Oberkassel is a suburb in the

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, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

municipal district of Beuel and lies on the right bank of the

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

on the edge of 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 ...

mountains. Oberkassel has about 7,200 inhabitants.

History

In 1914, workers in a quarry detected a grave with a 50-year-old man, a 20-25-year-old woman and a dog.

Carbon-14 dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was d ...

s estimated an age between 13,300 and 14,000 years. A study of the

mitochondrial genome Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial ...

sequences in 2013 showed that the animal is indeed ''Canis lupus familiaris'', not a wolf. Oberkassel was first mentioned as ''Cassele'' in 722/723 and as ''Cassela'' in 1144. The name ''Oberkassel'' refers to a Roman fortification; in the course of time "Romerkastell" (Roman castle) became "Oberkassel". Oberkassel absorbed the previously separate settlements of Berghoven (mentioned for the first time in 873), Büchel (mentioned for the first time in 1202), Broich (mentioned for the first time in 1306) and Meerhausen (mentioned for the first time in 1442). In 1870 the

East Rhine Railway The East Rhine Railway (German: ''Rechte Rheinstrecke'', literally 'right (of the) Rhine railway') is a major, double-track, electrified railway line, running along the right bank of the Rhine from Cologne to Wiesbaden. The -long line forms two D ...

reached Oberkassel and crossed the Rhine by

train ferry A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ...

to the

West Rhine Railway The West Rhine railway (German: ''Linke Rheinstrecke'', literally 'left (bank of the) Rhine route') is a famously picturesque, double-track electrified railway line running for 185 km from Cologne via Bonn, Koblenz, and Bingen to Mainz. It ...

. The train ferry was abandoned 1919.

Transport

Bonn-Oberkassel station is on the

. 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 ...

(city rail of Bonn) with its lines 62 and 66 serves three stations in Oberkassel:

Oberkassel Nord (SWB) Oberkassel Nord is a station served by line 66 of the Bonn Stadtbahn and line 62 of Bonn's tram system. This station consists of two tracks with two side platforms. The Bonn-Oberkassel station is about 450 meters away. References External l ...

, Oberkassel Mitte and Oberkassel Süd/Römlinghoven. The '' Bundesstrasse'' 42 (federal highway 42) traverses the south-eastern part of Oberkassel within an long tunnel. It has an exit near .

Economy

Oberkassel is home of several divisions of the DLR, the

German Aerospace Center The German Aerospace Center (german: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany ...

Notable residents

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 ...

, * August 11, 1815 in Oberkassel, † 13 November 1882, poet also noted for his revolutionary activities *

Ernest, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld Ernst, Count of Lippe-Biesterfeld (''Ernst Kasimir Friedrich Karl Eberhard''; 9 June 1842 – 26 September 1904) was the head of the Lippe-Biesterfeld line of the House of Lippe. From 1897 until his death he was the regent of the Principalit ...

, * 9 June 1842 in Oberkassel, † 26 September 1904, head of the Lippe-Biesterfeld line of the House of Lippe, regent of the Principality of Lippe

Gallery

Image:Oberkassel.JPG, Oberkassel seen from its abandonend quarry – in background, on the other side of the Rhine,

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

Image:Ok8.jpg, Historic photo, the place where the grave is found is marked by an arrow

References

External links

*''Heimatverein'' (historical society
www.heimatverein-oberkassel.de
{{coord, 50, 42, 50, N, 7, 10, 0, E, region:DE-NW_type:city, display=title Urban districts and boroughs of Bonn Former municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia