Bonn
In 12 BCE, Roman soldiers built a fortified camp on the banks of the Rhine river. This Legionary Fortress Bonn became the nucleus for what is now Germany's oldest cities. Before this military construction, traders and craftsmen had already settled in a vicus south of the camp along what is today Adenauerallee. The area held human presence much earlier than the Romans arrived. Evidence includes a double burial at Oberkassel dating back 14,000 years. A trench and wooden palisades found on the Venusberg date to around 4080 BCE.
The Roman defeat in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE changed the region significantly. A legion was stationed there to secure the frontier after that loss. During Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, Bonn declined as the Roman Empire fell. Viking raids burned the town twice in 882 and again in 883. The Normans attacked, burned, and looted the rebuilt town during these attacks.
A religious center developed around the Bonn Minster in the Frankish Empire during the 9th and 10th centuries. A market settlement emerged in the area of today's market square. The year 1243 marked when Bonn received full city rights. The outcome of the Battle of Worringen in 1288 made Bonn one of the residences for Cologne prince-electors. Magnificent palaces built by these electors in the 17th and 18th centuries gave the city its baroque splendor.
On the 29th of November 1949, a decision was made to establish Bonn as the provisional capital of the new Federal Republic of Germany instead of Frankfurt am Main. This choice defined the political landscape for decades. The period during which Bonn served as the capital is often referred to by historians as the Bonn Republic. It held historical significance as the birthplace of Germany's current constitution, the Basic Law.
When American troops entered Bonn on the 9th of March 1945, World War II ended for the city. Thirty percent of buildings were destroyed at that time. Of those damaged structures, 70% suffered slight to severe damage while 30% were completely destroyed residential buildings. More than 4,000 Bonn residents had died in bombings before liberation. On the 28th of May 1945, Bonn became part of the British occupation zone.
After the Second World War, rapid reconstruction and expansion followed. The law implementing the Bundestag resolution of the 20th of June 1991, completed German unification through the Berlin-Bonn Act. This involved relocating parliament and parts of government to Berlin. The remaining ministries and newly established federal agencies stayed behind in Bonn. These institutions continue to drive structural change in the city today.
Following the German reunification, a political compromise known as the Berlin-Bonn Act ensured that the German federal government retained a significant presence in Bonn. As of 2019, approximately one-third of all ministerial jobs remain in the city. Bonn is considered an unofficial secondary capital of Germany and hosts the secondary seats of the president, the chancellor, and the Bundesrat.
The city serves as the location for primary seats of six federal ministries and twenty federal authorities. Its title as Federal City underscores its enduring political importance. On the 30th of October 2014, Chancellor Angela Merkel planted the Unity Tree Monument under active participation. This monument symbolizes German unity within the former capital.
Around the turn of the millennium, the city underwent another transformation. Remaining ministries, newly established federal agencies, headquarters of major German companies, international organizations, and institutions of science and research administration became drivers of this structural change. The process has been considered successful and continues to this day. The global headquarters of Deutsche Post DHL and Deutsche Telekom are located here among these DAX-listed corporations.
Beethoven's birthplace stands in Bonngasse near the market place. Next to the market place is the Old City Hall built in 1737 in Rococo style under the rule of Clemens August of Bavaria. It is used for receptions of guests of the city and as an office for the mayor. Nearby is the Kurfürstliches Schloss which was built as a residence for the prince-electors and now serves as the main building of the University of Bonn.
The Beethoven Monument stands on the Münsterplatz flanked by the Bonn Minster one of Germany's oldest churches. The Poppelsdorfer Allee is an avenue flanked by chestnut trees that had the first horsecar of the city. This axis connects the Kurfürstliches Schloss with the Poppelsdorfer Schloss a palace built as a resort for the prince-electors in the first half of the 18th century. Its grounds are now a botanical garden known as Botanischer Garten Bonn.
Just as Bonn's other four major museums, the Haus der Geschichte or Museum of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany is located on the so-called Museumsmeile. 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 head offices of Deutsche Telekom its subsidiary Telekom Deutschland and Deutsche Post are in Bonn. The third largest employer in the city of Bonn is the University of Bonn including university clinics. Stadtwerke Bonn also follows as a major employer. Several traditional nationally known private companies exist in Bonn such as luxury food producers Verpoorten and Kessko. The Klais organ manufacture and the Bonn flag factory operate here too.
The largest confectionery manufacturer in Europe Haribo has its founding headquarters established in 1920 and a production site in Bonn. Since April 2018 the head office of the company is located in the Rhineland-Palatinate municipality of Grafschaft. Other companies of supraregional importance include Weck Glaswerke Fairtrade Eaton Industries formerly Klöckner & Moeller IVG Immobilien Kautex Textron SolarWorld Vapiano and the Doxis.
A total of 20 United Nations institutions reside in Bonn representing 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.
In 2022, Bonn had a population of 327,913 people. About 70% of the population was entirely of German origin while about 100,000 people equating to roughly 30% were at least partly of non-German origin. The city is one of the fastest-growing municipalities in Germany and the 18th most populous city in the country. Bonn's population is predicted to surpass the populations of Wuppertal and Bochum before the year 2030.
Through the law on the municipal reorganization of the Bonn area known as the Bonn Act of the 1st of August 1969, the city's population roughly doubled. The Sieg District merged with the Bonn District to form the Rhein-Sieg District. The formerly independent cities of Bad Godesberg and Beuel and the municipality of Duisdorf became independent boroughs of Bonn.
The borough of Beuel on the right bank of the Rhine was also assigned the villages of Holzlar Hoholz and the Oberkassel administrative area which had previously belonged to the Sieg District. Bonn itself expanded with villages like Ippendorf Röttgen Ückesdorf Lessenich/Meßdorf and Buschdorf from the former Bonn District. Lengsdorf and Duisdorf along with some new housing developments formed the borough of Hardtberg.
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Common questions
When was Bonn founded as a Roman fortified camp?
Roman soldiers built a fortified camp on the banks of the Rhine river in 12 BCE. This Legionary Fortress Bonn became the nucleus for what is now Germany's oldest cities.
What year did Bonn receive full city rights?
The year 1243 marked when Bonn received full city rights. A market settlement emerged in the area of today's market square during this period.
On which date did Bonn become the provisional capital of West Germany?
On the 29th of November 1949, a decision was made to establish Bonn as the provisional capital of the new Federal Republic of Germany instead of Frankfurt am Main. This choice defined the political landscape for decades.
How many United Nations institutions reside in Bonn?
A total of 20 United Nations institutions reside in Bonn representing the highest number in all of Germany. These institutions include the headquarters for Secretariat of the UN Framework Convention Climate Change UNFCCC and the Secretariat of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification UNCCD.
Who was born in Bonngasse near the market place in Bonn?
Beethoven's birthplace stands in Bonngasse near the market place. The Beethoven Monument stands on the Münsterplatz flanked by the Bonn Minster one of Germany's oldest churches.