The

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

of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a

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

on the banks of the

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

in the German state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a 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 States ...

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 lette ...

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

. From 1949 to 1990, Bonn was the capital of

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

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

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

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

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

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

and Deutsche Telekom, both

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

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

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

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 region which encompasses the

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

. To the north, Bonn borders the

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

. Natural borders are constituted by the river

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

to the north-east and by the

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

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

Administration

The German state of

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

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

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

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

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

Climate

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

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

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

. The Sterntor (''star gate'') in the city center is a reconstruction using the last remnants of the medieval city wall. To date, Bonn's Roman fort remains the largest fort of its type known from the

ancient world Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

, 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, stables and a

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

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

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

to what is now the Russian republic of Chechnya. Altes Rathaus Bonn

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

. In

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

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

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

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

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

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

. The

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

Clemens August (ruled 1723–1761) ordered the construction of a series of Baroque buildings which still give the city its character. Another memorable ruler was

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

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

. In addition he was a patron of the young

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

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

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

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

, Bonn became part of the

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

. Administered within the Prussian Rhine Province, the city became part of the German Empire 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 List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

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

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

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

in Bonn drafted and adopted the current German constitution, the

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

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

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

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

Bonn in the "Berlin Republic"

Villa Hammerschmidt Bonn Seite Adenauerallee 20080831

German reunification 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 German Empire, the

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

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. Former West German chancellor and mayor of

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

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

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

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier 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 Common ...

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

of Alliance 90/The Greens since 2020. She defeated incumbent mayor Ashok-Alexander Sridharan in the most recent mayoral election, which was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September. The results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Ashok-Alexander Sridharan , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 48,454 , 34.5 , 52,762 , 43.7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

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

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

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

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

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

City council

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

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

-style ' (old city hall), built in 1737, located adjacent to Bonn's central market square. However, due to the enlargement of Bonn in 1969 through the incorporation of Beuel and Bad Godesberg, it moved into the larger Stadthaus facilities further north. This was necessary for the city council to accommodate an increased number of representatives. The mayor of Bonn still sits in the ', which is also used for representative and official purposes. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) , 39,311 , 27.9 , 9.2 , 19 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 36,315 , 25.7 , 4.7 , 17 , 10 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

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

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

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

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

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

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

Landtag election

Four delegates represent the Federal city of Bonn in the

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

. The last election took place in May 2017. The current delegates are Guido Déus ( CDU), Christos Katzidis (CDU), Joachim Stamp

(FDP) ''(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 is called ' (096). In the German federal election 2017, Ulrich Kelber (SPD) was elected a member of German Federal parliament, the Bundestag by direct mandate. It is his fifth term.

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

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

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

Culture

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

style, under the rule of

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

. It is used for receptions of guests of the city, and as an office for the mayor. Nearby is the '' Kurfürstliches Schloss'', built as a residence for the prince-elector and now the main building of the

The ''Poppelsdorfer Allee'' is an avenue flanked by Chestnut 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 building in the Poppelsdorf district of Bonn, western Germany, which is now part of the University of Bonn. Design and construction The design of a new structure to replace th ...

'', a palace that was built as a resort for the prince-electors in the first half of the 18th century, and whose grounds are now a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

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

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

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

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

in Bonn-Venusberg (), the headquarters of the

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

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

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

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

Churches

* Doppelkirche Schwarzrheindorf built in 1151 * 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, where Beethoven was baptized

Castles and residences

Godesburg 300px, Godesburg castle in Germany. The Godesburg is a castle in Bad Godesberg, a formerly independent part of Bonn, Germany. Built in the early 13th century on the Godesberg, a hill of volcanic origin, it was largely destroyed following a sieg ...

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

'' 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 The Kunstmuseum Bonn or Bonn Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Bonn, Germany, founded in 1947. The Kunstmuseum exhibits both temporary exhibitions and its collection. Its collection is focused on Rhenish Expressionism and post-war German ...

'' or Bonn Museum of Modern Art is an art museum founded in 1947. The Kunstmuseum exhibits both temporary exhibitions and its permanent collection. The latter is focused on Rhenish Expressionism and post-war German art. German artists on display include Georg Baselitz,

Joseph Beuys 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, Blinky Palermo 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 c ...

. The museum owns one of the largest collections of artwork by Expressionist painter August Macke. His work is also on display in the August-Macke-Haus, located in Macke's former home where he lived from 1911 to 1914. 2014-06-12 Museum Koenig, Bonn IMG 5509

The ''Bundeskunsthalle'' (full name: Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland or Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany), focuses on the crossroads of culture, arts, and science. To date, it attracted more than 17 million visitors. One of its main objectives is to show the cultural heritage outside of Germany or Europe. Next to its changing exhibitions, the Bundeskunsthalle regularly hosts concerts, discussion panels, congresses, and lectures. The ''

Museum Koenig 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 The ''Parlamentarischer Rat'' (German for "Parliamentary Council") was the West German constituent assembly in Bonn that drafted and adopted the constitution of West Germany, the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, promulgated on 23 Ma ...

