Bonn is the 19th largest city in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Located in the
Cologne/Bonn RegionThe Cologne/Bonn Region , also known as Cologne/Bonn Metropolitan Region is a metropolitan area in North Rhine-Westfalia, Germany, covering the cities of Cologne, Bonn and Leverkusen, as well as the districts of Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, Oberbergischer Kreis, Rhein-Erft-Kreis and Rhein-Sieg-Kreis...
, about 25 kilometres south of
CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
on the river
Rhine in the State of
North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
, it was the
capital ofThe Capital of Germany muskan is the city state of Berlin. It is the seat of the President of Germany, whose official residence is Schloss Bellevue. The Bundesrat is the representation of the Federal States of Germany and has its seat at the former Prussian Herrenhaus...
West GermanyWest Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999. Starting in 1998, many national government institutions were moved from Bonn to
BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Both houses of the German national parliament, the
BundestagThe Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
and the
BundesratThe German Bundesrat is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder of Germany at the federal level...
, were moved along with the Chancellery and the residence of the
President of GermanyThe President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
.
Bonn remains a centre of politics and administration, however. Roughly half of all government jobs were retained as many government departments remained in Bonn and numerous sub-ministerial level government agencies relocated to the former capital from Berlin and other parts of Germany. In recognition of this, the former capital now holds the title of
Federal CityThe term Federal City is a title for certain cities in Germany, Switzerland and Russia, and a historic term in the United States.In Germany, Bonn has been designated as a Federal City...
("Bundesstadt").
Bonn has developed into a hub of international cooperation in particular in the area of environment and sustainable development. In addition to a number of other international organizations and institutions, such as, for instance, the IUCN Environmental Law Center (IUCN ELC) the City currently hosts 17
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
institutions. Among these are two of the so-called Rio Conventions, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (
UNFCCCThe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development , informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to 14, 1992...
) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (
UNCCDThe United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa is a Convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programs that incorporate long-term strategies...
). The number of UN agencies in Bonn, most of which are based at the newly established United Nations Campus in the city's former parliamentary quarter on the banks of the Rhine, continues to grow. The most recent agency was started in 2007 in Bonn as the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (
UN-SPIDERUN-SPIDER aims at providing universal access to all types of space-based information and services relevant to disaster management by: being a gateway to space information for disaster management support; serving as a bridge to connect the disaster management and space communities; and...
).
Bonn is the seat of some of Germany's largest corporate players, chiefly in the areas of
telecommunicationsGermany's telecommunication system is highly developed. Germany telecommunication market is fully liberalized since January 1, 1998. Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and...
and logistics. Simultaneously, Bonn is establishing itself as an important national and international centre of meetings, conventions and conferences, many of which are directly related to the work of the United Nations. A new conference centre capable of hosting thousands of participants is currently under construction in the immediate vicinity of the UN Campus.
From 1597 to 1794, it was the residence of the Archbishops and Prince-electors of Cologne, and is the birthplace of
Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
(born 1770).
History
The history of the city dates back to Roman times. In about 11 BC, the
Roman ArmyThe Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
appears to have stationed a small unit in what is presently the historical centre of the town. Even earlier, the Army had resettled members of a Germanic tribal group allied with Rome, the
Ubiithumb|right|350px|The Ubii around AD 30The Ubii were a Germanic tribe first encountered dwelling on the right bank of the Rhine in the time of Julius Caesar, who formed an alliance with them in 55 BC in order to launch attacks across the river...
, in Bonn. The Latin name for that settlement, "Bonna", may stem from the original population of this and many other settlements in the area, the
EburoniThe Eburones , were a Belgic people who lived in the northeast of Gaul, near the river Meuse and the modern provinces of Belgian and Dutch Limburg, in the period immediately before it was conquered by Rome. They played a major role in Julius Caesar's account of his "Gallic Wars", as the most...
. The Eburoni were members of a large tribal coalition effectively wiped out during the final phase of
CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
's
War in GaulThe Gallic Wars were a series of military campaigns waged by the Roman proconsul Julius Caesar against several Gallic tribes. They lasted from 58 BC to 51 BC. The Gallic Wars culminated in the decisive Battle of Alesia in 52 BC, in which a complete Roman victory resulted in the expansion of the...
. After several decades, the Army gave up the small camp linked to the Ubii-settlement. During the 1st century AD, the Army then chose a site to the north of the emerging town in what is now the section of Bonn-Castell to build a large military installation dubbed
CastraThe Latin word castra, with its singular castrum, was used by the ancient Romans to mean buildings or plots of land reserved to or constructed for use as a military defensive position. The word appears in both Oscan and Umbrian as well as in Latin. It may have descended from Indo-European to Italic...
