The

federal city The term federal city is a title for certain cities in Germany, Switzerland, and Russia. Germany In Germany, the former West German capital Bonn has been designated with the unique title of federal city (''Bundesstadt''). Since 28 April 1994, it ...

of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

on the banks of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

in the German state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the

Rhine-Ruhr The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region (german: Metropolregion Rhein-Ruhr) is the largest metropolitan region in Germany, with over ten million inhabitants. A polycentric conurbation with several major urban concentrations, the region covers ...

region, Germany's largest metropolitan area, with over 11 million inhabitants. It is a

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

city and the birthplace of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

. Founded in the 1st century BC as a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

settlement in the province

Germania Inferior Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed Germania Secunda in the fourth century, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Agrippin ...

, Bonn is one of Germany's oldest cities. It was the

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

of the

Electorate of Cologne The Electorate of Cologne (german: Kurfürstentum Köln), sometimes referred to as Electoral Cologne (german: Kurköln, links=no), was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the 10th to the early 19th century. ...

from 1597 to 1794, and residence of the Archbishops and Prince-electors of

. From 1949 to 1990, Bonn was the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, and Germany's present constitution, the Basic Law, was declared in the city in 1949. The era when Bonn served as the capital of

is referred to by historians as the Bonn Republic. From 1990 to 1999, Bonn served as the seat of government – but no longer capital – of reunited Germany. Due to a political compromise ( Berlin-Bonn Act) following the reunification, the German federal government maintains a substantial presence in Bonn. Roughly a third of all ministerial jobs are located in Bonn , and the city is considered a second, unofficial, capital of the country. Bonn is the secondary seat of the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

, and the Bundesrat, and the primary seat of six federal government ministries and twenty federal authorities. The title of Federal City (german: link=no, Bundesstadt) reflects its important political status within Germany. The headquarters of

Deutsche Post DHL The Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, is a German multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies. T ...

and

Deutsche Telekom Deutsche Telekom AG (; short form often just Telekom, DTAG or DT; stylised as ·T·) is a German telecommunications company that is headquartered in Bonn and is the largest telecommunications provider in Europe by revenue. Deutsche Telekom was ...

, both

DAX Dax or DAX may refer to: Business and organizations * DAX, stock market index of the top 40 German companies ** DAX 100, an expanded index of 100 stocks, superseded by the HDAX ** TecDAX, stock index of the top 30 German technology firms * Dax ...

-listed corporations, are in Bonn. The city is home to the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

and a total of 20 United Nations institutions, the highest number in all of Germany. 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.

Geography

Topography

Situated in the southernmost part of the

region, Germany's largest metropolitan area with over 11 million inhabitants, Bonn lies within the German state of

, on the border with

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

. Spanning an area of more on both sides of the river

, almost three-quarters of the city lies on the river's left bank. To the south and to the west, Bonn borders the

Eifel The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...

region which encompasses the

Rhineland Nature Park Rheinland Nature Park (''Naturpark Rheinland'') is a nature park in North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly ...

. To the north, Bonn borders the

Cologne Lowland The Cologne Lowland,Dickinson 1953, 35, 461–64, 466–73.Elkins 1968, 229. also called the Cologne Bay or, less commonly, the Cologne Bight (german: Kölner Bucht), is a densely populated area of Germany lying between the cities of Bonn, Aachen ...

. Natural borders are constituted by the river

Sieg The Sieg is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Rhine. The river is named after the Sicambri. It is in length. The source is located in the Rothaargebirge mountains. From h ...

to the north-east and by the

Siebengebirge The (), occasionally Sieben Mountains or Seven Mountains, are a hill range of the German Central Uplands on the east bank of the Middle Rhine, southeast of Bonn. Description The area, located in the municipalities of Bad Honnef and König ...

(also known as the Seven Hills) to the east. The largest extension of the city in north–south dimensions is and in west–east dimensions. The city borders have a total length of . The geographical centre of Bonn is the Bundeskanzlerplatz ''(Chancellor Square)'' in Bonn-Gronau.

Administration

The German state of

is divided into five governmental districts (german: link=no, Regierungsbezirk), and Bonn is part of the governmental district of Cologne (german: link=no, Regierungsbezirk Köln). Within this governmental district, the city of Bonn is an

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

in its own right. The urban district of Bonn is then again divided into four administrative municipal districts (german: link=no, Stadtbezirk). These are Bonn, Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Bonn-Beuel and Bonn-Hardtberg. In 1969, the independent towns of

Bad Godesberg Bad Godesberg ( ksh, Bad Jodesbersch) is a borough ('' Stadtbezirk'') of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 to 1999, while Bonn was the capital of West Germany, most foreign embassies were in Bad Godesberg. Some buildings ar ...

and Beuel as well as several villages were incorporated into Bonn, resulting in a city more than twice as large as before.

