Bonn (German pronunciation:[bɔn]ⓘ) is afederal city in the German state ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of theRhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about 24 km (15 mi) south-southeast ofCologne, in the southernmost part of theRhine-Ruhr region.
Bonn served as the capital ofWest Germany from 1949 until 1990 and was the seat of government forreunified Germany until 1999, when the government relocated toBerlin. The city holds historical significance as the birthplace of Germany's current constitution, theBasic Law.
Founded in the 1st century BC as a settlement of theUbii and later part of theRoman provinceGermania Inferior, Bonn is among Germany's oldest cities. It was the capital city of theElectorate of Cologne from 1597 to 1794 and served as the residence of the Archbishops and Prince-electors ofCologne. The period during which Bonn was the capital of West Germany is often referred to by historians as theBonn Republic.[2]
Following the German reunification, a political compromise known as theBerlin-Bonn Act ensured that the German federal government retained a significant presence in Bonn. As of 2019, approximately one-third of all ministerial jobs remain in the city.[3] Bonn is considered an unofficial secondary capital of Germany and is the location of the secondary seats of thepresident, thechancellor, and theBundesrat. Bonn is also the location of the primary seats of six federal ministries and twenty federal authorities. The city's title as Federal City (German:Bundesstadt) underscores its political importance.[4]
The global headquarters ofDeutsche Post DHL andDeutsche Telekom, bothDAX-listed corporations, are in Bonn. The city is home to theRheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn university, and a total of 20 United Nations institutions, the highest number in all of Germany.[5] These institutions include the headquarters for Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the UN Volunteers programme.[6] Birthplace of composerLudwig van Beethoven, a center ofRhenish carnival, and its geography by theMiddle Rhine make it an important tourist destination. In Bonn the Bönnsch Platt, a dialect of the Ripuarian language is spoken by all generations, especially during carnival.
Situated in the southernmost part of theRhine-Ruhr region, Germany's largest metropolitan area with over 11 million inhabitants, Bonn lies within theGerman state ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia, on the border withRhineland-Palatinate. Spanning an area of more 141.2 km2 (55 sq mi) on both sides of the riverRhine, almost three-quarters of the city lies on the river's left bank.
To the south and to the west, Bonn borders theEifel region which encompasses theRhineland Nature Park. To the north, Bonn borders theCologne Lowland. Natural borders are constituted by the riverSieg to the north-east and by theSiebengebirge (also known as the Seven Hills) to the east. The largest extension of the city in north–south dimensions is 15 km (9 mi) and 12.5 km (8 mi) in west–east dimensions. The city borders have a total length of 61 km (38 mi). The geographical centre of Bonn is the Bundeskanzlerplatz(Chancellor Square) in Bonn-Gronau.
TheGerman state ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia is divided into fivegovernmental districts (German:Regierungsbezirk), and Bonn is part of thegovernmental district of Cologne (German:Regierungsbezirk Köln). Within this governmental district, the city of Bonn is anurban district in its own right. The urban district of Bonn is then again divided into four administrative municipal districts (German:Stadtbezirk). These are Bonn, Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Bonn-Beuel and Bonn-Hardtberg. In 1969, the independent towns ofBad Godesberg and Beuel as well as several villages were incorporated into Bonn, resulting in a city more than twice as large as before.
Administrative divisions of the Federal City of Bonn
Bonn has anoceanic climate (Köppen:Cfb;Trewartha:Dobk).[8] In the south of the Cologne lowland in the Rhine valley, Bonn is in one of Germany's warmest regions.
The Bonn weather station has recorded the following extreme values:[8]
Its highest temperature was 40.9 °C (105.6 °F) on25 July 2019.
Its lowest temperature was −23.0 °C (−9.4 °F) on 27 January 1942.
Its greatest annual precipitation was 956.7 mm (37.67 in) in 2007.
Its least annual precipitation was 381.5 mm (15.02 in) in 1959.
The longest annual sunshine was 2013.9 hours in 2018.
The shortest annual sunshine was 1240.7 hours in 1981.
Climate data for Bonn (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1933–present[a])
In 1989, Bonn celebrated its 2,000th anniversary. The city was commemorating the construction of the first fortifiedRomancamp on the Rhine in 12 BCE, after the Roman governorAgrippa had already settled theUbii there in 38 BCE. However, people had lived in the area of today’s city much earlier. Evidence of this includes the 14,000-year-olddouble burial at Oberkassel as well as a trench and wooden palisades found on theVenusberg, dating back to around 4080 BCE.
In the years before the birth of Christ, Roman presence in Bonna was modest, but this changed after the Roman defeat in theBattle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE. In the following decades, alegion was stationed there, which built theLegionary Fortress Bonn in the northern part of present-day Bonn. Around the camp, and to the south along what is now Adenauerallee, traders and craftsmen settled in avicus.
With theend of the Roman Empire, Bonn declined during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. During theViking raids in the Rhineland, Bonn was burned twice in 882, and in 883, the recently rebuilt town was again attacked, burned, and looted by the Normans.
In theFrankish Empire, and finally in the 9th and 10th centuries, a religious center developed around theBonn Minster (the Villa Basilika), and a market settlement emerged in the area of today’s market square. The year 1243 is considered the year in which Bonn was granted full city rights.[9]
The outcome of theBattle of Worringen in 1288 was of great importance for the further development of the city. TheCologne prince-electors made Bonn—along withBrühl andPoppelsdorf—one of their residences, and eventually theirresidence city. The magnificent palaces built by the prince-electors in the 17th and 18th centuries gave the city itsbaroque splendor.
This era ended with the occupation byFrench troops on October 8, 1794. This was followed by nearly two decades of occupation by the troops ofNapoleon. Taxes in the form of food, clothing, and accommodations, as well as the loss of the electoral state administration, led to poverty among the population and a decline in the number of inhabitants by around 20%.[10] The French introduced a civil code (Code civil) and a municipal constitution in Bonn. Even underFrench occupation, medium and large industrial companies, particularly in the textile sector, were established in Bonn. The French also pursued a thoroughsecularization: properties of the ecclesiastical electorate, especially the electoral buildings, were taken into state ownership.[10] The areas on the right bank of the Rhine that are now part of Bonn (Vilich) came into the possession of thePrince of Nassau-Usingen; Oberkassel belonged to theDuchy of Berg, a Frenchsatellite state. By theTreaty of Lunéville of February 9, 1801, the Rhine near Bonn was designated as the French eastern border. Bonn became the seat of a sub-prefecture in the newly formedRhin-et-Moselle.
Following the decisions of theCongress of Vienna, Bonn became part ofPrussia in 1815. In the following decades, the city was shaped by the newly foundedUniversity of Bonn, established by the Prussian government on October 18, 1818. The founder and namesake wasKing Frederick William III of Prussia. A university had existed in Bonn at the end of the 18th century but was closed during the French occupation in 1794. The Prussian foundation was not a continuation of that earlier institution, but part of a program that also included theUniversity of Berlin and theUniversity of Breslau. The term Rheinische in the name of the Bonn university was meant to mark it as a "sister" institution to the Berlin and Breslau universities. Over the next 100 years, Bonn became the preferred place of study for theHohenzollern princes. It was nicknamed the "Princes' University," as both the then-Prussian Crown PrinceFrederick William, his sonWilhelm, and Wilhelm's four sons studied there.[11] Other sons of noble families also favored studying at this university in the 19th century. Before the founding of the Bonn university, Cologne had been its main rival. The "enlightened tradition" of Bonn, compared to the "holy Cologne," likely made it more suitable for a confessionally neutral university. Practical reasons also favored Bonn: the old electoral palace and the Poppelsdorf Palace were already available as suitable buildings.
From 1815 onward, professors, students, civil servants, and officers arrived in Bonn, including many Protestants from the Prussian provinces, which was unusual for the predominantly Catholic Rhineland. Prussia also made Bonn a garrison town. As a result, Bonn became popular as a retirement location for military officers. Tourism also grew after German unification in 1871, fueled by theRomanticism on the Rhine of the time.
More than 1,000 Bonn residents, mostly ofJewish descent, were murdered during theNazi era (Holocaust). About 8,000 people were forced to leave their hometown, were arrested, or imprisoned inconcentration camps. WhenAmerican troops entered Bonn on March 9, 1945, endingWorld War II for the city, 30% of the buildings were destroyed. Of these, 70% were slightly to severely damaged, and 30% were completely destroyed residential buildings. More than 4,000 Bonn residents had died in bombings. On May 28, 1945, Bonn became part of theBritish occupation zone.
After the Second World War, the city experienced rapid reconstruction and expansion, especially after the decision to make Bonn the provisional capital of the new Federal Republic of Germany instead ofFrankfurt am Main on November 29, 1949[12] (seeCapital of Germany#The capital debate). As a result of thelaw implementing the Bundestag resolution of June 20, 1991, to complete German unification (Berlin/Bonn Act)—which involved the relocation of the parliament, parts of the government, many diplomatic missions, lobbyists, and the privatization of theGerman Federal Post Office—the city underwent another transformation around the turn of the millennium. The remaining ministries, newly established federal agencies, headquarters of major German companies,international organizations, and institutions of science and research administration are now the drivers of this structural change, which has so far been considered successful and continues to this day.[13]
On October 30, 2014, under the patronage and active participation of Chancellor Angela Merkel, theUnity Tree Monument for German Unity was planted.[14][15][16]
Municipal MergersThe city of Bonn was enlarged several times throughmunicipal mergers. Around 1900, Bonn grew significantly. As a result, on June 1, 1904, the towns ofPoppelsdorf,Endenich,Kessenich, andDottendorf—which had already merged physically with Bonn—were incorporated.
The borough of Beuel, on the right bank of the Rhine, was also assigned the villages ofHolzlar,Hoholz, and theOberkassel administrative area, which had previously belonged to the Sieg District. Bonn itself was expanded with the villages ofIppendorf,Röttgen,Ückesdorf,Lessenich/Meßdorf, andBuschdorf from the former Bonn District, whileLengsdorf and Duisdorf, along with some new housing developments, formed the borough of Hardtberg.[17]
The city of Bad Godesberg had already incorporated several villages earlier. As early as 1899,Plittersdorf andRüngsdorf had joined Godesberg, and in 1904,Friesdorf was added, effectively merging Bad Godesberg with Bonn. In 1915, Bad Godesberg expanded southwest out of the valley, leading to the incorporation ofMuffendorf. On July 1, 1935,Lannesdorf andMehlem became districts of Bad Godesberg.
Results of the second round of the 2020 mayoral election
The current mayor of Bonn isKatja Dörner ofAlliance 90/The Greens since 2020. She defeated incumbent mayorAshok-Alexander Sridharan in the most recent mayoral election, which was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September. The results were as follows:
The Bonn city council governs the city alongside the mayor. It used to be based in theRococo-styleAltes Rathaus (old city hall), built in 1737, located adjacent to Bonn's central market square. However, due to the enlargement of Bonn in 1969 through the incorporation of Beuel and Bad Godesberg, it moved into the larger Stadthaus facilities further north. This was necessary for the city council to accommodate an increased number of representatives. The mayor of Bonn still sits in theAltes Rathaus, which is also used for representative and official purposes.
The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:
Four delegates represent the Federal city of Bonn in theLandtag ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia. The last election took place in May 2022. The current delegates are Guido Déus (CDU), Christos Katzidis (CDU), Joachim Stamp (FDP), Tim Achtermeyer (Greens) and Dr. Julia Höller (Greens)
Beethoven's birthplace is located in Bonngasse near the market place. Next to the market place is the Old City Hall, built in 1737 inRococo style, under the rule ofClemens August of Bavaria. It is used for receptions of guests of the city, and as an office for the mayor. Nearby is theKurfürstliches Schloss, built as a residence for the prince-elector and now the main building of theUniversity of Bonn.
