between the former Federal Chancellery (today's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development) and the Palais Schaumburg, the Federal Chancellor's official residence in Bonn. It stands roughly on the site of the former Villa Selve, which was demolished in 1955.

The building is considered an important example of 1960s architecture with traditions dating back to the 1920s and has been a listed building since 2001. It is also a stop on the Democracy Trail.

The later Federal Chancellor Ludwig Erhard commissioned the residence as a symbol of the cosmopolitan and modern attitude of the Federal Republic of Germany while still in his function as Economics Minister. His predecessor, Konrad Adenauer, came to Bonn every day from his private home in Rhöndorf. The architect Sep Ruf, who was a friend of Erhard and had already built his private house, was commissioned in 1963 to construct a representative and modern building in the tradition of classical modernism in the park of the then Federal Chancellery, the Palais Schaumburg. The construction (approx. 1963-1966) is considered an outstanding example of West German post-war architecture. The construction costs amounted to around two million German marks.

The larger square is reserved for representation functions. In addition to the entrance and reception hall, it has a study, a large reception room, a dining room, the kitchen and a family dining room, which leads to the living and sleeping area.

The spatial construction is variable and allows perspectives. Sliding and lowering walls make flexible room combinations possible. For example, a music room and a fireplace hall can be separated.

The chancellor's and wife's bedrooms in the living square are mirror images and each have a dressing room, work area, bedroom and bathroom. They extend in a U-shape around the sleeping atrium with swimming pool. There are also three servants' rooms with a kitchenette, two guest rooms, a private living room and the staff lounge at the transition to the kitchen.

As part of the tightened security measures during the threat from the RAF, a bulletproof glass front was placed in front of the terrace in 1977; this should ward off a possible shelling from the right bank of the Rhine. In 1983/84, an additional basement was built outside the bungalow to store interchangeable furniture.