Climate

Bonn has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(''Cfb''). In the south of the Cologne lowland in the Rhine valley, Bonn is in one of Germany's warmest regions.

History

Founding and Roman times

The history of the city dates back to Roman times. In about 12 BC, the

Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

appears to have stationed a small unit in what is presently the historical centre of the city. Even earlier, the army had resettled members of a Germanic tribal group allied with Rome, the

Ubii 350px, The Ubii around AD 30 The Ubii were a Germanic tribe first encountered dwelling on the east 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. They were ...

, 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 Eburoni. The Eburoni were members of a large tribal coalition effectively wiped out during the final phase of

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...

's War in Gaul. 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

Castra In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

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 Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...

, possibly the mid-5th century. The structures themselves remained standing well into the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, when they were called the Bonnburg. They were used by

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

kings until they fell into disuse. Eventually, much of the building materials seem to have been re-used in the construction of Bonn's 13th-century

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

. The Sterntor (''star gate'') in the city center 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 world Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

, i.e. a fort built to accommodate a full-strength Imperial Legion and its auxiliaries. The fort covered an area of approximately . Between its walls it contained a dense grid of streets and a multitude of buildings, ranging from spacious headquarters and large officers' quarters to

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

stable A 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 and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

s and a

military jail A military prison is a prison operated by a military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members ...

. Among the legions stationed in Bonn, the "1st", i.e. the Prima Legio Minervia, seems to have served here the longest. Units of the Bonn legion were deployed to theatres of war ranging from modern-day

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

to what is now the Russian republic of

Chechnya Chechnya ( rus, Чечня́, Chechnyá, p=tɕɪtɕˈnʲa; ce, Нохчийчоь, Noxçiyçö), officially the Chechen Republic,; ce, Нохчийн Республика, Noxçiyn Respublika is a republic of Russia. It is situated in the ...

The chief

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

linking the provincial capitals of Cologne and

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

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. Bonn is shown on the 4th century

Peutinger Map ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the ''cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-cen ...

. In

late antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English ha ...

, much of the town seems to have been destroyed by marauding invaders. The remaining civilian population then took refuge inside the fort along with the remnants of the troops stationed here. During the final decades of Imperial rule, the troops were supplied by Franci chieftains employed by the Roman administration. When the end came, these troops simply shifted their allegiances to the new barbarian rulers, the

Kingdom of the Franks Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks duri ...

. From the fort, the Bonnburg, as well as from a new medieval settlement to the South centered around what later became the minster, grew the medieval city of Bonn. Local legends arose from this period that the name of the village came from

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...

via

Vulgar Latin Vulgar Latin, also known as Popular or Colloquial Latin, is the range of non-formal Register (sociolinguistics), registers of Latin spoken from the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic onward. Through time, Vulgar Latin would evolve ...

''*Bonnifatia'', but this proved to be a myth.

Middle Ages and Early Modern times

Between the 11th and 13th centuries, the Romanesque style Bonn Minster was built, and in 1597 Bonn became the seat of the

Archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. The city gained more influence and grew considerably. The city was subject to a major bombardment during the Siege of Bonn in 1689. Bonn was then returned to Cologne where it remained the capital at the

Peace of Ryswick The Peace of Ryswick, or Rijswijk, was a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Rijswijk between 20 September and 30 October 1697. They ended the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War between France and the Grand Alliance, which included England, ...

. The

elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

Clemens August (ruled 1723–1761) ordered the construction of a series of

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

buildings which still give the city its character. Another memorable ruler was

Max Franz Max Franz (born 1 September 1989) is an Austrian World Cup alpine ski racer. Born in Klagenfurt, Carinthia, he focuses on the speed events of Downhill and Super-G. Career Franz made his World Cup debut in November 2009 at Lake Louise, Canad ...

(ruled 1784–1794), who founded the university and the spa quarter of

. In addition he was a patron of the young

, who was born in Bonn in 1770; the elector financed the composer's first journey to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. In 1794, the city was seized by French troops, becoming a part of the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...

. In 1815 following the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, Bonn became part of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

. Administered within the Prussian Rhine Province, the city became part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

in 1871 during the Prussian-led

unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was the process of building the modern German nation state with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with ad ...

. Bonn was of little relevance in these years.

20th century and the "Bonn Republic"

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Bonn acquired military significance because of its strategic location on the Rhine, 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.