ThePoppelsdorfer Allee is an avenue flanked bychestnut trees which had the firsthorsecar of the city. It connects theKurfürstliches Schloss with thePoppelsdorfer Schloss, a palace that was built as a resort for the prince-electors in the first half of the 18th century, and whose grounds are now abotanical garden (theBotanischer Garten Bonn). This axis is interrupted by a railway line andBonn Hauptbahnhof, a building erected in 1883/84.
TheBeethoven Monument stands on the Münsterplatz, which is flanked by theBonn Minster, one of Germany's oldest churches.
The three highest structures in the city are theWDRradio mast in Bonn-Venusberg (180 m or 590 ft), the headquarters of theDeutsche Post calledPost Tower (162.5 m or 533 ft) and the former building for the German members of parliamentLanger Eugen (114.7 m or 376 ft) now the location of the UN Campus.
TheBundeskunsthalle focuses on the cultural heritage outside of Germany or Europe, at the crossroads of culture, the arts, and science.
Just as Bonn's other four major museums, theHaus der Geschichte or Museum of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany, is located on the so-calledMuseumsmeile ("Museum Mile"). The Haus der Geschichte is one of the foremost German museums of contemporary German history, with branches inBerlin andLeipzig. In its permanent exhibition, the Haus der Geschichte presents German history from 1945 until the present, also shedding light on Bonn's own role as former capital of West Germany. Numerous temporary exhibitions emphasize different features, such as Nazism or important personalities in German history.[20]
TheKunstmuseum Bonn or Bonn Museum of Modern Art is an art museum founded in 1947. The Kunstmuseum exhibits both temporary exhibitions and its permanent collection. The latter is focused on RhenishExpressionism and post-war German art.[21] German artists on display includeGeorg Baselitz,Joseph Beuys,Hanne Darboven,Anselm Kiefer,Blinky Palermo andWolf Vostell. The museum owns one of the largest collections of artwork by Expressionist painterAugust Macke. His work is also on display in theAugust-Macke-Haus, located in Macke's former home where he lived from 1911 to 1914.
TheBundeskunsthalle (full name: Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland or Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany), focuses on the crossroads of culture, arts, and science. To date, it attracted more than 17 million visitors.[22] One of its main objectives is to show thecultural heritage outside of Germany or Europe.[23] Next to its changing exhibitions, the Bundeskunsthalle regularly hosts concerts, discussion panels, congresses, and lectures.
TheMuseum Koenig is Bonn's natural history museum. Affiliated with theUniversity of Bonn, it is also azoological research institution housing theLeibniz-Institut für Biodiversität der Tiere. Politically interesting, it is on the premises of the Museum Koenig where theParlamentarischer Rat first met.[24]
TheDeutsches Museum Bonn, affiliated with one of the world's foremost science museums, theDeutsches Museum in Munich, is an interactive science museum focusing on post-war German scientists, engineers, and inventions.[25]
There are several parks, leisure and protected areas in and around Bonn. TheRheinaue [de] is Bonn's most important leisure park, with its role being comparable to whatCentral Park is for New York City. It lies on the banks of the Rhine and is the city's biggest park intra muros. The Rhine promenade and theAlter Zoll (Old Toll Station) are in direct neighbourhood of the city centre and are popular amongst both residents and visitors. TheArboretum Park Härle is anarboretum with specimens dating to back to 1870. TheBotanischer Garten (Botanical Garden) is affiliated with the university. The natural reserve ofKottenforst is a large area of protected woods on the hills west of the city centre. It is about 40 square kilometres (15 square miles) in area and part of theRhineland Nature Park (1,045 km2 or 403 sq mi).