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 founded ...

'', 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, 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 n ...

(Rhinish Regional Museum Bonn), the

Bonn Women's Museum The Bonn Women's Museum (german: link=no, Frauenmuseum Bonn) is a women's museum in Bonn, Germany. It was founded in 1981 by Marianne Pitzen (the current director) and an interdisciplinary group of working women, and claims to be the first muse ...

, the Rheinisches Malermuseum and the Arithmeum.

Nature

Siebengebirge schloss drachenburg ds wv 09 2008

There are several parks, leisure and protected areas in and around Bonn. The ' is Bonn's most important leisure park, with its role being comparable to what

Central Park 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 with specimens dating to back to 1870. The '' Botanischer Garten'' (Botanical Garden) is affiliated with the university and it is here where

Titan arum Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictio ...

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

S-Bahn 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 Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaqu ...

) 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) th ...

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, Küdinghove ...

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). T ...

. 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 ...

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 The Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (''Rhine-Sieg Transport Association''; VRS) is the public transport association covering the area of the Cologne/Bonn Region, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded on 1 September 1987, and covers an area ...

(''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 K ...

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 language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

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 No ...

), the A555 (left bank of the

, connecting Bonn with Cologne), the

A562 The A562 is a road in England which runs from Liverpool to Warrington. Route Parliament Street At Liverpool, the road is known at first as Parliament Street. Upper Parliament Street to Speke Boulevard It then becomes Upper Parliament Street ...

(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-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 Deutsche Telekom, 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 SolarWorld is a German company dedicated to the manufacture and marketing photovoltaic products worldwide by integrating all components of the solar value chain, from feedstock (polysilicon) to module production, from trade with solar panels to ...

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 Verpoorten GmbH & Co. KG is a producer of advocaat (egg liqueur). Eugen Verpoorten founded the company in 1876 in Heinsberg, Germany. The distiller from Antwerp opened the "Liquor Factory & Colonial Goods of H. Verpoorten" on Heinsberg's High ...

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 f ...

, 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- ...

. 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, As ...

, Eaton Industries (formerly Klöckner & Moeller),

IVG Immobilien IVG Immobilien (formerly known as IndustrieVerwaltungsGesellschaft mbH) is a German real estate company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is a leading commercial property owner in Germany and other European countries. Activities The core busi ...

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 Engine ...

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

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

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 Independent Bonn International School (IBIS) is the oldest international school located in Bonn, Germany. History IBIS was founded in 1963 by a group of parents and for many years was called the British Embassy Preparatory School (BEPS). When man ...

, (IBIS) private primary school (serving from kindergarten, reception, and years 1 to 6) * École de Gaulle - Adenauer, private French-speaking school serving grades pre-school ("maternelle") to grade 4 (CM1) * Kardinal-Frings-Gymnasium (''KFG''), private catholic school of the

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 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 Intercont ...

. 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 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 ...

, 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 o ...

, 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 ...

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

(since 1991) and of Opole,

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 large ...

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 and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

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 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 pro ...

in China and La Paz in Bolivia.

Twin towns – sister cities

Bonn is twinned with: * Bukhara, Uzbekistan (1999) * Cape Coast, Ghana (2012) *

, China (2009) *

, Belarus (1993) * La Paz, 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 Johann Peter Salomon (20 February 1745 aptized– 28 November 1815) was a German violinist, composer, conductor and musical impresario. Although he was an accomplished violinist, he is best known for bringing Joseph Haydn to London and for c ...

(1745–1815), musician *

Franz Anton Ries Franz Anton Xaverius Ries (10 November 1755 – 1 November 1846) was a German violinist. His father, Johann Ries (1723–1784), was court trumpeter to the Elector of Cologne in Bonn. Ries was born in Bonn, and studied under J.P. Salomon. ...

(1755–1846), violinist and violin teacher *

(1770–1827), composer * Salomon Oppenheim, Jr. (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 (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 (1806–1889), composer and conductor * Johanna Kinkel (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 Zi ...

(1812–1875), philosopher and writer *

Johann Gottfried Kinkel Johann Gottfried Kinkel (11 August 1815 – 13 November 1882) was a German poet also noted for his revolutionary activities and his escape from a Prussian prison in Spandau with the help of his friend Carl Schurz. Early life He was born at Ober ...