After After may refer to: Literature * ''After'' (Elgar), an 1895 poem by Philip Bourke Marston set to music by Edward Elgar * ''After'' (Prose novel), a 2003 novel by Francine Prose * ''After'' (book), a 2005 book by Canadian writer Francis Chalifour ...

the Second World War, Bonn was in the British zone of occupation. Following the advocacy of West Germany's first chancellor,

Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a Germany, German statesman who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the fir ...

, a former Cologne Mayor and a native of that area, Bonn became the ''de facto'' capital, officially designated the "temporary seat of the Federal institutions," of the newly formed Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. However, the Bundestag, seated in Bonn's Bundeshaus, affirmed

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

's status as the German capital. Bonn was chosen as the provisional capital and seat of government despite the fact that

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

already had most of the required facilities and using Bonn was estimated to be 95 million DM more expensive than using Frankfurt. Bonn was chosen because Adenauer and other prominent politicians intended to make Berlin the capital of the reunified Germany, and they felt that locating the capital in a major city like Frankfurt or

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

would imply a permanent capital and even weaken support in West Germany for reunification. In 1949, the

Parliamentary Council The Parliamentary Council was a constitutional authority in Sri Lanka established under the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka. Formally being constituted on January 1, 2011 as per the 18th Amendment, it replaces the Constitutional ...

in Bonn drafted and adopted the current German constitution, the

Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. The West German Constitution was approved in Bonn on 8 May 1949 and came in ...

. As the political centre of West Germany, Bonn saw six Chancellors and six

Presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the Federal Republic of Germany. Bonn's time as the capital of West Germany is commonly referred to as the Bonn Republic, in contrast to the Berlin Republic which followed reunification in 1990.

Bonn in the "Berlin Republic"

Villa Hammerschmidt Bonn Seite Adenauerallee 20080831

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

in 1990 made Berlin the nominal capital of Germany again. This decision, however, 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 analogous to that of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, where

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

is the capital but

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

is the seat of government. Berlin's previous history as united Germany's capital was strongly connected with the

, the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

and more ominously with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. 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

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, headquarters of the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

. Former West German chancellor and mayor of

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

Willy Brandt Willy Brandt (; born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm; 18 December 1913 – 8 October 1992) was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and served as the chancellor of West Ge ...

caused considerable offence to the Western Allies during the debate by stating that France would not have kept the seat of government at

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...

after Liberation. The heated debate that resulted was settled by the ''

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

'' (Germany's parliament) only on 20 June 1991. By a vote of 338–320, the Bundestag voted to move the seat of government to Berlin. The vote broke largely along regional lines, with legislators from the south and west favouring Bonn and legislators from the north and east voting for Berlin. It also broke along generational lines as well; older legislators with memories of Berlin's past glory favoured Berlin, while younger legislators favoured Bonn. Ultimately, the votes of the eastern German legislators tipped the balance in favour of Berlin. From 1990 to 1999, Bonn served as the seat of government of reunited Germany. In recognition of its former status as German capital, it holds the name of Federal City (german: link=no, Bundesstadt). Bonn currently shares the status of Germany's seat of government with Berlin, with the

, the

and many government ministries (such as Food & Agriculture and

Defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

) maintaining large presences in Bonn. Over 8,000 of the 18,000 federal officials remain in Bonn. A total of 19 United Nations (UN) institutions operate from Bonn today.

Politics

Ashok Alexander Sridharan, Oberbürgermeister Bonn

Mayor

The current Mayor of Bonn is

Katja Dörner Katja Dörner (born 18 February 1976) is a German politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens who has been serving as mayor of Bonn since 2020. From 2009 until 2020, she was a member of the Bundestag. Education and early career Dörner studied pol ...

of Alliance 90/The Greens since 2020. She defeated incumbent mayor Ashok-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: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Ashok-Alexander Sridharan , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 48,454 , 34.5 , 52,762 , 43.7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

, align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens , 38,793 , 27.6 , 67,880 , 56.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Lissi von Bülow , align=left,

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

, 28,389 , 20.2 , - , , align=left, Christoph Artur Manka , align=left, Citizens' League Bonn , 8,694 , 6.2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Michael Faber , align=left, The Left , 7,032 , 5.0 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Werner Hümmrich , align=left, Free Democratic Party , 4,853 , 3.5 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Frank Rudolf Christian Findeiß , align=left,

Die PARTEI (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazi ...

, 2,873 , 2.0 , - , , align=left, Kaisa Ilunga , align=left, Alliance for Innovation and Justice , 1,507 , 1.1 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 140,595 ! 99.1 ! 120,642 ! 99.5 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 1,219 ! 0.9 ! 627 ! 0.5 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 141,814 ! 100.0 ! 121,269 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 249,091 ! 56.9 ! 249,098 ! 48.7 , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

City council

The Bonn city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. It used to be based in the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

-style ' (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 the ', 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: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , 39,311 , 27.9 , 9.2 , 19 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 36,315 , 25.7 , 4.7 , 17 , 10 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 21,956 , 15.6 , 7.9 , 11 , 9 , - , , align=left, Citizens' League Bonn (BBB) , 9,948 , 7.1 , 2.0 , 5 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 8,745 , 6.2 , 0.0 , 4 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 7,268 , 5.2 , 3.0 , 3 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Volt Germany Volt Germany (, mostly known by the abbreviated name Volt) is a social-liberal pro-European, eurofederalist political party in Germany. It is the German branch of Volt Europa, a political movement that operates on a European level. Italian And ...

(Volt) , 7,148 , 5.1 , New , 3 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alternative for Germany (AfD) , 4,569 , 3.2 , 0.4 , 2 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(PARTEI) , 3,095 , 2.2 , New , 1 , New , - , , align=left, Alliance for Innovation and Justice (BIG) , 1,775 , 1.3 , 0.2 , 1 , ±0 , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Pirate Party Germany The Pirate Party Germany (german: Piratenpartei Deutschland), commonly known as Pirates (), is a political party in Germany founded in September 2006 at c-base. It states general agreement with the Swedish Piratpartiet as a party of the informa ...

(Piraten) , 869 , 0.6 , 1.6 , 0 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Independents , 101 , 0.1 , – , 0 , – , - ! colspan=2, Valid votes ! 141,100 ! 99.3 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Invalid votes ! 1,052 ! 0.7 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 142,152 ! 100.0 ! ! 66 ! 20 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 249,091 ! 57.1 ! 0.3 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
State Returning Officer

Landtag election

Four delegates represent the Federal city of Bonn in the

Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...

. The last election took place in May 2017. The current delegates are Guido Déus ( CDU), Christos Katzidis (CDU), Joachim Stamp (FDP) and Franziska Müller-Rech (FDP).

German federal election

Bonn's

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

is called ' (096). In the German federal election 2017,

Ulrich Kelber Ulrich Wolfgang Kelber (born 29 March 1968) is a German former politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving as the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information since 7 January 2019. From 2000 to 2019 ...

(SPD) was elected a member of German Federal parliament, the Bundestag by direct mandate. It is his fifth term.

representing Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and Alexander Graf Lambsdorff for FDP were elected as well. Kelber resigned in 2019 because he was appointed

Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI, german: Bundesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit), referring to either a person or the agency they lead, is tasked with supervising data ...

. As Dörner was elected Lord Mayor of Bonn in September 2020, she resigned as a member of parliament after her entry into office.

Culture

Beethoven's birthplace is located in Bonngasse near the market place. Next to the market place is the Old City Hall, built in 1737 in

style, under the rule of

Clemens August of Bavaria Clemens August of Bavaria (german: Clemens August von Bayern) (17 August 1700 – 6 February 1761) was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne. Biography Clemens August (Clementus Augustus) was born in ...

. It is used for receptions of guests of the city, 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

The ''Poppelsdorfer Allee'' is an avenue flanked by

Chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

trees which had the first

horsecar A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, wh ...

of the city. It connects the ''Kurfürstliches Schloss'' with the ''

Poppelsdorfer Schloss Poppelsdorf Palace (German: ''Poppelsdorfer Schloss'') is a Baroque building in the Poppelsdorf district of Bonn, western Germany, which is now part of the University of Bonn. Design and construction The design of a new structure to replace th ...

'', 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 garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe 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, an ...

(the Botanischer Garten Bonn). This axis is interrupted by a railway line and Bonn Hauptbahnhof, a building erected in 1883/84. The Beethoven Monument stands on the Münsterplatz, which is flanked by the

Bonn Minster Bonn Minster (german: Bonner Münster) is a Roman Catholic church in Bonn. It is one of Germany's oldest churches, having been built between the 11th and 13th centuries. At one point the church served as the de facto cathedral for the Archbishopric ...

, one of Germany's oldest churches. The three highest structures in the city are the WDR

radio mast Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-made ...

in Bonn-Venusberg (), the headquarters of the

Deutsche Post The Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL Group, is a German multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies. ...

called ''

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 logistics company DHL. The Post Tower is a 162.5-metre, 41-storey office building in B ...

'' () and the former building for the German members of parliament ''

Langer Eugen Langer Eugen (English: "Tall Eugene") is an office tower in the Gronau district of Bonn, Germany. It was built between 1966 and 1969. Since 2006 it has housed several United Nations organizations. Until the German Bundestag (parliament) moved ...

'' () now the location of the UN Campus.

Churches

* Doppelkirche Schwarzrheindorf built in 1151 * Alter Friedhof, Bonn, Old Cemetery Bonn (''Alter Friedhof''), one of the best known cemeteries in Germany * Kreuzbergkirche, built in 1627 with Johann Balthasar Neumann's ''Heilige Stiege'', it is a stairway for Christian pilgrims * St. Remigius, Bonn, St. Remigius, where Beethoven was baptized

Castles and residences

* Godesburg fortress ruins

Modern buildings

* Beethovenhalle * Bundesviertel (federal quarter) with many government structures including **

, the tallest building in the state

, housing the headquarters of

/DHL Express, DHL ** Maritim Bonn, five-star hotel and convention centre ** Schürmann-Bau, headquarters of Deutsche Welle ** Langer Eugen, since 2006 the centre of the United Nations Campus, formerly housing the offices of the members of the German parliament *

headquarters * T-Mobile headquarters * Kameha Grand, five-star hotel

Museums

Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Bundeskunsthalle-9245

Just as Bonn's other four major museums, the ''Haus der Geschichte'' or Museum of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany, is located on the so-called ''Museumsmeile'' ("Museum Mile")''.'' The Haus der Geschichte is one of the foremost German museums of contemporary German history, with branches in

and Leipzig. 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. The ''Kunstmuseum 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 Rhenish Expressionism and post-war German art. German artists on display include Georg Baselitz, Joseph Beuys, Hanne Darboven, Anselm Kiefer, Blinky Palermo and Wolf Vostell. The museum owns one of the largest collections of artwork by Expressionist painter August Macke. His work is also on display in the August-Macke-Haus, located in Macke's former home where he lived from 1911 to 1914. 2014-06-12 Museum Koenig, Bonn IMG 5509

The Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, ''Bundeskunsthalle'' (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. One of its main objectives is to show the cultural heritage outside of Germany or Europe. Next to its changing exhibitions, the Bundeskunsthalle regularly hosts concerts, discussion panels, congresses, and lectures. The ''Museum Koenig'' is Bonn's natural history museum. Affiliated with the

, it is also a Zoology, zoological research institution housing the ''Leibniz-Institut für Biodiversität der Tiere''. Politically interesting, it is on the premises of the Museum Koenig where the Parlamentarischer Rat first met. The ''Deutsches Museum Bonn'', affiliated with one of the world's foremost science museums, the Deutsches Museum in Munich, is an interactive science museum focusing on post-war German scientists, engineers, and inventions. Other museums include the Beethoven House, birthplace of

, the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn (Rhinish Regional Museum Bonn), the Bonn Women's Museum, the Rheinisches Malermuseum and the Arithmeum.

Nature

Siebengebirge schloss drachenburg ds wv 09 2008

There are several parks, leisure and protected areas in and around Bonn. The ' is Bonn's most important leisure park, with its role being comparable to what Central 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 the ''Alter Zoll'' (Old Toll Station) are in direct neighbourhood of the city centre and are popular amongst both residents and visitors. The ''Arboretum Park Härle'' is an arboretum with specimens dating to back to 1870. The ''Botanical Garden, Bonn, Botanischer Garten'' (Botanical Garden) is affiliated with the university and it is here where Titan arum set a world record. The natural reserve of ''Kottenforst'' is a large area of protected woods on the hills west of the city centre. It is about in area and part of the

(). In the very south of the city, on the border with Wachtberg and

, there is an extinct volcano, the Rodderberg, featuring a popular area for hikes. Also south of the city, there is the

which is part of the lower half of the Middle Rhine region. The nearby upper half of the Middle Rhine from Bingen am Rhein, Bingen to Koblenz is a List of World Heritage Sites in Europe, UNESCO World Heritage Site with more than 40 castles and fortresses from the

and important German vineyards.

Transportation

Air traffic

Named after

, the first post-war Chancellor of West Germany, Cologne Bonn Airport is situated north-east from the city centre of Bonn. With around 10.3 million passengers passing through it in 2015, it is the List of the busiest airports in Germany, seventh-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. As of March 2015, Cologne Bonn Airport had services to 115 passenger destinations in 35 countries. The airport is one of Germany's few 24-hour airports, and is a hub for Eurowings and cargo operators FedEx Express and UPS Airlines. The federal motorway (''Autobahn'') Bundesautobahn 59, A59 connects the airport with the city. Long distance and regional trains to and from the airport stop at Cologne/Bonn Airport station. Another major airport within a one-hour drive by car is Düsseldorf Airport, Düsseldorf International Airport.

Rail and bus system

2008-07-28 U-Bahnhof Hauptbahnhof (Bonn)

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 (Cologne S-Bahn, S-Bahn and Regionalbahn) and long-distance (Intercity (Deutsche Bahn), IC and Intercity-Express, ICE) 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. Another long-distance station, (Siegburg/Bonn station, Siegburg/Bonn), is located in the nearby town of Siegburg and serves as Bonn's station on the Köln–Frankfurt high-speed rail line, high-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 a Stadtbahn light rail and a tram system. The Bonn Stadtbahn has 4 regular lines that connect the main north–south axis (centre to

) and quarters east of the Rhine (Beuel and Oberkassel, Bonn, Oberkassel), as well as many nearby towns like Brühl (Rhineland), Brühl, Wesseling, Sankt Augustin, Siegburg, Königswinter, and Bad Honnef. All lines serve the Central Station and two lines continue to Cologne, where they connect to the Cologne Stadtbahn. The Trams in Bonn, Bonn 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 like Hardtberg and most of

completely lack a Stadtbahn/Tram connection. Several lines offer night services, especially during the weekends. Bonn is part of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (''Rhine-Sieg Transport Association'') which is the public transport association covering the area of the Cologne/Bonn Region.

Road network

Four Autobahns run through or are adjacent to Bonn: the Bundesautobahn 59, A59 (right bank of the Rhine, connecting Bonn with Düsseldorf and Duisburg), the Bundesautobahn 555, A555 (left bank of the

, connecting Bonn with Cologne), the Bundesautobahn 562, A562 (connecting the right with the left bank of the Rhine south of Bonn), and the Bundesautobahn 565, A565 (connecting the A59 and the A555 with the Bundesautobahn 61, A61 to the southwest). Three Bundesstraßen, which have a general 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 the

, 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 and Königswinter, Bonn-

and Königswinter-Niederdollendorf, and Bonn-Graurheindorf and Niederkassel-Mondorf.

Port

Located in the northern sub-district of Graurheindorf, the Inland harbor, inland harbour of Bonn is used for container traffic as well as oversea transport. The annual turnover amounts to around . Regular passenger transport occurs to Cologne and Düsseldorf.

Economy

The head offices of

, its subsidiary T-Mobile,

, German Academic Exchange Service, and SolarWorld are in Bonn. The third largest employer in the city of Bonn is the

(including the university clinics) and Stadtwerke Bonn also follows as a major employer. On the other hand, there are several traditional, nationally known private companies in Bonn such as luxury food producers Verpoorten and Kessko, the Klais organ manufacture and the Bonn flag factory. The largest confectionery manufacturer in Europe, Haribo, has its founding headquarters (founded in 1922) and a production site in Bonn. Today the company is located in the Rhineland-Palatinate municipality of Grafschaft. Other companies of supraregional importance are J. Weck, Weck Glaswerke (production site), Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International, Fairtrade, Eaton Industries (formerly Klöckner & Moeller), IVG Immobilien, Kautex Textron, SolarWorld, Vapiano and the SER Group.

Education

The Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms Universität Bonn (

) is one of the largest universities in Germany. It is also the location of the German research institute Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) offices and of the German Academic Exchange Service (''Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst'' – DAAD).

Private schools

* Aloisiuskolleg, a Society of Jesus, Jesuit private school in Bad Godesberg with boarding facilities * Amos-Comenius-Gymnasium, a Protestant 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 the International Baccalaureate. * Libysch Schule, private Arabic high school * Independent Bonn International School, (IBIS) private primary school (serving from kindergarten, reception, and years 1 to 6) * École de Gaulle - Adenauer, private French-speaking school serving grades pre-school ("maternelle") to grade 4 (CM1) * Kardinal-Frings-Gymnasium (''KFG''), private catholic school of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne, Archdiocese of Cologne in Beuel * Erzbischöfliche Liebfrauenschule Bonn, Liebfrauenschule (''LFS''), private catholic school of the Archdiocese of Cologne * , private catholic school of the Archdiocese of Cologne in Beuel * , private Catholic school of the Archdiocese of Cologne in Bad Godesberg * , private boarding and day school in Oberkassel, Bonn, Oberkassel * ("PÄDA"), private day school in Bad Godesberg * ("CoJoBo"), private catholic day school * Akademie für Internationale Bildung, private higher educational facility offering programs for international students ; Former * King Fahd Academy (Germany), King Fahd Academy, private Islamic school in Bad Godesberg

