The federal city 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= , source ...

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 state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

, 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 state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

, 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 Stat ...

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 classic ...

. 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 lett ...

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 Agripp ...

, 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, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

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 fo ...

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 ...

, 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 The Berlin/Bonn Act (german: Berlin/Bonn-Gesetz) regulated the move of the Bundestag and parts of the government of Germany from Bonn to Berlin. It also regulated the move of certain Federal agencies and other German federal facilities to Bonn. T ...

) 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 ...

, 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 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-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 ...

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) (his ...

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 ...

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 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 a civil war, an ...

'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 a ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

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

. 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 joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

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. 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 h ...

, 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 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 foundations o ...

via

Vulgar Latin Vulgar Latin, also known as Popular or Colloquial Latin, is the range of non-formal registers of Latin spoken from the Late Roman Republic onward. Through time, Vulgar Latin would evolve into numerous Romance languages. Its literary counterpa ...

''*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 associat ...

. 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 elector 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 ...

buildings which still give the city its character. Another memorable ruler was Max Franz (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 E ...

. 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 Fre ...

, 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''. ...

. Administered within the Prussian

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (german: Rheinprovinz), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...

, 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 federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with adoption of t ...

. 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 opposi ...

, 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 German statesman who served as the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of the Christian Dem ...

, 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 constitu ...

'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 it ...

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 Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

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 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 and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

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 o ...

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 republic, constitutional federal republic for the first time in ...

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 Lis ...

. 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 Ger ...

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 department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...

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 Comm ...

'' (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 indus ...

) 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 of

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (for ...

since 2020. She defeated incumbent mayor

Ashok-Alexander Sridharan Ashok-Alexander Sridharan is a German politician of Indian and German ancestry who served as Mayor of Bonn from 2015 until 2020. He is a member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU). He was the first mayor of Bonn to be of immigran ...

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,

, align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 48,454 , 34.5 , 52,762 , 43.7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Katja Dörner , align=left,

, 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 For ...

, 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,

(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) , 7,148 , 5.1 , New , 3 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to 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 (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) ''(fdp)'' is a Brazilian comedy-drama television series created by José Roberto Torero and Marcus Aurelius Pimenta and produced by HBO Latin America in partnership with Prodigo Films. The series premiered on HBO Brasil and HBO Latin America ...

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 (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

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. Katja Dörner representing Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and

Alexander Graf Lambsdorff Alexander Sebastian Léonce, Baron von der Wenge, Count Lambsdorff (born 5 November 1966), commonly known as Alexander, Count Lambsdorff (german: Alexander Graf Lambsdorff) is a German politician of the Free Democratic Party of Germany, part of ...

for FDP were elected as well. Kelber resigned in 2019 because he was appointed Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information. 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 unrel ...

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, w ...

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

Poppelsdorfer Schloss Poppelsdorf Palace (German: ''Poppelsdorfer Schloss'') is a Baroque architecture, 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 st ...

'', 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 The Botanische Gärten der Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (6.5 hectares open to public, 3 hectares private), also known as the Botanischer Garten Bonn, is a botanical garden and arboretum maintained by the University of Bonn. It is locate ...

). This axis is interrupted by a railway line and

Bonn Hauptbahnhof Bonn Hauptbahnhof is 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 l ...

, a building erected in 1883/84. The

Beethoven Monument The 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. Backgr ...

stands on the Münsterplatz, which is flanked by the Bonn Minster, one of Germany's oldest churches. The three highest structures in the city are the WDR radio mast 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'' () 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

* Bonn Minster * Doppelkirche Schwarzrheindorf built in 1151 * Old Cemetery Bonn (''Alter Friedhof''), one of the best known cemeteries in Germany * Kreuzbergkirche, built in 1627 with

Johann Balthasar Neumann Johann Balthasar Neumann (; 27 January 1687 (?) – 19 August 1753), usually known as Balthasar Neumann, was a German architect and military artillery engineer who developed a refined brand of Baroque architecture, fusing Austrian, Bohemian, Ita ...

's ''Heilige Stiege'', it is a stairway for Christian pilgrims *

St. Remigius Remigius (french: Remi or ; – January 13, 533), was the Bishop of Reims and "Apostle of the Franks". On 25 December 496, he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks. The baptism, leading to about 3000 additional converts, was an important event ...

, where Beethoven was baptized

Castles and residences

* Godesburg fortress ruins

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 The first Beethovenhalle was a temporary structure built in 1845 during the inauguration of ...

* Bundesviertel (federal quarter) with many government structures including ** Post Tower, the tallest building in the state

, housing the headquarters of

DHL DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. ...

** Maritim Bonn, five-star hotel and convention centre **

Schürmann-Bau The Schürmann-Bau is an office building in the Gronau district of Bonn. Its construction was completed in 2002, and it was named after its architect, Joachim Schürmann. The building houses the headquarters of Deutsche Welle, although it was orig ...