Named afterKonrad Adenauer, the first post-war Chancellor of West Germany,Cologne Bonn Airport is situated 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) north-east from the city centre of Bonn. With around 10.3 million passengers passing through it in 2015, it is theseventh-largest passenger airport in Germany and the third-largest in terms of cargo operations. By traffic units, which combines cargo and passengers, the airport is in fifth position in Germany.[27] As of March 2015, Cologne Bonn Airport had services to 115 passenger destinations in 35 countries.[28] The airport is one of Germany's few 24-hour airports, and is a hub forEurowings and cargo operatorsFedEx Express andUPS Airlines.
The federal motorway (Autobahn)A59 connects the airport with the city. Long distance and regional trains to and from the airport stop atCologne/Bonn Airport station. Another major airport within a one-hour drive by car isDüsseldorf International Airport.
Bonn's central railway station,Bonn Hauptbahnhof is the city's main public transportation hub. It lies just outside the old town and near the central university buildings. It is served by regional (S-Bahn andRegionalbahn) and long-distance (IC andICE) trains. Daily, more than 67,000 people travel via Bonn Hauptbahnhof. In late 2016, around 80 long distance and more than 165 regional trains departed to or from Bonn every day.[29][30][31] Another long-distance station, (Siegburg/Bonn), is located in the nearby town ofSiegburg and serves as Bonn's station on thehigh-speed rail line between Cologne and Frankfurt, offering faster connections to Southern Germany. It can be reached by Stadtbahn line 66 (approx. 25 minutes from central Bonn).
Bonn has aStadtbahn light rail and a tram system. TheBonn Stadtbahn has 4 regular lines that connect the main north–south axis (centre toBad Godesberg) and quarters east of the Rhine (Beuel andOberkassel), as well as many nearby towns likeBrühl,Wesseling,Sankt Augustin,Siegburg,Königswinter, andBad Honnef. All lines serve the Central Station and two lines continue to Cologne, where they connect to theCologne Stadtbahn. TheBonn tram system consists of two lines that connect closer quarters in the south, north and east of Bonn to the Central Station. While the Stadtbahn mostly has its own right-of-way, the tram often operates on general road lanes. A few sections of track are used by both systems. These urban rail lines are supplemented by a bus system of roughly 30 regular lines, especially since some parts of the city likeHardtberg and most ofBad Godesberg completely lack a Stadtbahn/Tram connection. Several lines offer night services, especially during the weekends. Bonn is part of theVerkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (Rhine-Sieg Transport Association) which is the public transport association covering the area of theCologne/Bonn Region.
FourAutobahns run through or are adjacent to Bonn: theA59 (right bank of the Rhine, connecting Bonn withDüsseldorf andDuisburg), theA555 (left bank of theRhine, connecting Bonn with Cologne), theA562 (connecting the right with the left bank of the Rhine south of Bonn), and theA565 (connecting the A59 and the A555 with theA61 to the southwest). Three Bundesstraßen, which have a general 100 kilometres per hour (62 miles per hour)speed limit in contrast to the Autobahn, connect Bonn to its immediate surroundings (Bundesstraßen B9, B42 and B56).
With Bonn being divided into two parts by theRhine, three bridges are crucial for inner-city road traffic: the Konrad-Adenauer-Brücke (A562) in the South, the Friedrich-Ebert-Brücke (A565) in the North, and the Kennedybrücke (B56) in the centre. In addition, regular ferries operate between Bonn-Mehlem andKönigswinter, Bonn-Bad Godesberg and Königswinter-Niederdollendorf, and Bonn-Graurheindorf andNiederkassel-Mondorf.
Located in the northern sub-district of Graurheindorf, theinland harbour of Bonn is used for container traffic as well as oversea transport. The annual turnover amounts to around 500,000 t (490,000 long tons; 550,000 short tons). Regular passenger transport occurs to Cologne and Düsseldorf.