Demographics

, 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 of Wuppertal and Bochum before the year 2030. The following list shows the largest groups of origin of minorites with "migration background" in Bonn . Bonn DTAG2

Sports

Bonn is home of the Telekom Baskets Bonn, the only basketball club in Germany that owns its arena, the Telekom Dome. The club is a regular participant at international competitions such as the Basketball Champions League. The city also has a semi-professional football team Bonner SC which was formed in 1965 through the merger of ''Bonner FV'' and ''Tura Bonn''. The Bonn Gamecocks American football team play at the 12,000-capacity Stadion Pennenfeld. The headquarters of the International Paralympic Committee has been located in Bonn since 1999. The successful Baseball in Germany, German Baseball Team Bonn Capitals are also found in the city of Bonn.

International relations

Since 1983, the City of Bonn has established friendship relations with the City of Tel Aviv, Israel, and since 1988 Bonn, in former times the residence of the Princes Electors of Cologne, and Potsdam, 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 of Oxford, England, UK (since 1947), of Budafok, District XXII of Budapest, Hungary (since 1991) and of Opole, Poland (officially since 1997; contacts were established 1954). The district of Bad Godesberg has established partnerships with Saint-Cloud in France, Frascati in Italy, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Windsor and Maidenhead in England, UK and Kortrijk in Belgium; a friendship agreement has been signed with the town of Yalova, 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 and Villemomble. 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 in Belarus, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, Bukhara in Uzbekistan, Chengdu in China and La Paz in Bolivia.

Twin towns – sister cities

Bonn is Sister city, twinned with: * Bukhara, Uzbekistan (1999) * Cape Coast, Ghana (2012) * Chengdu, China (2009) * Minsk, Belarus (1993) * La Paz, Bolivia (1996) * Potsdam, Germany (1988) * Tel Aviv, Israel (1983) * Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (1993) Bonn city district is twinned with: * Oxford, United Kingdom (1947) * Budafok-Tétény, Budafok-Tétény (Budapest), Hungary (1991) For twin towns of other city districts, see Bad Godesberg#Twin towns – sister cities, Bad Godesberg, Beuel#Twin towns – sister cities, Beuel and Hardtberg#Twin towns – sister cities, Hardtberg.

Notable people

Up to the 19th century

* Johann Peter Salomon (1745–1815), musician * Franz Anton Ries (1755–1846), violinist and violin teacher *

(1770–1827), composer * Salomon Oppenheim, Jr. (1772–1828), banker * Peter Joseph Lenné (1789–1866), gardener and landscape architect * Friedrich von Gerolt (1797–1879), diplomat * Karl Joseph Simrock (1802–1876), writer and specialist in German * Wilhelm Neuland (1806–1889), composer and conductor * Johanna Kinkel (1810–1858), composer and writer * Moses Hess (1812–1875), philosopher and writer * Johann Gottfried Kinkel (1815–1882), theologian, writer, and politician * Alexander Kaufmann (1817–1893), author and archivist * Leopold Kaufmann (1821–1898), mayor * Julius von Haast (1822–1887), New Zealand, professor of geology * Dietrich Brandis (1824–1907), botanist * Balduin Möllhausen (1825–1905), traveler and writer * Maurus Wolter (1825–1890), Benedictine, founder and first abbot of the Abbey of Beuron and Beuronese Congregation * August Reifferscheid (1835–1887), philologist * Antonius Maria Bodewig (1839–1915), Jesuit missionary and founder * Nathan Zuntz (1847–1920), physician * Alexander Koenig (1858–1940), zoologist, founder of Museum Koenig in Bonn * Alfred Philippson (1864–1953), geographer * Johanna Elberskirchen (1864–1943), writer and activist * Max Alsberg (1877–1933), lawyer * Kurt Wolff (publisher), Kurt Wolff (1887–1963), publisher * Hans Riegel Sr. (1893–1945), entrepreneur * Eduard Krebsbach (1894–1947), SS doctor in Nazi Mauthausen concentration camp, executed for war crimes * Paul Kemp (actor), Paul Kemp (1896–1953), actor