, headquarters of

Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service cons ...

** 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 T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic ( T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland ( T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobil ...

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 Haus der Geschichte (officially ''Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland'', i.e. "House of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany") is a museum of contemporary history in Bonn, Germany. With around one million visitors eve ...

'' 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 Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

. 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 Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it ra ...

and post-war German art. German artists on display include

Georg Baselitz Georg Baselitz (born 23 January 1938) is a German painter, sculptor and graphic artist. In the 1960s he became well known for his figurative, expressive paintings. In 1969 he began painting his subjects upside down in an effort to overcome the ...

Joseph Beuys Joseph Heinrich Beuys ( , ; 12 May 1921 – 23 January 1986) was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and art theorist whose work reflected concepts of humanism, sociology, and anthroposophy. He was a founder of a provocative art mov ...

Hanne Darboven Hanne Darboven (29 April 1941 – 9 March 2009) was a German conceptual artist, best known for her large-scale minimalist installations consisting of handwritten tables of numbers. Early life and career Darboven was born in 1941 in Munich. She g ...

Anselm Kiefer Anselm Kiefer (born 8 March 1945) is a German painter and sculptor. He studied with Peter Dreher and Horst Antes at the end of the 1960s. His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac. The poems of Paul Celan h ...

Blinky Palermo Blinky Palermo (2 June 1943 – 18 February 1977) was a German abstract painter. Early life and education Palermo was born Peter Schwarze in Leipzig, Germany, in 1943, and adopted as an infant, with his twin brother, Michael, by foster pa ...

and

Wolf Vostell Wolf Vostell (14 October 1932 – 3 April 1998) was a German painter and sculptor, considered one of the early adopters of video art and installation art and pioneer of Happenings and Fluxus. Techniques such as blurring and Dé-coll/age are ...

. The museum owns one of the largest collections of artwork by Expressionist painter

August Macke August Robert Ludwig Macke (3 January 1887 – 26 September 1914) was a German Expressionist painter. He was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider). He lived during a particularly act ...

. 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 ''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 Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soc ...

outside of Germany or Europe. Next to its changing exhibitions, the Bundeskunsthalle regularly hosts concerts, discussion panels, congresses, and lectures. The ''

Museum Koenig The Alexander Koenig Zoological Research Museum (German: ''Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig'', abbreviated ZFMK) is a natural history museum and zoological research institution in Bonn, Germany. The museum is named after Alexander ...

'' is Bonn's natural history museum. Affiliated with the

, it is also a

zoological Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and dis ...

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 The Deutsches Museum Bonn is a museum with exhibits and experiments of famous scientists, engineers and inventors. Its central themes are research and technology in Germany after 1945. It is part of the Deutsches Museum in Munich. It was found ...

'', affiliated with one of the world's foremost science museums, the

Deutsches Museum The Deutsches Museum (''German Museum'', officially (English: ''German Museum of Masterpieces of Science and Technology'')) in Munich, Germany, is the world's largest museum of science and technology, with about 28,000 exhibited objects from ...

in Munich, is an interactive science museum focusing on post-war German scientists, engineers, and inventions. Other museums include the

Beethoven House The Beethoven House ( German: ''Beethoven-Haus'') 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 va ...

, birthplace of

, the

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. The museum has a ...

(Rhinish Regional Museum Bonn), the Bonn Women's Museum, the

Rheinisches Malermuseum The Rheinisches Malermuseum is an art museum in Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Co ...

and the

Arithmeum The Arithmeum is a mathematics museum owned by the Forschungsinstitut für Diskrete Mathematik (Research Institute for Discrete Mathematics) at the University of Bonn. It was founded in 2008 by the director of the institute, Bernhard Korte, who ...

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 Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

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 An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

with specimens dating to back to 1870. The '' 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 The Kottenforst is a large forest, about 40 km² in area, to the south, west and north of the city of Bonn in Germany. It is part of the Rhineland Nature Park (1,045 km²) and forms its eastern side. Geography The Kottenforst is the s ...

'' 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 Wachtberg is a municipality in the Rhein-Sieg district, of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km south of Bonn. In 2021 the Wachtberg municipality had approximately 20,352 inhabitants. The municipality was for ...

and

, there is an extinct volcano, the

Rodderberg The Rodderberg is an extinct volcano in the east of the municipality of Wachtberg near Bonn, Germany. The last eruption was 250,000 years ago. It is situated just above the Rhine Valley. Together with the Drachenfels directly opposite, the ...

