after the end of wwii, the french authorities commissioned ex-nazi publisher franz burda to come up with an illustrated magazine and, following their request, he released the first edition in 1948 under the name "das ufer". whereas the editorial section was initially provided by the french authorities, an independent editorial team emerged at the end of the 1950s. from the beginning, the magazine reported on a wide variety of events in society. in 1953, marking the coronation of elisabeth ii, a special issue was produced with a circulation of 100,000 copies. franz burda had previously taken out a loan to purchase the photo copyrights (against the will of his family). in 1954, "das ufer" changed its name to "bunte illustrierte", reflecting a key element of large-format photo series in the center of the publication, which were already printed in color.