German parliament opens souvenir shop
From shirts and hats to writing utensils and quizzes, the new Bundestag store sells a wide variety of products branded with the German parliament's insignias.
In black, red and gold
Keychains are only one of the various available products in the German national colors at Berlin's new parliamentary souvenir shop. The keychains have the parliament's logo imprinted on them with the words "Deutscher Bundestag."
Writing the law?
While members of parliament - the Bundestag - may no longer draft bills and laws by hand, another popular item sold at the store are pencils branded with the parliament's insignia and its trademark font.
Branding: a well-known strategy
The German Bundestag is not the first legislature to offer products under its brand name. The US Congress along with the British and French parliaments also sell souvenirs. Here's a mouse pad with the image of the Reichstag building, one of Berlin's tourist highlights.
Leader of the opposition
Baseball caps with the inscriptions "Oppositionsführer" (leader of the parliamentary opposition) and "Alterspräsident" (eldest parliamentarian) are for sale. The products can also be ordered online.
The Bundestag quiz
Do members of parliament serve terms of four or six years? Who has the power to dissolve the Bundestag? When was the last time that this happened? Test your knowledge of the German parliament with the quiz available at the shop.
Bundestag all over
The federal coat of arms, the Reichstag dome, German flags - you can find and buy every imaginable product at the shop with the Bundestag's insignia on it. But one thing is for certain: True democracy has no price.