, 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 Between Bingen and Bonn, Germany, the river Rhine flows as the Middle Rhine (german: Mittelrhein) through the Rhine Gorge, a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river a ...

region. The nearby upper half of the

from Bingen to

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus around 8 B.C. Its nam ...

is a

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

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 Cologne Bonn Airport (german: Flughafen Köln/Bonn 'Konrad Adenauer') is the international airport of Germany's fourth-largest city Cologne, and also serves Bonn, former capital of West Germany. With around 12.4 million passengers passing thr ...

is situated north-east from the city centre of Bonn. With around 10.3 million passengers passing through it in 2015, it is the 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 Eurowings GmbH is a German low-cost carrier headquartered in Düsseldorf and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. Founded in 1996, it serves a network of domestic and European destinations and formerly also operated some long-hau ...

and cargo operators

FedEx Express FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2020, it is one of the world's largest airlines in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the na ...

and

UPS Airlines UPS Airlines is a major American cargo airline based in Louisville, Kentucky. The second-largest cargo airline worldwide ( in terms of freight volume flown), UPS Airlines flies to 815 destinations worldwide. A wholly owned subsidiary of UPS (Unit ...

. The federal motorway (''Autobahn'') A59 connects the airport with the city. Long distance and regional trains to and from the airport stop at

Cologne/Bonn Airport station Cologne/Bonn Airport (german: Köln/Bonn Flughafen) is a station at Cologne Bonn Airport in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It was built as part of the Cologne–Frankfurt high-speed rail line and opened in June 2004 on an appro ...

. Another major airport within a one-hour drive by car is Düsseldorf International Airport.

Rail and bus system

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

Bonn's central railway station,

is the city's main public transportation hub. It lies just outside the old town and near the central university buildings. It is served by regional (

S-Bahn The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban-suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble c ...

and Regionalbahn) and long-distance ( IC and 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), is located in the nearby town of

Siegburg Siegburg (i.e. '' fort on the Sieg river''; Ripuarian: ''Sieburch'') is a city in the district of Rhein-Sieg-Kreis in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the banks of the rivers Sieg and Agger, 10 kilometres from the former seat ...

and serves as Bonn's station on the 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 ' (; German for "city railway"; plural ') is a German word referring to various types of urban rail transport. One type of transport originated in the 19th century, firstly in Berlin and followed by Vienna, where rail routes were created that co ...

light rail and a tram system. The

Bonn Stadtbahn The Bonn Stadtbahn ('' en, city rail'') is a part of the local public transit system in Bonn and the surrounding Rhein-Sieg area, that also includes the Bonn Straßenbahn. Although with six actual Stadtbahn lines (as well as three tram lines) ...

has 4 regular lines that connect the main north–south axis (centre to

) and quarters east of the Rhine (

Beuel Beuel ( Ripuarian: ''Büel'') is a city borough (''Stadtbezirk'') of Bonn, Germany. It has a population of 67,827 (2020). Subdivisions Beuel is composed of the sub-districts Beuel-Mitte, Beuel-Ost, Geislar, Hoholz, Holtorf, Holzlar, Küdinghoven ...

and Oberkassel), as well as many nearby towns like Brühl,

Wesseling Wesseling () is an industrial German city on the Rhine bordering Cologne city on the south. With three chemical plants and a petroleum refinery within its city limits, it has an important place in the international petrochemical industry. Histor ...

Sankt Augustin Sankt Augustin ( Ripuarian: ''Sank Aujustin'') is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is named after the patron saint of the Divine Word Missionaries, Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430). The Missionaries e ...

Königswinter Königswinter ( ksh, Köningkswinte; Low Franconian: ) is a town and summer resort in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Königswinter is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, opposite Bad Godesberg, at t ...

, and

Bad Honnef Bad Honnef () is a spa town in Germany near Bonn in the Rhein-Sieg district, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the border of the neighbouring state Rhineland-Palatinate. To the north it lies on the slopes of the Drachenfels (“Dragon' ...

. All lines serve the Central Station and two lines continue to Cologne, where they connect to the

Cologne Stadtbahn The Cologne Stadtbahn is a light rail system in the German city of Cologne, including several surrounding cities of the Cologne Bonn Region (Bergisch Gladbach, Bonn, Bornheim, Brühl, Frechen, Hürth, Leverkusen-Schlebusch, Wesseling). The ...

. The 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 Hardtberg ( Ripuarian: ''Hardtbersch'') is a borough (''Stadtbezirk'') of Bonn, Germany. It has a population of 34,576 (2018). Twin towns – sister cities Hardtberg is twinned with: * Villemomble Villemomble () is a commune in the eastern s ...

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 The Cologne Bonn Region (German: ''Region Köln/Bonn'') is a metropolitan area in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany, covering the cities of Cologne, Bonn and Leverkusen, as well as the districts of Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, Oberbergischer ...

Road network

Four

Autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track' ...

s run through or are adjacent to Bonn: the A59 (right bank of the Rhine, connecting Bonn with

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

and

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in ...

), the A555 (left bank of the

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

speed limit Speed limits on road traffic, as used in most countries, set the legal maximum speed at which vehicles may travel on a given stretch of road. Speed limits are generally indicated on a traffic sign reflecting the maximum permitted speed - expre ...