Bonnensis, i.e., literally, "Fort Bonn". Initially built from wood, the fort was eventually rebuilt in stone. With additions, changes and new construction, the fort remained in use by the Army into the waning days of the
Western Roman EmpireThe Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
, possibly the mid-5th century. The structures themselves remained standing well into the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, when they were called the Bonnburg. They were used by
Frankish kings until they fell in disuse. Eventually, much of the building materials seem to have been re-used in the construction of Bonn's 13th century
city wallA defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
. The Sterntor (star gate) in the town centre is a reconstruction using the last remnants of the medieval city wall.
To date, Bonn's Roman fort remains the largest fort of its type known from the
ancient worldAncient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
, i.e. a fort built for one full-size
Imperial LegionA Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
and its auxiliaries. The fort covered an area of approximately 250000 square metres (61.8 acre). Between its walls it contained a dense grid of streets and a multitude of buildings, ranging from spacious headquarters and large officers' houses to
barracksBarracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
,
stableA stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...
s and a
military jailA military prison is a prison operated by the military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, enemy combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members of the military found guilty of a serious crime...
. Among the legions stationed in Bonn, the "1st", i.e. the
Prima Legio MinerviaLegio I Minervia was a Roman legion levied by emperor Domitian in 82, for the campaign against the Germanic tribe of the Chatti. Its cognomen is related to the goddess Minerva, the legion's protector. There are still records of the I Minervia in the Rhine border in the middle of the 4th century...
, seems to have served here the longest. Units of the Bonn legion were deployed to theatres of war ranging from modern-day
AlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
to what is now the Russian republic of
ChechnyaThe Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
.
The chief Roman road linking the provincial capitals of
CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
and
MainzMainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
cut right through the fort where it joined the fort's main road (now, Römerstraße). Once past the South Gate, the Cologne-Mainz road continued along what are now streets named Belderberg, Adenauerallee et al. On both sides of the road, the local settlement, Bonna, grew into a sizeable Roman town.
In late antiquity, much of the town seems to have been destroyed by marauding invaders. The remaining civilian population then holed up inside the fort along with the remnants of the troops stationed here. During the final decades of imperial rule, the troops were supplied by Germanic chieftains employed by the Roman administration. When the end came, these troops simply shifted their allegiances to the new barbarian rulers. From the fort, the Bonnburg, as well as from a new medieval settlement to the South centred around what later became the
minsterThe Bonn Minster is one of Germany's oldest churches, having been built between the 11th and 13th centuries. At one point the church served as the cathedral for the Archbishopric of Cologne...
, grew the medieval city of Bonn.
Between the 11th and 13th centuries, the
RomanesqueRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style Bonn Minster was built, and in 1597 Bonn became the seat of the
ArchdioceseA diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of Cologne. The town gained more influence and grew considerably. The elector
Clemens AugustClemens August of Bavaria was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne.-Biography:...
(ruled 1723-1761) ordered the construction of a series of
BaroqueThe Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
buildings which still give the city its character. Another memorable ruler was
Max FranzArchduke Maximilian Francis of Austria was an Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, the last child of the Habsburg ruler Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. His siblings included two Holy Roman Emperors , as well as Queen Marie Antoinette of France and Queen Maria Carolina of...
(ruled 1784-1794), who founded the university and the spa quarter of
Bad GodesbergBad Godesberg is a municipal district of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 till 1990 , the majority of foreign embassies to Germany were located in Bad Godesberg...
. In addition he was a patron of the young
Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, who was born in Bonn in 1770; the elector financed the composer's first journey to
ViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
In 1794, the town was seized by
FrenchThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
troops, becoming a part of the
First French EmpireThe First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
. In 1815 following the
Napoleonic WarsThe Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, Bonn became part of the
Kingdom of PrussiaThe Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
. Administered within the Prussian
Rhine ProvinceThe Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
, the town became part of the
German EmpireThe German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
in 1871 during the Prussian-led
unification of GermanyThe formal unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation state officially occurred on 18 January 1871 at the Versailles Palace's Hall of Mirrors in France. Princes of the German states gathered there to proclaim Wilhelm of Prussia as Emperor Wilhelm of the German...
. Bonn was of little relevance in these years.
Modern history
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Bonn acquired military significance because of its strategic location on the Rhine River, which formed a natural barrier to easy penetration into the German heartland from the west. The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Bonn on 7 March 1945, and the US 1st Infantry Division captured the city during the battle of 8-9 March 1945.