The third largest employer in the city of Bonn is theUniversity of Bonn (including the university clinics)[33] andStadtwerke Bonn also follows as a major employer.[34]
On the other hand, there are several traditional, nationally known private companies in Bonn such as luxury food producersVerpoorten and Kessko, the Klais organ manufacture and the Bonn flag factory.
The largest confectionery manufacturer in Europe,Haribo, has its founding headquarters (founded in 1920) and a production site in Bonn. Since April 2018, the head office of the company is located in the Rhineland-Palatinate municipality ofGrafschaft.[35]
Aloisiuskolleg, aJesuit private school in Bad Godesberg with boarding facilities
Amos-Comenius-Gymnasium, aProtestant private school in Bad Godesberg
Bonn International School (BIS), a private English-speaking school set in the former American Compound in the Rheinaue, which offers places from kindergarten to 12th grade. It follows the curriculum of theInternational Baccalaureate.
Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions. source:[citation needed][37]
Population development since 1620
As of 2011[update], Bonn had a population of 327,913. About 70% of the population was entirely of German origin, while about 100,000 people, equating to roughly 30%, were at least partly of non-German origin. The city is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Germany and the 18th most populous city in the country. Bonn's population is predicted to surpass the populations ofWuppertal andBochum before the year 2030.[38]
The following list shows the largest groups of origin of minorities with "migration background" in Bonn as of 31 December 2021[update].[39]
Since 1983, the City of Bonn has established friendship relations with the City ofTel Aviv, Israel, and since 1988 Bonn, in former times the residence of the Princes Electors of Cologne, andPotsdam, Germany, the formerly most important residential city of the Prussian rulers, have established a city-to-city partnership.
Central Bonn is surrounded by a number of traditional towns and villages which were independent up to several decades ago. As many of those communities had already established their own contacts and partnerships before the regional and local reorganisation in 1969, the Federal City of Bonn now has a dense network of city district partnerships with European partner towns.
The city district of Bonn is a partner of the English university city ofOxford, England, UK (since 1947), ofBudafok, District XXII ofBudapest,Hungary (since 1991) and ofOpole,Poland (officially since 1997; contacts were established 1954).
The district of Bad Godesberg has established partnerships withSaint-Cloud in France,Frascati in Italy,Windsor and Maidenhead in England, UK andKortrijk in Belgium; a friendship agreement has been signed with the town ofYalova, Turkey.
The district of Beuel on the right bank of the Rhine and the city district of Hardtberg foster partnerships with towns in France:Mirecourt andVillemomble.
Moreover, the city of Bonn has developed a concept of international co-operation and maintains sustainability oriented project partnerships in addition to traditional city twinning, among others withMinsk in Belarus,Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia,Bukhara in Uzbekistan,Chengdu in China andLa Paz in Bolivia.
^abc"Monatsauswertung".sklima.de (in German). SKlima.Archived from the original on 7 June 2016. Retrieved13 October 2024.
^Heinrich Gottfried Philipp Gengler:Regesten und Urkunden zur Verfassungs- und Rechtsgeschichte der deutschen Städte im Mittelalter. Erlangen 1863, p. 250 ([1], p. 250, atGoogle Books).
^abSchloßmacher, Norbert (1989).Bonner Geschichte in Bildern. Cologne: Wienand.ISBN3-87909-200-1.
^Schloßmacher, Norbert (1989).Bonner Geschichte in Bildern. Stadtgeschichte in Bildern. Vol. 1. Cologne: Wienand. p. 114.ISBN3-87909-200-1.
^"Museum Koenig".wegderdemokratie.de. Stiftung Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Retrieved10 October 2023.
^"MUSEUMSMEILE BONN".museumsmeilebonn.de (in German).Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved3 February 2017.
^Fraunhofer-Institut für Medienkommunikation IMK (26 March 2002)."Beethoven digitally". Beethoven-haus-bonn.de. Archived fromthe original on 12 April 2017. Retrieved5 May 2009.
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