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

, Bonn-

and Königswinter- Niederdollendorf, and Bonn-Graurheindorf and

Niederkassel Niederkassel ( Ripuarian: ''Neddekaaßel'') is a town in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of around 37,000 people. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, approx. north-east of Bonn and sout ...

-Mondorf.

Port

Located in the northern sub-district of Graurheindorf, the 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

German Academic Exchange Service The German Academic Exchange Service, or DAAD (german: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), was founded in 1925 and is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation. Organisation ''DAAD'' is a ...

, 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 Haribo ( ) is a German confectionery company founded by Hans Riegel Sr.. It began in Kessenich, Bonn, Germany. The name "Haribo" is a syllabic abbreviation formed from Hans Riegel Bonn. The company created the first gummy candy in 1960 in the ...

, 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 A ''Grafschaft'' was originally the name given to the administrative area in the Holy Roman Empire over which a count, or ''Graf'', presided as judge. It is often, therefore, translated as 'county'. The term has survived as a placename in German-s ...

. Other companies of supraregional importance are Weck Glaswerke (production site),

Fairtrade A fair trade certification is a product certification within the market-based movement fair trade. The most widely used fair trade certification is FLO International's, the International Fairtrade Certification Mark, used in Europe, Africa, Asi ...

, Eaton Industries (formerly Klöckner & Moeller), IVG Immobilien,

Kautex Textron Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft, and Cessna brands), and Lycoming Engines. ...

, SolarWorld,

Vapiano Vapiano SE is a German restaurant franchise company headquartered in Cologne. The chain's restaurants offer Italian food adhering to the fast-casual principle. Vapiano was established in 2002 in Hamburg.

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 The German Research Foundation (german: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germ ...

(DFG) offices and of the

(''Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst'' – DAAD).

Private schools

Aloisiuskolleg The Aloisiuskolleg is a co-educational, Jesuit (Catholic), University-preparatory school in Bonn- Bad Godesberg, Germany, which includes boarders. It is named for Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. Highly ranked academically, it is considered one of the m ...

, a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

private school in Bad Godesberg with boarding facilities * Amos-Comenius-Gymnasium, a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

private school in Bad Godesberg *

Bonn International School Bonn International School (BIS) is a private international school based in Bonn, Germany. It is a non-profit organization, and is managed by a board of trustees. Members of the board include BIS faculty, as well as parents of students studying at ...

(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 The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...

. * 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 The Kardinal-Frings-Gymnasium (''KFG,'' until 1979 ''Erzbischöfliches Gymnasium Beuel'') is a private catholic secondary school of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in Beuel, a borough of the former Germany, German capital Bonn in North Rh ...

(''KFG''), private catholic school of the

Archdiocese of Cologne The Archdiocese of Cologne ( la, Archidioecesis Coloniensis; german: Erzbistum Köln) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. History The Electorate of Cologn ...

* 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

in Bad Godesberg * , private boarding and day school in 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, 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 Wuppertal (; "''Wupper Dale''") is, with a population of approximately 355,000, the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as the 17th-largest city of Germany. It was founded in 1929 by the merger of the cities and tow ...

and

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous German federal state of N ...

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 Telekom Baskets Bonn, also known as Baskets Bonn, is a German professional basketball club that is based in Bonn, Germany. The club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, which is German basketball league system, the highest level pro basketball le ...

, the only basketball club in Germany that owns its arena, the

Telekom Dome Telekom Dome is an indoor sporting arena that is located in Bonn, Germany. The seating capacity of the arena for basketball games is 6,000 spectators. History Telekom Dome opened in 2008. It has been used as the home arena of the professional ...

. The club is a regular participant at international competitions such as the

Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Interconti ...

. The city also has a semi-professional football team

Bonner SC Bonner SC is a German association football club based in Bonn. The club was formed in 1965 through the merger of ''Bonner FV'' and ''Tura Bonn''. Its former women's football department won the German national championship in 1975. History ''B ...

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 The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and func ...

has been located in Bonn since 1999. The successful German Baseball Team

Bonn Capitals The Bonn Capitals (full name: "1. Baseballclub Bonn Capitals e.V.") are a German baseball and softball club from Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, founded on November 8, 1989. Its first men's team has been competing in the Baseball Bundesliga since ...

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 Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, Israel, and since 1988 Bonn, in former times the residence of the Princes Electors of Cologne, and

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of ...

, 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 Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England, UK (since 1947), of

Budafok Budafok (german: Promontor; literally "Promontory near Buda, or Buda Point") 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 munici ...