Following World War II, Bonn was in the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
zone of occupation, and in 1949 became the provisional capital of
West GermanyWest Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. The choice of Bonn was made mainly due to the advocacy of West Germany's first chancellor,
Konrad AdenauerKonrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer was a German statesman. He was the chancellor of the West Germany from 1949 to 1963. He is widely recognised as a person who led his country from the ruins of World War II to a powerful and prosperous nation that had forged close relations with old enemies France,...
, a former
CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
Mayor and a native of that area. This was despite the fact that Frankfurt already had most of the required facilities and using Bonn was estimated to be 95 million DM more expensive than using Frankfurt. It was thought, however, that locating the capital in a major city like Frankfurt or
Hamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
would imply a permanent capital.
Because of its relatively small size for a capital city, Bonn was sometimes referred to, jokingly, as the Bundeshauptstadt ohne nennenswertes Nachtleben (Federal capital without noteworthy night-life) or the Bundesdorf (Federal Village). At one point in the post-WWll/
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
era, the
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
EmbassyA diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...
in Bonn was America's largest, "comparable, with its thousands of staff, to the [U.S.]
BaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
embassy today."
German reunificationGerman reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
in 1990 made
BerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
the nominal capital of Germany again. This decision did not mandate that the republic's political institutions would also move. While some argued for the seat of government to move to Berlin, others advocated leaving it in Bonn--a situation roughly analogus to that of the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, where
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
is the capital but
The HagueThe Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
is the seat of government. Berlin's previous history as united Germany's capital was strongly connected with
Imperial GermanyThe German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, and more ominously with
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. It was felt that a new peacefully united Germany should not be governed from a city connected to such overtones of war. Additionally, Bonn was closer to
BrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, headquarters of the EU.
The heated debate that resulted was settled by the
BundestagThe Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
(Germany's parliament) only on 20 June 1991. By a vote of 338-220, the Bundestag voted to move the seat of government to Berlin. The vote broke largely along generational lines, with younger legislators favouring Bonn and older legislators who remembered Berlin's past voting for Berlin. In the end, the 25 members from the two then-tiny
Ossi-Organisations:*OSSI-Safenet Security Services - a private military company and a joint venture between US-based Overseas Security & Strategy Information, Inc...
parties tipped the margin in favour of Berlin.
While the government and parliament moved to Berlin, as a compromise, some of the ministries (such as Defence and Agriculture) largely remained in Bonn, with only the top officials in Berlin. There was no plan to move these departments, and so Bonn remained a second, unofficial capital with the new title "Federal City" (Bundesstadt). Because of the necessary construction work, the move took until 1999 to complete.
At present, the private sector plays a major role in Bonn's economy. With 5 stock listed companies, Bonn has the 4th highest market capitalisation amongst German towns. With headquarters of DHL, T-Mobile and other renowned companies, managers have replaced the public sector.
Main sights
Beethoven's birth place is located in Bonngasse near the market place. Next to the market place is the Old Town Hall, built in 1737 in
RococoRococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
style, under the rule of
Clemens August of BavariaClemens August of Bavaria was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne.-Biography:...
. It is used for receptions of guests of the town, and as an office for the mayor. Nearby is the Kurfürstliches Schloss, built as a residence for the prince-elector and now the main building of the
University of BonnThe University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
.
The Poppelsdorfer Allee is an alley flanked by
chestnut treesChestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
which had the first
horsecarA horsecar or horse-drawn tram is an animal-powered streetcar or tram.These early forms of public transport developed out of industrial haulage routes that had long been in existence, and from the omnibus routes that first ran on public streets in the 1820s, using the newly improved iron or steel...
of the town. It connects the Kurfürstliches Schloss with the Poppelsdorfer 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 a
botanical gardenA botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
(the Botanischer Garten Bonn). This axis is interrupted by a railway line and
Bonn Hauptbahnhofis a railway station located on the left bank of the Rhine along the Cologne–Mainz line. It is the principal station serving the city of Bonn. In addition to extensive rail service from Deutsche Bahn it acts as a hub for local bus, tram, and Stadtbahn services....
, a building erected in 1883/84.
The
Beethoven MonumentThe Beethoven Monument is a large bronze statue of Ludwig van Beethoven that stands on the Münsterplatz in Bonn, Beethoven's birthplace. It was unveiled on 12 August 1845, in honour of the 75th anniversary of the composer's birth.-Background:...
stands on the Münsterplatz, which is flanked by the
Bonn MinsterThe Bonn Minster is one of Germany's oldest churches, having been built between the 11th and 13th centuries. At one point the church served as the cathedral for the Archbishopric of Cologne...
, one of Germany's oldest churches.
