Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Roman Empire constructed a border fort at Rigomagus west of the Rhine river. Remagen appears on the 4th century Peutinger Map as one of many surviving Roman constructions. A local legend from 1164 describes a ship carrying relics from Milan to Cologne stopping in the river.
U.S. Army's 9th Armored Division reached the Ludendorff Bridge during Operation Lumberjack on the 7th of March 1945. Karl Wiener designed the bridge originally during World War I to move troops and logistics west over the Rhine. Six divisions crossed the bridge before it collapsed ten days later on the 17th of March 1945.
A total of 28 U.S. engineers were killed in the disaster according to one source while another account lists 18 deaths. Ninety-three additional U.S. engineers suffered injuries when the structure gave way. The collapse occurred just as the Allies were preparing to expand their operations into Germany proper.
Hans Peter Kürten served as Mayor of Remagen starting in 1968 and long considered constructing a memorial to the fallen soldiers. On the 7th of March 1978 he went public with his idea achieving unexpected success with over 100,000 DM in sales profits. No new bridge has been built here since due to opposition from local residents who feared it would spoil the view.
The U.S. built one of many enclosures on the west bank of the Rhine near Remagen in 1945 known as Rheinwiesenlager. These camps housed captured German soldiers following the collapse of Nazi Germany's military forces. Several thousand prisoners are estimated to have died in the various camps established along the river.
After World War II the neglected building was listed for demolition until 1964 when Bonn art dealer Johannes Wasmuth restored it. The historic railway station at Rolandseck about 5 km north of Remagen now houses a museum devoted to Hans Arp. Musicians like Martha Argerich Stefan Askenase and Yehudi Menuhin appeared alongside artists such as Hans Arp Oskar Kokoschka and Günther Uecker.