20th century

1900–1950

* Hermann Josef Abs (1901–1994), board member of the Deutsche Bank * Paul Ludwig Landsberg (1901–1944), in Sachsenhausen concentration camp, philosopher * Heinrich Lützeler (1902–1988), philosopher, art historian, and literary scholar * Helmut Horten (1909–1987), entrepreneur * Theodor Schieffer (1910–1992), historian and medievalist * Irene Sänger-Bredt (1911–1983), mathematician and physicist * Ernst Friedrich Schumacher (1911–1977), economist * Klaus Barbie (1913–1991), Nazi SS and Gestapo war criminal, the "Butcher of Lyon" * Karl-Theodor Molinari (1915–1993), General and founding chairman of the German Armed Forces Association * Karlrobert Kreiten (1916–1943), pianist * Hans Walter Zech-Nenntwich (born 1916), Second Polish Republic, SS Cavalry member and war criminal * Walther Killy (1917–1985), German literary scholar, ''Der Killy'' * Hannjo Hasse (1921–1983), actor * Walter Gotell (1924–1997), actor * Walter Eschweiler (born 1935), football referee * Alexandra Cordes (1935–1986), writer * Joachim Bißmeier (born 1936), actor * Roswitha Esser (born 1941), canoeist, gold medal winner at the Olympic Games in 1964 and 1968, Sportswoman of the Year 1964 * Heide Simonis (born 1943), politician (SPD), former Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, since 2005 honorary chairman of UNICEF Germany * Paul Alger (born 1943), football player * Johannes Mötsch (born 1949), archivist and historian * Klaus Ludwig (born 1949), race car driver

1951 to present

* Günter Ollenschläger (born 1951), medical and science journalist * Hans Bongartz, Hans "Hannes" Bongartz (born 1951), football player and coach * Christa Goetsch (born 1952), politician (Alliance '90 / The Greens) * Michael Meert (born 1953), film author and director * Thomas de Maizière (born 1954), politician (CDU), former Minister of Defense and of the Interior * Gerd Faltings (born 1954), mathematician, Fields Medal winner * Olaf Manthey (born 1955), former touring car racing driver * Michael Kühnen (1955–1991), Neo-Nazi * Roger Willemsen (1955–2016), publicist, author, essayist, and presenter * Norman Rentrop (born 1957), publisher, author, and investor * Markus Maria Profitlich (born 1960), comedian and actor * Guido Westerwelle (1961–2016), politician (FDP), Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011 * Mathias Dopfner (born 1963), chief executive officer of Axel Springer AG * Nikolaus Blome (born 1963), journalist * Maxim Kontsevich (born 1964), mathematician, Fields Medal winner * Johannes B. Kerner (born 1964), TV presenter, Abitur at the Aloisiuskolleg, and studied in Bonn * Anthony Baffoe (born 1965), football player, sports presenter, and actor * Sonja Zietlow (born 1968), TV presenter * Burkhard Garweg (born 1968), member of the Red Army Faction * Sabriye Tenberken (born 1970), Tibetologist, founder of Braille Without Borders * Thorsten Libotte (born 1972), writer * Tamara Gräfin von Nayhauß (born 1972), television presenter * Silke Bodenbender (born 1974), actress * Juli Zeh (born 1974), writer * Oliver Mintzlaff (born 1975), track and field athlete and sports manager, CEO of RB Leipzig * Markus Dieckmann (born 1976), beach volleyball player * Bernadette Heerwagen (born 1977), actress * Melanie Amann (born 1978), journalist * Bushido (rapper), Bushido (born 1978), musician and rapper * Sebastian Stahl (born 1978), race car driver * Sonja Fuss (born 1978), football player *DJ Manian DJ of Cascada (born 1978) owner of Zooland Records * Andreas Tölzer (born 1980), judoka * Jens Hartwig (born 1980), actor * Natalie Horler (born 1981), front woman of the Dance Project Cascada * Marcel Ndjeng (born 1982), football player * Marc Zwiebler (born 1984), badminton player * Benjamin Barg (born 1984), football player * Alexandros Margaritis (born 1984), race car driver * Ken Miyao (born 1986), pop singer * Felix Reda (born 1986), politician * Peter Scholze (born 1987), mathematician, Fields Medal winner * Célia Okoyino da Mbabi (born 1988), football player * Luke Mockridge (born 1989), comedian and author * Pius Heinz (born 1989), poker player, 2011 World Series of Poker, WSOP Main Event champion * Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann (born 1990), basketball player * Levina (singer), Levina (born 1991), singer * Bienvenue Basala-Mazana (born 1992), football player * Annika Beck (born 1994), tennis player * James Hyndman (actor), James Hyndman (born 1962), stage actor * Konstanze Klosterhalfen (born 1997), track and field athlete

21st century

* Anny Ogrezeanu (born 2001), singer and ''The Voice of Germany'' winner 2022

References

Bibliography

External links

Official website

Tourist information

{{Authority control Bonn, Former national capitals Populated places on the Rhine Roman towns and cities in Germany 10s BC establishments in the Roman Empire Roman legionary fortresses in Germany Roman fortifications in Germania Inferior