The three highest buildings in the city are the
radio mastRadio masts and towers are, typically, tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. They are among the tallest man-made structures...
of
WDRWestdeutscher Rundfunk is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the consortium of German public-broadcasting institutions, ARD...
in Bonn-Venusberg (180 m), the headquarters of the
Deutsche PostDeutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL, is the world's largest logistics group. With its headquarters in Bonn, the corporation has 467,088 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide and generated revenue of € 51.48 billion in 2010...
called
Post TowerPost Tower is the headquarters of the logistic company Deutsche Post DHL with the two brands postal services for Germany Deutsche Post and the worldwide logistic company DHL. The Post Tower is a 162.5-metre, 41-storey office building in Bonn, Germany...
(162.5 m) and the former building for the German members of parliament Langer Eugen (114.7 m) now the new location of the
UNThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
-Campus.
Churches
- Bonn Minster
The Bonn Minster is one of Germany's oldest churches, having been built between the 11th and 13th centuries. At one point the church served as the cathedral for the Archbishopric of Cologne...
- Doppelkirche (Double Church) Schwarzrheindorf built in 1151
- Old Cemetery Bonn, one of the best known ones in Germany
- Kreuzbergkirche built in 1627 with Johann Balthasar Neumann's Heilige Stiege, a stairway for Christian pilgrims
Modern buildings
- Beethovenhalle
The Beethovenhalle is a concert hall in Bonn. It is the third hall in that city to bear the name of Bonn-born composer Ludwig van Beethoven.- History :...
- Bundesviertel (federal quarter) with lots of government structures including
- Post Tower
Post Tower is the headquarters of the logistic company Deutsche Post DHL with the two brands postal services for Germany Deutsche Post and the worldwide logistic company DHL. The Post Tower is a 162.5-metre, 41-storey office building in Bonn, Germany...
, the tallest building in the state North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
, housing the headquarters of Deutsche PostDeutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL, is the world's largest logistics group. With its headquarters in Bonn, the corporation has 467,088 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide and generated revenue of € 51.48 billion in 2010...
/DHLDHL Express is a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post providing international express mail services. DHL is a world market leader in sea and air mail....
- Maritim Bonn, 5 star hotel and convention centre
- Schürmann-Bau
The Schürmann-Bau is an office building in Bonn, named after its architect Joachim Schürmann. The building houses the headquarters of the Deutsche Welle, after being originally planned for the members of parliament. The construction site was heavily damaged in spring 1993 by a flood of the Rhine....
, headquarters of Deutsche WelleDeutsche Welle or DW, is Germany's international broadcaster. The service is aimed at the overseas market. It broadcasts news and information on shortwave, Internet and satellite radio on 98.7 DZFE in 30 languages . It has a satellite television service , that is available in four languages, and...
- Langer Eugen, since 2006 the centre of the United Nations Campus, formerly housing the offices of the members of the German parliament
- Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Europe....
headquarters
- T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
headquarters
- Kameha Grand, 5 star hotel
Museums
- Museum Mile with
- Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland is a museum in Bonn, Germany....
(Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany) showing the Guggenheim CollectionThe Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1937 by philanthropist Solomon R. Guggenheim and artist Hilla von Rebay. The first museum established by the foundation was the "Museum of Non-Objective Art", which was housed in rented space on Park Avenue in New York....
in 2006-2007
- Kunstmuseum Bonn
The Kunstmuseum Bonn or Bonn Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Bonn, Germany, founded in 1947. The Kunstmuseum exhibits both temporary exhibitions and its collection. Its collection is focused on Rhenish Expressionism and post-war German art...
(Bonn Museum of Modern Art)
- Haus der Geschichte
Haus der Geschichte is a modern history museum in Bonn, Germany. Located on the Museumsmeile , the museum has exhibitions related to German history from 1945 until the present...
(Museum of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany)
- Museum Koenig
The Alexander Koenig Research Museum is a natural history museum and zoological research institution in Bonn, Germany. The museum is named after Alexander Koenig, who donated his collection of specimens to the institution...
where the Parlamentarischer RatThe Parlamentarischer Rat was the West German constitutional convention that created the current constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany...
first met
- Beethoven House
DetailsThe Beethoven House in Bonn, Germany, is a memorial site, museum and cultural institution serving various purposes. Founded in 1889 by the Beethoven-Haus association it studies the life and work of composer Ludwig van Beethoven.The centrepiece of the Beethoven-Haus is Beethoven's birthplace...
, birthplace of Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
- Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn
The Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, or LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, is a museum in Bonn, Germany, run by the Rhineland Landscape Association. It is one of the oldest museums in the country. In 2003 it completed an extensive renovation...