, District XXII of

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

(since 1991) and of

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city l ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

(officially since 1997; contacts were established 1954). The district of Bad Godesberg has established partnerships with

Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthiest tow ...

in France,

Frascati Frascati () is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital 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 wit ...

in Italy,

Windsor and Maidenhead The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a Royal Borough of Berkshire, in South East England. It is named after both the towns of Maidenhead and Windsor, the borough also covers the nearby towns of Ascot and Eton. It is home to Windsor ...

in England, UK and

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It is the capital and larg ...

in Belgium; a friendship agreement has been signed with the town of

Yalova Yalova is a market-gardening town located in northwestern Turkey on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara. The town has a population of 156,838, while the population of the surrounding Yalova Province is 291,001 . A largely modern town, it is ...

, 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 Mirecourt () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Mirecourt is known for lace-making and the manufacture of musical instruments, particularly those of the Violin family. Inhabitants are called Mirecurtiens. ...

and

Villemomble Villemomble () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Heraldry Transport Villemomble is served by Le Raincy – Villemomble – Montfermeil station on Paris RER line E. Demogr ...

. 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 Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...

in Belarus,

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

in Mongolia,

Bukhara Bukhara ( Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and the city ...

in Uzbekistan,

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...

in China and

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the third-most populous city in Bol ...

in Bolivia.

Twin towns – sister cities

Bonn is twinned with: *

, Uzbekistan (1999) *

Cape Coast Cape Coast is a city, fishing port, and the capital of Cape Coast Metropolitan District and Central Region of Ghana. It is one of the country's most historic cities, a World Heritage Site, home to the Cape Coast Castle, with the Gulf of Guine ...

, Ghana (2012) *

, China (2009) *

, Belarus (1993) *

, Bolivia (1996) *

, Germany (1988) *

, Israel (1983) *

, Mongolia (1993) Bonn city district is twinned with: *

, United Kingdom (1947) * Budafok-Tétény (Budapest), Hungary (1991) For twin towns of other city districts, see

and

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. Salomon Oppenheim, Jr. (19 June 1772 – 8 November 1828) was a German Jewish banker, and the founder of the Sal. Oppenheim private bank. He was born in Bonn, the scion of an illustrious family of "Court Jews" (german: Hofjuden) who had served ...

(1772–1828), banker *

Peter Joseph Lenné Peter Joseph Lenné (the Younger) (29 September 1789 – 23 January 1866) was a Prussian gardener and landscape architect. As director general of the Royal Prussian palaces and parks in Potsdam and Berlin, his work shaped the development of 19 ...

(1789–1866), gardener and landscape architect *

Friedrich von Gerolt Friedrich Karl Joseph Freiherr von Gerolt (5 March 1797 Bonn - 27 July 1879 Linz am Rhein) was Prussian Privy Councillor, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary in the United States. Family Gerolt was born the son of the German jurist a ...

(1797–1879), diplomat *

Karl Joseph Simrock Karl Joseph Simrock (28 August 1802 – 18 July 1876) was a German poet and writer. He is primarily known for his translation of ''Das Nibelungenlied'' into modern German. Life He was born in Bonn, where his father was a music publisher. He s ...

(1802–1876), writer and specialist in German *

Wilhelm Neuland Wilhelm Neuland (14 July 1806 – 28 December 1889) was a German musician and composer of the Romantic era, with activities mainly in Bonn (Germany), London (UK) and Calais (France). Life Neuland was born in Bonn, the son of a tailor named Johann ...

(1806–1889), composer and conductor *

Johanna Kinkel Johanna Kinkel (8 July 1810 – 15 November 1858), born Maria Johanna Mockel, was a German composer, writer, pedagogue, and revolutionary. Biography Kinkel was born in Bonn to Catholic parents Marianna and Peter Joseph Mockel, a school teacher a ...

(1810–1858), composer and writer *

Moses Hess Moses (Moritz) Hess (21 January 1812 – 6 April 1875) was a German-Jewish philosopher, early communist and Zionist thinker. His socialist theories led to disagreements with Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. He is considered a pioneer of Labor ...

(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 Sir Johann Franz Julius von Haast (1 May 1822 – 16 August 1887) was a German-born New Zealand explorer, geologist, and founder of the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch. Early life Johann Franz Julius Haast was born on 1 May 1822 in Bo ...

(1822–1887), New Zealand, professor of geology *

Dietrich Brandis Sir Dietrich Brandis (31 March 1824 – 28 May 1907) was a German-British botanist and forestry academic and administrator, who worked with the British Imperial Forestry Service in colonial India for nearly 30 years. He joined the British civi ...

(1824–1907), botanist *

Balduin Möllhausen Heinrich Balduin Möllhausen (27 January 1825—28 May 1905) was a German writer, traveler and artist who visited the United States and participated in three separate expeditions exploring the American frontier. After his travel he became a popular ...

(1825–1905), traveler and writer *

Maurus Wolter Maurus Wolter (4 June 1825, in Bonn – 8 July 1890, in Beuron) was the first abbot of the Benedictine Beuron Archabbey, which he founded with his brother Placidus in 1863. William M. Johnston ''Encyclopedia of Monasticism'' (2000, ), pp. 1440- ...