(1815–1882), theologian, writer, and politician *

Alexander Kaufmann Alexander Kaufmann (14 May 1817 – 1 May 1893) was a German poet and folklorist from Bonn. Biography Kaufmann came from a prominent local family, whose members had served in both the city government and service of the former Elector of Co ...

(1817–1893), author and archivist *

Leopold Kaufmann Leopold Ernst Kaufmann (13 March 1821 – 27 February 1898) was a German politician. Brother of the poet and folklorist Alexander Kaufmann, he became Chief Burgomaster of Bonn. Life 1840s-1850s With his brother Alexander, he attended the grammar ...

(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 (1824–1907), botanist * Balduin Möllhausen (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 (1835–1887), philologist *

Antonius Maria Bodewig Antonius Maria Bodewig (2 November 1839 – 8 January 1915) was a German Catholic Priest regarded as the spiritual founder of a religious order, the Missionary Sisters of Queen of Apostles (SRA), founded 1923. A would-be missionary to India, he pro ...

(1839–1915), Jesuit missionary and founder *

Nathan Zuntz Nathan Zuntz (6 October 1847, in Bonn – 22 March 1920, in Berlin) was a German physiologist born in Bonn. He was a pioneer of modern altitude physiology and aviation medicine. Academic career He studied medicine at the University of Bonn, whe ...

(1847–1920), physician *

Alexander Koenig Alexander Ferdinand Koenig (20 February 1858 – 16 July 1940) was a German naturalist and zoologist. Koenig was born at St Petersburg, Russia where his father was a successful merchant. He grew up in Bonn. Koenig became interested in nat ...

(1858–1940), zoologist, founder of

in Bonn *

Alfred Philippson Alfred Philippson (1 January 1864 – 28 March 1953) was a German geologist and geographer. He was born at Bonn, son of Ludwig Philippson. He received his education at the gymnasium and university of his native town and at the University of Leipz ...

(1864–1953), geographer * Johanna Elberskirchen (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 Eduard Krebsbach (8 August 1894 – 28 May 1947) was a former German physician and SS doctor in the Nazi concentration camp in Mauthausen from July 1941 to August 1943. He was executed for atrocities committed at the Mauthausen camp. Concentra ...

(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 Sto ...

* 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 Heinrich Lützeler (27 January 1902 in Bonn – 13 June 1988 in Bonn) was a German philosopher, art historian, and literary scholar. He presided over a number of institutes and was dean at the department of philosophy at the University of Bonn. Bi ...

(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 Janu ...

(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 th ...

(1910–1992), historian and medievalist * Irene Sänger-Bredt (1911–1983), mathematician and physicist * Ernst Friedrich Schumacher (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 Karlrobert Kreiten (26 June 1916, Bonn, Rhine Province – 7 September 1943) was a German pianist, though holding Dutch citizenship his entire life due to his Dutch father. Biography He was regarded by Wilhelm Furtwängler and others to be one ...

(1916–1943), pianist * Hans Walter Zech-Nenntwich (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 Ser ...

(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 ...

Germany *

Paul Alger Paul Alger (born 13 August 1943 in Bonn) is a former German footballer. Between 1966 and 1968, Alger played for 1. FC Köln. In 1968, he helped Köln to a victory of the DFB-Pokal after being substituted in the 46th minute. Honours * DFB-Pokal ...

(born 1943), football player * Johannes Mötsch (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 Günter Ollenschläger (born 3 March 1951 in Bonn) is a German physician, medical editor, and á former professor of internal medicine and clinical decision making at the University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine. Biography Ollenschläger is a ...

(born 1951), medical and science journalist * Hans "Hannes" Bongartz (born 1951), football player and coach * Christa Goetsch (born 1952), politician (Alliance '90 / The Greens) * Michael Meert (born 1953), film author and director * Thomas de Maizière (born 1954), politician (CDU), former Minister of Defense and of the Interior *

Gerd Faltings Gerd Faltings (; born 28 July 1954) is a German mathematician known for his work in arithmetic geometry. Education From 1972 to 1978, Faltings studied mathematics and physics at the University of Münster. In 1978 he received his PhD in mathema ...

(born 1954), mathematician, Fields Medal 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 Guido Westerwelle (; 27 December 1961 – 18 March 2016) was a German politician who served as Foreign Minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice-Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011, being the first openly gay person ...

(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 Nikolaus Blome (born 16 September 1963) is a German journalist. Life Blome was born in Bonn. He studied at the Henri-Nannen-Schule in Hamburg. From 1991 to 1993, he worked for newspaper ''Der Tagesspiegel''. From 1993 to 2013, he worked for G ...

(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, Fields Medal winner *

Johannes B. Kerner Johannes Baptist Kerner (born 9 December 1964) is a German television host, journalist, and former sportscaster. Early life Born in Bonn, Kerner was raised in Hersel, Bornheim, in a Catholic household. He attended boarding school at Aloisiu ...

(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 ...

(born 1965), football player, sports presenter, and actor *

Sonja Zietlow Sonja Zietlow (born 13 May 1968) is a German television presenter. Biography Zietlow was born in Bonn. After she graduated from school and before her media career began in 1993, she worked as first officer for the German airline Lufthansa. W ...

(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 her ...

(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 skil ...

Thorsten Libotte Thorsten Libotte (born 20 July 1972 in Bonn) is a German writer and poet. Life and career Thorsten Libotte was born 1972 in Bonn (North Rhine-Westphalia). After graduating from high school and subsequent military duty he began his biology studi ...

(born 1972), writer * Tamara Gräfin von Nayhauß (born 1972), television presenter *

Silke Bodenbender Silke Bodenbender (born 31 January 1974 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 Cologne, ...

(born 1974), actress *

Juli Zeh Juli Zeh (, Julia Barbara Finck, née Zeh; born 30 June 1974 in Bonn) is a German writer and former judge. Biography Her first book was ''Adler und Engel'' (translated into English as ''Eagles and Angels'' by Christine Slenczka), which won the ...

(born 1974), writer * Oliver Mintzlaff (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 Markus Dieckmann (born 7 January 1976 in Bonn) is a retired professional beach volleyball player from Germany, who represented his native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. There he ended up in ninth place in the overall-ranki ...

(born 1976), beach volleyball player * Bernadette Heerwagen (born 1977), actress *

Melanie Amann Melanie Amann (born 1978) is a journalist and lawyer. She is co-editor-in-chief of leading Germany weekly ''Der Spiegel'' and heads the publication's Berlin office. Melanie Amann was born in Bonn and raised in Siegburg. She studied law at the Un ...

(born 1978), journalist * Bushido (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. ...

(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 Cascada (, Spanish for "Waterfall", stylized as CASCADA, CASC''A''DA and cascada) is a German dance music act founded in 2004 by singer Natalie Horler and DJs/producers DJ Manian and DJ Yanou. They are best known for their hit singles " Every ...

(born 1978) owner of Zooland Records * Andreas Tölzer (born 1980), judoka *

Jens Hartwig Jens Hartwig (born April 16, 1980) is a German actor. Jens completed successfully his education as in actor in the Center for Film and Television in Cologne. He appeared first in a secondary role as Georg Kramer in the feature film ''Eine indiskr ...

(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

Marcel Ndjeng Marcel Biyouha Ndjeng (born 6 May 1982) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in West Germany, he played for the Cameroon national team at International level. He is the brother of Dominique Ndjeng, who also play ...

(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 champion in men's singles. He won gold at the 2012 European Championships in Karlskrona over ...

(born 1984), badminton player * Benjamin Barg (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. Prior ...

(born 1984), race car driver * Ken Miyao (born 1986), pop singer *

Felix Reda Felix Reda (formerly Julia Reda; born 30 November 1986) is a German researcher and politician who was Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Germany. He was a member of the Pirate Party Germany until 27 March 2019, part of The Greens–E ...

(born 1986), politician *

Peter Scholze Peter Scholze (; born 11 December 1987) is a German mathematician known for his work in arithmetic geometry. He has been a professor at the University of Bonn since 2012 and director at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics since 2018. He ha ...

(born 1987), mathematician, Fields Medal winner *

Célia Okoyino da Mbabi Célia Regina Cruz, better known as Célia (September 8, 1947 September 29, 2017), was a Brazilian singer. Career Célia began her musical career on the TV show ''Um Instante, Maestro!'' in 1970, debuting her self-titled album, which was p ...

(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 (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 Annika Beck (; born 16 February 1994) is a German former professional tennis player. She started playing tennis at the age of four when introduced to the game by her parents. A baseliner whose favorite shot is forehand, and favorite surface is ...

(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. Ea ...

(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 Anny Ogrezeanu (born 24 February 2001 in Bonn) is a German-Romanian singer who won the twelfth season of '' The Voice of Germany'' in 2022. Life Anny Ogrezeanu grew up in Wachtberg near Bonn. Ogrezeanu identifies as non-binary and uses they/th ...

(born 2001), singer and ''

The Voice of Germany ''The Voice of Germany'' is a German reality talent show created by John de Mol, based on the concept ''The Voice of Holland'' and its international series. It began airing on ProSieben and Sat.1 on 24 November 2011. There are five differen ...

'' 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