(Rhinish Regional Museum Bonn)
- Bonn Women's Museum
The Bonn Women's Museum is a women's museum in Bonn, Germany. It was founded in 1981 by Marianne Pitzen and an interdisciplinary group of working women, and claims to be the first museum of its kind in the world...
- August-Macke-Haus
August-Macke-Haus is a museum in Bonn, Germany opened in 1991, dedicated to the expressionist painter August Macke. It is located in Macke's former home, where he lived from 1911 to 1914...
(museum dedicated to ExpressionistExpressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
painter August MackeAugust Macke was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter . He lived during a particularly innovative time for German art which saw the development of the main German Expressionist movements as well as the arrival of the successive avant-garde movements which...
)
- Arithmeum
The Arithmeum is a mathematics museum owned by the Forschungsinstitut für Diskrete Mathematik at the University of Bonn....
Nature
- Arboretum Park Härle
The Arboretum Park Härle is a nonprofit arboretum located on the slopes of the Rhine Valley between Bonn and the Seven Mountains at Büchelstraße 40, Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany...
, an arboretumAn arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
with specimens dating to 1870
- Botanischer Garten (Botanical Garden), where Titan arum
The titan arum or Amorphophallus titanum is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world...
set a world record
- Rheinaue (Bonn), a leisure park on the banks of the Rhine
- Kottenforst, a large area of protected woods on the hills west of the city centre
- Rhine promenade and the Alter Zoll (Old Toll Station)
- In the very south of the city, on the border with Wachtberg
Wachtberg is a municipality in the Rhein-Sieg district, of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km south of Bonn. In 2005 the Wachtberg municipality had approximately 20,000 inhabitants....
and Rhineland-PalatinateRhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
, is an extinct volcano2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
the RodderbergThe Rodderberg is an extinct volcano in the east of the municipality of Wachtberg near Bonn, Germany. The last eruption was 250,000 years ago....
Education
The Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms Universität Bonn (
University of BonnThe University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
) is one of the largest universities in Germany. It is also the location of the German research institute
Deutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftThe Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is an important German research funding organization and the largest such organization in Europe.-Function:...
(DFG) offices.
Private schools
- Aloisiuskolleg
The Aloisiuskolleg is a co-educational, private and Catholic University-preparatory school in Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Germany with an affiliated boarding school directed by the Jesuits. The school is named for Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. It has an excellent reputation and is considered one of the most...
, a JesuitThe Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
private schoolPrivate schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
in Bad GodesbergBad Godesberg is a municipal district of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 till 1990 , the majority of foreign embassies to Germany were located in Bad Godesberg...
with boarding facilities
- Amos-Comenius-Gymnasium, a Protestant
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
private schoolPrivate schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
in Bad GodesbergBad Godesberg is a municipal district of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 till 1990 , the majority of foreign embassies to Germany were located in Bad Godesberg...
- Bonn International School
Bonn International School is an international school located in Bonn, Germany. It was established on the old campus of Bonn American High School in 1997 through the merger of the former American Elementary and High Schools and the British High School. Built along the Rhine River, it follows the...
(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 the International BaccalaureateThe International Baccalaureate , formerly the International Baccalaureate Organization , is an international educational foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and founded in 1968. IB offers three educational programmes for children ages 3–19.The organization's name and logo were changed...
.
- King Fahd Academy, a private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
in Mehlem, Bad GodesbergBad Godesberg is a municipal district of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 till 1990 , the majority of foreign embassies to Germany were located in Bad Godesberg...
, which also includes a mosque
- Libysch-Arabische El-Fateh Schule, private Arabic high school
- Independent Bonn International School
Independent Bonn International School is the oldest international school located in Bonn, Germany. It is a safe and warm community of pupils, staff and parents. It welcomes all children of all religions and nationalities, aged 3–11 years.-History:...
, (IBIS) private primary school (serving from kindergarten, reception, and years 1 to 6)
- École de Gaulle - Adenauer, private French-speaking school serving grades 1 to 12
- Ernst-Kalkuhl-Gymnasium, private boarding and day school
- Otto-Kühne-Schule Godesberg ("PÄDA"), private boarding and day school
- Akademie fuer Internationale Bildung, private higher educational facility offering programs for international students
Additionally there are six private Catholic schools.
Districts
In 1969, the independent towns of
Bad GodesbergBad Godesberg is a municipal district of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 till 1990 , the majority of foreign embassies to Germany were located in Bad Godesberg...
and Beuel as well as several villages were incorporated into Bonn, resulting in a city more than twice as large as before. Bad Godesberg and Beuel became districts (Stadtbezirke) of Bonn with some independence and populations of about 70,000 each.