(1825–1890), Benedictine, founder and first abbot of the Abbey of Beuron and Beuronese Congregation *

August Reifferscheid Karl Wilhelm August Reifferscheid (3 October 1835 – 10 November 1887) was a German archaeologist and classical philologist. Biography He was born and educated in Bonn. He received a traveling fellowship in archaeology from the University of Bon ...

(1835–1887), philologist * Antonius Maria Bodewig (1839–1915), Jesuit missionary and founder * Nathan Zuntz (1847–1920), physician * Alexander Koenig (1858–1940), zoologist, founder of

in Bonn * Alfred Philippson (1864–1953), geographer *

Johanna Elberskirchen Johanna Elberskirchen (11 April 1864 in Bonn – 17 May 1943 in Rüdersdorf) was a feminist writer and activist for the rights of women, gays and lesbians as well as blue-collar workers. She published books on women's sexuality and health among oth ...

(1864–1943), writer and activist * Max Alsberg (1877–1933), lawyer * Kurt Wolff (1887–1963), publisher *

Hans Riegel Sr. Johannes "Hans" Riegel Sr. (4 April 1893 – 31 March 1945) was a German confectioner who invented the gummy bear in 1922 and founded the Haribo Haribo ( ) is a German confectionery company founded by Hans Riegel Sr.. It began in Kessenic ...

(1893–1945), entrepreneur * Eduard Krebsbach (1894–1947), SS doctor in

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

Mauthausen concentration camp Mauthausen was a Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen, Upper Austria, Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with List of subcamps of Mauthausen, nearly 100 further ...

, executed for war crimes * Paul Kemp (1896–1953), actor

20th century

1900–1950

Hermann Josef Abs Hermann Josef Abs (born 15 October 1901 in Bonn – died 5 February 1994 in Bad Soden) was a leading German banker and advisor to Chancellor Adenauer. He was a member of the board of directors of Deutsche Bank from 1938 to 1945, as well as of 44 ...

(1901–1994), board member of the

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York St ...

* Paul Ludwig Landsberg (1901–1944), in

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoner ...

, philosopher * Heinrich Lützeler (1902–1988), philosopher, art historian, and literary scholar *

Helmut Horten Helmut Horten (8 January 1909 Bonn – 30 November 1987, Croglio, Switzerland) was a German entrepreneur who built up and owned the fourth-largest chain of department stores in Germany: the Horten AG. Early life Helmut Horten was born on Jan ...

(1909–1987), entrepreneur *

Theodor Schieffer Theodor Schieffer (11 June 1910 in Bad Godesberg – 9 April 1992 in Bad Godesberg) was a German historian. He was professor of medieval history at the University of Mainz, then at the University of Cologne, and since 1952 he was president of t ...

(1910–1992), historian and medievalist * Irene Sänger-Bredt (1911–1983), mathematician and physicist *

Ernst Friedrich Schumacher Ernst Friedrich Schumacher (16 August 1911 – 4 September 1977) was a German-British statistician and economist who is best known for his proposals for human-scale, decentralised and appropriate technologies.Biography on the inner dustjacke ...

(1911–1977), economist *

Klaus Barbie Nikolaus "Klaus" Barbie (25 October 1913 – 25 September 1991) was a German operative of the SS and SD who worked in Vichy France during World War II. He became known as the "Butcher of Lyon" for having personally tortured prisoners—primar ...

(1913–1991), Nazi SS and

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

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 Hans Walter Zech‐Nenntwich (10 July 1916 – after 1964) was a member of the SS who defected to the United Kingdom after being imprisoned in 1943. After World War II he was convicted of war crimes and temporarily fled Germany before retu ...

(born 1916), Second Polish Republic, SS Cavalry member and war criminal *

Walther Killy Walther Killy (26 August 191728 December 1995) was a German literary scholar who specialised in poetry, especially that of Friedrich Hölderlin and Georg Trakl. He taught at the Free University of Berlin, the Georg-August-Universität Göttinge ...

(1917–1985), German literary scholar, ''Der Killy'' *

Hannjo Hasse Hannjo Hasse (31 August 1921 – 5 February 1983) was an East German actor. Biography Hasse began studying acting in 1938, and attended Lily Ackermann's Institute for Stage Artists' Education in Berlin. At 1941, he was drafted for the Labour Se ...

(1921–1983), actor *

Walter Gotell Walter Jack Gotell (15 March 1924 – 5 May 1997) was a German actor, known for his role as General Gogol, head of the KGB, in the Roger Moore-era of the James Bond film series,Tom VallancObituary: Walter Gotell ''The Independent'', 20 June 1 ...

(1924–1997), actor *

Walter Eschweiler Walter Eschweiler (born September 20, 1935) is a retired German football referee. He is known for having refereed one match in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo ...