Each district has its own quarters:
- Bad Godesberg
Bad Godesberg is a municipal district of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 till 1990 , the majority of foreign embassies to Germany were located in Bad Godesberg...
: Alt-Godesberg, Friesdorf, Godesberg-Nord, Godesberg-Villenviertel, Heiderhof, Hochkreuz, Lannesdorf, Mehlem, Muffendorf, Pennenfeld, Plittersdorf, Rüngsdorf, Schweinheim
- Beuel: Beuel-Mitte, Beuel-Ost, Geislar, Hoholz, Holtorf, Holzlar
HolzlarIs an enclosed settlement in Bonn's district Beuel, east of the Rhine and north of the Siebengebirge in Germany. Holzlar has a population of about 11.000 and consists out of the former villages Holzlar, Kohlkaul, Heidebergen, Roleber and Gielgen....
, Küdinghoven, Limperich, Oberkassel, Pützchen/Bechlinghoven, Ramersdorf, Schwarzrheindorf/Vilich-Rheindorf, Vilich, Vilich-Müldorf
- Bonn: Auerberg, Bonn-Castell (until 2003: Bonn-Nord), Bonn-Zentrum, Buschdorf, Dottendorf, Dransdorf, Endenich
Endenich is a neighborhood of Bonn, Germany, since 1904.The village of Endenich was founded in the 8th century, first mentioned in 804 as Villa quae vocatur Antiche .Today, about 12,000 people live in Endenich....
, Graurheindorf, Gronau, Ippendorf, Kessenich, Nordstadt, Poppelsdorf, Röttgen, Südstadt, TannenbuschTannenbusch is a section of Bonn, Germany with approx. 17,000 inhabitants. It is split between the subsections Alt-Tannenbusch and Neu-Tannenbusch. The roads in Tannenbusch are almost exclusively named after places in the former East German areas...
, Ückesdorf, Venusberg, Weststadt
- Hardtberg
Hardtberg is a municipal district of Bonn, Germany. In 1969 it developed from the villages Duisdorf, Hardthöhe and Lengsdorf that previously belonged to the Amt Duisdorf. The new housing estate Brüser Berg in the south of Hardtberg became an official locality of Bonn in 1974. Hardthöhe is seat of...
: Brüser Berg, Duisdorf, Hardthöhe, Lengsdorf, Lessenich/Meßdorf
Transport
Bonn is connected to three autobahns (federal motorways) and the
German railDeutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
network. Some InterCityExpress and most
InterCityInterCity is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe...
trains call at
Bonn Hauptbahnhofis a railway station located on the left bank of the Rhine along the Cologne–Mainz line. It is the principal station serving the city of Bonn. In addition to extensive rail service from Deutsche Bahn it acts as a hub for local bus, tram, and Stadtbahn services....
whilst the
Siegburg/Bonn railway stationSiegburg/Bonn is a railway station located in Siegburg, Germany. The station is located on the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line and sees service by several ICE lines as well as Rhine-Ruhr S-Bahn trains...
is situated on the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line outside of Bonn and serviced by InterCityExpress trains. Local transport is provided by a
StadtbahnA ' is a tramway or light railway that includes segments built to rapid transit standards, usually as part of a process of conversion to a metro railway, mainly by the building of tunnels in the central city area....
(light rail), which also features two lines to
CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
.
Bonn's international airport is
Cologne Bonn AirportCologne/Bonn Airport is an international airport located in the district of Porz in the city of Cologne, Germany, and is surrounded by the Wahner Heide nature reserve. The airport is centrally located in the Cologne/Bonn Region southeast of Cologne city centre and northeast of Bonn...
.
Demographics
As of 2010, Bonn had a population of 324,900 of whom about 100,000 (~30%) were of non-German origin/ethnicity.
Number of minorities (1st and 2nd generation) in Bonn by country of origin per 31st December 2006
Economy
Deutsche TelekomDeutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Europe....
, its subsidiary
T-MobileT-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
and
Deutsche PostDeutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL, is the world's largest logistics group. With its headquarters in Bonn, the corporation has 467,088 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide and generated revenue of € 51.48 billion in 2010...
have their head office in Bonn.
There is a local restaurant and brewpub, Brauhaus Bönnsch, which produces
KölschKölsch may refer to:*Kölsch , a beer speciality from Cologne, Germany*Kölsch language, a Ripuarian dialect spoken in Cologne*Historic Colognian, a predecessor of todays Kölsch language....
style beers.
International relations
Since 1983, the City of Bonn has established friendship relations with the City of
Tel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
,
IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and since 1988 Bonn, in former times the residence of the Princes Electors of Cologne, and
PotsdamPotsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, 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 of
OxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(since 1947), of
BudafokBudafok is a neighbourhood in Budapest, Hungary. It is situated in the southwestern part of Buda, near the Danube, and belongs to District XXII. Budafok was an independent municipality before 1950...
, District XXII of
BudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
,
HungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
(since 1991) and of
OpoleOpole is a city in southern Poland on the Oder River . It has a population of 125,992 and is the capital of the Upper Silesia, Opole Voivodeship and, also the seat of Opole County...
,
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(officially since 1997; contacts were established 1954).
The district of Bad Godesberg has established partnerships with
Saint-CloudSaint-Cloud is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.Like other communes of the Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine or Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of the wealthiest cities in France, ranked 22nd out of the 36500 in...
in
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
,
FrascatiFrascati is a town and comune in the province of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with science, being the location of several international scientific...
in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
,
Windsor and MaidenheadThe Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a Royal Borough of Berkshire, in South East England. It became a unitary authority on 1 April 1998.It is home to Windsor Castle, Eton College, Legoland and Ascot Racecourse....
in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and
KortrijkKortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...
in
BelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
; a friendship agreement has been signed with the town of
YalovaYalova is a city located in northwestern Turkey, on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara, and is the capital of the Yalova Province. Yalova has a city population of 92,166, while the population of the Yalova Province is 202,531. as of 2009...
,
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
The district of Beuel on the right bank of the Rhine and the city district of Hardtberg foster partnerships with towns in
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
:
MirecourtMirecourt is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France. Mirecourt is known for lace-making and the manufacture of musical instruments, particularly those of the violin family...
and
VillemombleVillemomble is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Heraldry:-Transport:Villemomble is served by Le Raincy – Villemomble – Montfermeil station on Paris RER line E.-Demography:...
.
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 with
Minsk- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
in
BelarusBelarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Ulan Baatar in
MongoliaMongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
,
BukharaBukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
in
UsbekistanUzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
,
ChengduChengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status...
in
ChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and
La PazNuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...
in
BoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
.
Twin towns - Sister cities
Bonn is
twinnedTwin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
BelfastBelfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
OxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
OpoleOpole is a city in southern Poland on the Oder River . It has a population of 125,992 and is the capital of the Upper Silesia, Opole Voivodeship and, also the seat of Opole County...
, PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Tel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
PotsdamPotsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
, GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
|
Minsk- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, BelarusBelarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, since 1993 BudafokBudafok is a neighbourhood in Budapest, Hungary. It is situated in the southwestern part of Buda, near the Danube, and belongs to District XXII. Budafok was an independent municipality before 1950...
, HungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
La PazNuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...
, BoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
Aveiro, PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
Yogyakarta, IndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
|
Famous residents
- Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
(baptized 17 December 1770; died 26 March 1827 in ViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
) composer and virtuoso pianist
- Bushido
Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi, , better known as Bushido, is a German rapper. The word Bushido is Japanese and means "Way of the Warrior". He also uses the pseudonym Sonny Black, based on Dominic Napolitano. As of 2009, he sold more than 1,5 million albums in Germany alone...
(born 28 September 1978 as Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi) rapper
- Sonja Fuss
Sonja Fuss is a German football defender. She currently plays for FC Zürich Frauen and the German national team. She played in the German Bundesliga since 1992. In 2011 together with Inka Grings she joined Swiss side FC Zürich Frauen.-External links:*...
(born 5 November 1978) football defender for 1. FC Köln1. FC Köln is a German association football club based in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs Kölner Ballspiel-Club 1901 and SpVgg Sülz 07....
and GermanyThe German women's national football team represents Germany in international women's football and is directed by the German Football Association . The team – informally called West Germany in English – played its first international match in 1982...
- Walter Gotell
Walter Gotell was a German actor, known for his role as General Gogol, head of the KGB, in the James Bond film series.Gotell was born in Bonn, Germany; his family emigrated to the United Kingdom after the Nazis came to power...
(15 March 1924 - 5 May 1997), German-British actor, known for his role as General Gogol, head of the KGB, in the James BondThe James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
films
- Johannes B. Kerner
Johannes Baptist Kerner is a German TV personality best known as a sportscaster.Kerner was raised in Hersel, Germany in a Catholic household...
(born 9 December 1964) TV presenter
- Johanna Kinkel
Johanna Kinkel was a German composer, writer, and revolutionary.Kinkel was born in Bonn. In 1840, after five months of unhappy marriage, she was divorced from the Cologne bookseller Matthieux. Her second marriage, in 1843, was to the German poet Gottfried Kinkel. They had four children...
(born 8 July 1810; died 15 November 1858 in LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) composer and writer
- Karlrobert Kreiten
Karlrobert Kreiten was a German pianist, though holding Dutch citizenship his entire life due to his Dutch father....
(born 26 June 1916; murdered by the Nazis 7 September 1943 Berlin-Ploetzensee) noted pianist
- Peter Joseph Lenné
Peter Joseph Lenné was a Prussian gardener and landscape architect from Bonn who worked in the German classicist style.-Childhood and development:...
(born 29 September 1789; died 23 January 1866) gardener and landscape architect
- August Macke
August Macke was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter . He lived during a particularly innovative time for German art which saw the development of the main German Expressionist movements as well as the arrival of the successive avant-garde movements which...
(born in 1887; died in 1914) ExpressionistExpressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
painter who painted more than 400 paintings while living in BonnAugust-Macke-Haus is a museum in Bonn, Germany opened in 1991, dedicated to the expressionist painter August Macke. It is located in Macke's former home, where he lived from 1911 to 1914...
from 1911 to 1914
- Thomas de Maizière
Karl Ernst Thomas de Maizière is a German politician , currently serving as the Minister of Defence in the Second Cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel....
(born 21 January 1954) politician
- Phelps Phelps
Phelps Phelps , born Phelps von Rottenburg, was an American politician who held a number of offices in New York before becoming the 38th Governor of American Samoa and the United States Ambassador to the Dominican Republic. Phelps' parents divorced in 1899 and he later took his mother's maiden name...
(born May 4, 1897; died June 10, 1981), 38th Governor of American Samoa
- Norman Rentrop
Norman Rentrop is a German publisher, author and investor.He is owner/shareholder of the German - based "Rentrop publishing group", "Rentrop & Straton" in Romania, "Wiedza i Praktyka" in Poland. His charitable foundation holds 51% of the charitable Bibel TV foundation...
(born 1957) publisher, author and investor
- Carl Schurz
Carl Christian Schurz was a German revolutionary, American statesman and reformer, and Union Army General in the American Civil War. He was also an accomplished journalist, newspaper editor and orator, who in 1869 became the first German-born American elected to the United States Senate.His wife,...
(born 2 March 1829 in Liblar/Germany; died 14 May 1906 in New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
) German revolutionary, American statesman and reformer, publisher. Also a Union brigadier & major general during the American Civil War, and during the Battle of GettysburgThe Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
was acting commander of the XI CorpsXI Corps or 11th Corps may refer to:* XI Corps * XI Corps , a formation of the Pakistani Army* XI Corps , a formation of the Union Army during the American Civil War...
while General Oliver O. HowardOliver Otis Howard was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War...
commanded the left wing of the Army of the Potomac.
- Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
(born 8 June 1810 – died 29 July 1856) Composer and virtuoso pianist
- E.F. Schumacher (born 16 August 1911) author, economist
- Heide Simonis
Heide Simonis is a German politician. She is a member of the SPD.She was Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein from 1993 to 2005, the first woman to hold this position in any German state in Germany's history.-Life:...
(born 4 July 1943 as Heide Steinhardt) politician SPDThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
- Roger Willemsen
Roger Willemsen is a German author, essayist and TV presenter.-Biography:Willemsen was born and passed his Abitur in Bonn, Germany. He studied German philology/studies , philosophy and history of art in Bonn, Munich and Vienna and was awarded a scholarship by the "Evangelisches Studienwerk"...
(born 15 August 1955) author, essayist and TV presenter
- Natalie Horler
Natalie Christine Horler is an English-German singer and television presenter born in Bonn, Germany. She is known internationally as the lead singer of Eurodance/Eurotrance group Cascada. She is popular in Europe and America, as well as in several Asian countries. Cascada consists of Horler and...
(born 23 September 1981) singer, CascadaCascada is a German Eurodance act most famous for their hit singles "Everytime We Touch", "What Hurts the Most", and "Evacuate the Dancefloor"...
- Alexandros Margaritis
Alexandros Margaritis is a racing driver who is best known for competing in the German-based Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters touring car championship. Prior to that, his career had focused on formula single seater racing in Europe...
(1984-), Greek-German racing driver
- Hans Riegel
Johannes Peter "Hans" Riegel is a German entrepreneur who has owned and operated confectionery maker Haribo since 1946.Born in Bonn, he is the oldest son of the company's founder Hans Riegel, Sr...
(1923-) German entrepreneur who has owned and operated confectionery maker Haribo.
External links