(born 1935), football referee * Alexandra Cordes (1935–1986), writer *

Joachim Bißmeier Joachim Bißmeier (born 22 November 1936 in Bonn, Germany) is a German actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern ...

(born 1936), actor *

Roswitha Esser Roswitha Esser (; born 18 January 1941 in Bad Godesberg) is a West German sprint canoeist who competed from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. Competing in three Summer Olympics, she won two gold medals in the K-2 500 m event (1964, ...

(born 1941), canoeist, gold medal winner at the Olympic Games in 1964 and 1968, Sportswoman of the Year 1964 *

Heide Simonis Heide Simonis (; born 4 July 1943 in Bonn as Heide Steinhardt) is a German Author and Politician. She is a member of the SPD. From 1993 to 2005 she served as the Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein. She was the first woman to serve as head ...

(born 1943), politician (SPD), former Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, since 2005 honorary chairman of

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...

Germany * Paul Alger (born 1943), football player *

Johannes Mötsch Johannes Mötsch (born 8 July 1949 in Bonn) is a German archivist and historian. Life Johannes Mötsch studied History and Latin Philology from 1970 to 1978 at the Universität Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (germa ...

(born 1949), archivist and historian *

Klaus Ludwig Klaus Karl Ludwig (born 5 October 1949) is a German racing driver. Biography He also known as ''König Ludwig'' ("King Ludwig") for his success in touring cars and in sports car racing. In the 1970s, Ludwig drove for Ford in the Deutsche ...

(born 1949), race car driver

1951 to present

* Günter Ollenschläger (born 1951), medical and science journalist * Hans "Hannes" Bongartz (born 1951), football player and coach *

Christa Goetsch Christa Goetsch (born 28 August 1952 in Bonn) is a German politician of the Alliance '90/The Greens party, member of the Hamburg Parliament, and from 2008-2010 was a Senator and Deputy Mayor of Hamburg. Early life and career Goetsch finished he ...

(born 1952), politician (Alliance '90 / The Greens) *

Michael Meert Michael Meert (born 1953 in Bonn, Germany) is a German film author and director. He is the grandson of the Flemish politician and writer Leo Meert and the bohemian violinist Stephanie Prinz. Life and work From 1976 to 1981 Michael Meert studied ...

(born 1953), film author and director *

Thomas de Maizière Karl Ernst Thomas de Maizière (; born 21 January 1954) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as Federal Minister of the Interior from 2009 to 2011 and 2013 to 2018, as well as Federal Minister of Defence f ...

(born 1954), politician (CDU), former Minister of Defense and of the Interior * Gerd Faltings (born 1954), mathematician,

Fields Medal The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place every four years. The name of the award h ...

winner *

Olaf Manthey Olaf Manthey (born 21 April 1955 in Bonn) is a German former race car driver, and current owner of Porsche team Manthey Racing. Manthey's career as a driver began in 1974. In the 1980s, he won two races of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft. Re ...

(born 1955), former touring car racing driver *

Michael Kühnen Michael Kühnen (21 June, 1955 – 25 April, 1991) was a leader in the German neo-Nazi movement. He was one of the first post- World War II Germans to openly embrace Nazism and call for the formation of a Fourth Reich. He enacted a policy of sett ...

(1955–1991), Neo-Nazi *

Roger Willemsen Roger Willemsen (15 August 1955 – 7 February 2016) was a German author, essayist and TV presenter. Biography Willemsen was born and passed his Abitur in Bonn. He studied German philology (Germanistik), philosophy and history of art in Bonn, ...

(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 Axel Springer SE () is a German digital and popular periodical publishing house which is the largest in Europe, with numerous multimedia news brands, such as ''Bild'', ''Die Welt'', and '' Fakt'' and more than 15,000 employees. It generated tot ...

* Nikolaus Blome (born 1963), journalist *

Maxim Kontsevich Maxim Lvovich Kontsevich (russian: Макси́м Льво́вич Конце́вич, ; born 25 August 1964) is a Russian and French mathematician and mathematical physicist. He is a professor at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques an ...

(born 1964), mathematician,

winner * Johannes B. Kerner (born 1964), TV presenter, Abitur at the

, and studied in Bonn *

Anthony Baffoe Anthony Baffoe (born 25 May 1965) is a football business manager and former player who is the Deputy General Secretary of the Confederation of African Football. He played as a defender. As the son of a Ghanaian diplomat, Baffoe was born and ra ...

(born 1965), football player, sports presenter, and actor * Sonja Zietlow (born 1968), TV presenter * Burkhard Garweg (born 1968), member of the

Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970. The ...

Sabriye Tenberken Sabriye Tenberken (born 1970) is a German tibetologist and co-founder of the organisation Braille Without Borders. Biography Sabriye was born in Cologne, West Germany. She lost her sight slowly as a child due to retinitis pigmentosa, and he ...

(born 1970), Tibetologist, founder of

Braille Without Borders Braille Without Borders (BWB) is an international organisation for the blind in developing countries. It was founded in Lhasa, Tibet, by Sabriye Tenberken and Paul Kronenberg in 1998. Overview BWB's mission is to give hope and practical skill ...

* 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 Oliver Mintzlaff (born 19 August 1975) is a German football official, Red Bull GmbH Global Head of Soccer, and a former long-distance runner. Career Running Oliver Mintzlaff participated twice in the half marathon world championships: he f ...

(born 1975), track and field athlete and sports manager, CEO of

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig, and colloquially referred to as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bul ...

* Markus Dieckmann (born 1976), beach volleyball player * Bernadette Heerwagen (born 1977), actress * Melanie Amann (born 1978), journalist *

Bushido is a moral code concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle. There are multiple bushido types which evolved significantly through history. Contemporary forms of bushido are still used in the social and economic organization of Japan. ...

(born 1978), musician and rapper * Sebastian Stahl (born 1978), race car driver *

Sonja Fuss Sonja Beate Fuss (born 5 November 1978) is a German football defender. She played for the Chicago Red Stars in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Germany national team. She has played in the German Frauen-Bundesliga since 1992. I ...

(born 1978), football player *

DJ Manian Manuel Reuter (born 7 July 1978), better known by his stage name DJ Manian or just Manian, is a German music producer, DJ and owner of Zooland Records label. Career DJ Manian was born in 1978 in Bonn, Germany. He has produced a number of sin ...

DJ of Cascada (born 1978) owner of Zooland Records *

Andreas Tölzer Andreas Tölzer (also spelled Toelzer; born 27 January 1980) is a German judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百� ...

(born 1980), judoka * Jens Hartwig (born 1980), actor *

Natalie Horler Natalie Christine Horler (born 23 September 1981) is a German-English singer and television presenter, best known for being the lead singer of the Eurodance group Cascada. Early life and family Natalie Horler was born in Bonn, West Germany, ...

(born 1981), front woman of the Dance Project Cascada * Marcel Ndjeng (born 1982), football player *

Marc Zwiebler Marc Zwiebler () (born 13 March 1984) is a badminton player from Germany. His highest ranking is 10 in the world. He is a seven-time German National Badminton Championships, German national champion in men's singles. He won gold at the 2012 Euro ...

(born 1984), badminton player *

Benjamin Barg Benjamin Barg (born 15 September 1984) is a German footballer who plays for FC 08 Villingen. He is the brother of Thorsten Barg. He was in the squad of Karlsruher SC in the 2007-08 Bundesliga, but he had no appearance. After this he switched to ...

(born 1984), football player *

Alexandros Margaritis Alexandros "Alex" Margaritis ( el, Αλέξανδρος Μαργαρίτης; born 20 September 1984) is a Greek-German racing driver who is best known for competing in the German-based Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters touring car championship. Prio ...

(born 1984), race car driver * Ken Miyao (born 1986), pop singer * Felix Reda (born 1986), politician * Peter Scholze (born 1987), mathematician,

winner * Célia Okoyino da Mbabi (born 1988), football player *

Luke Mockridge Lucas Edward Britton Mockridge (born 21 March 1989) is a comedian and television presenter living in Germany. He holds Canadian and Italian citizenship. Early life Mockridge is son of the Canadian actor and comedian Bill Mockridge and the Ital ...

(born 1989), comedian and author *

Pius Heinz Pius Heinz (born 4 May 1989) is a German professional poker player from Bonn, best known as the winner of the Main Event at the 2011 World Series of Poker. He is the first German player to capture the Main Event bracelet. He defeated Czech ...

(born 1989), poker player, 2011

WSOP The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pl ...

Main Event champion *

Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann (born 20 February 1990) is a German professional basketball player for the Hamburg Towers of the Basketball Bundesliga. Professional career In June 2013, he signed a 3-year deal with the German powerhouse Alba Berlin. ...

(born 1990), basketball player * Levina (born 1991), singer *

Bienvenue Basala-Mazana Bienvenue Basala-Mazana (born 2 January 1992) is a German professional footballer who plays as a right-back. Club career Basala-Mazana won the 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Championship with the Germany U17 national team. In January 2020, he r ...

(born 1992), football player * Annika Beck (born 1994), tennis player *

James Hyndman James Duncan Hyndman, CBE (July 29, 1874 – October 11, 1971) was a Canadian politician, lawyer, and judge. He served as a municipal councillor in Edmonton, Alberta, and was the youngest person ever appointed to the Supreme Court of Alberta. E ...

(born 1962), stage actor *

Konstanze Klosterhalfen Konstanze "Koko" Klosterhalfen (born 18 February 1997) is a German middle- and long-distance runner. She is the 2019 World Championship bronze medallist and 2022 European champion in the 5000 metres, becoming the first German winner of the ev ...

(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 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