Bonn

Bonn

DE
Population335,913
Bonn (German pronunciation: [bɔn] ) is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about 24 km (15 mi) south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This metropolitan area, Germany's largest, is also the second largest in the European Union by GDP, with over 11 million residents. Bonn served as the capital of West Germany from 1949 until 1990 and was the seat of government for reunified Germany until 1999, when the government relocated to Berlin. The city holds historical significance as the birthplace of Germany's current constitution, the Basic Law. Founded in the 1st century BC as a settlement of the Ubii and later part of the Roman province Germania Inferior, Bonn is among Germany's oldest cities. It was the capital city of the Electorate of Cologne from 1597 to 1794 and served as the residence of the Archbishops and Prince-electors of Cologne. The period during which Bonn was the capital of West Germany is often referred to by historians as the Bonn Republic. 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 is the location of the secondary seats of the president, the chancellor, and the Bundesrat. Bonn is also the location of the primary seats of six federal ministries and twenty federal authorities. The city's title as Federal City (German: Bundesstadt) underscores its political importance. The global headquarters of Deutsche Post DHL and Deutsche Telekom, both DAX-listed corporations, are in Bonn. The city is home to the University of Bonn 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. Birthplace of composer Ludwig van Beethoven, a center of Rhenish carnival, and its geography by the Middle Rhine make it an important tourist destination.

Places to Explore

Curated experiences in Bonn

Schumannhaus und Schumann-Grabmal

Schumannhaus und Schumann-Grabmal

Arithmeum

Arithmeum

The Arithmeum is a mathematics museum owned by the Forschungsinstitut für Diskrete Mathematik (Research Institute for Discrete Mathematics) at the …

Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Haus

Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Haus

The Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Haus in the Bonn district of Südstadt was built for the poet Ernst Moritz Arndt. The 19th-century building is …

Bismarckturm Bad Godesberg

Bismarckturm Bad Godesberg

Bismarckturm Bonn-Gronau

Bismarckturm Bonn-Gronau

Chorruine Heisterbach

Chorruine Heisterbach

Heisterbach Abbey (Kloster Heisterbach; also Petersthal, formerly Petersberg) was a Cistercian monastery in the Siebengebirge near Oberdollendorf in North Rhine-Westphalia, …

Heimatmuseum Beuel

Heimatmuseum Beuel

The Heimatmuseum Beuel is a local history museum in Bonn, Germany. The museum was established in 1986 on the initiative …

Sankt Maria und Sankt Clemens

Sankt Maria und Sankt Clemens

The Doppelkirche Schwarzrheindorf (German: Doppelkirche St. Maria und Clemens) is a Romanesque church in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The church …

Lenné-Haus

Lenné-Haus

von Carstanjen Mausoleum

von Carstanjen Mausoleum

Ehemaliger Deutscher Bundestag

Ehemaliger Deutscher Bundestag

The Bundeshaus or Federal Parliament is a building complex in Bonn, Germany, which served as the seat of both the …

Altes Wasserwerk

Altes Wasserwerk

Transrapid 06

Transrapid 06

Kanzler-Teehaus

Kanzler-Teehaus

Museum Alexander Koenig

Museum Alexander Koenig

The Museum Koenig Bonn, formerly Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig (German: Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, abbreviated ZFMK), is a natural …

Langer Eugen

Langer Eugen

Langer Eugen (English: “Tall Eugene”) is an office tower in the Gronau district of Bonn, Germany. It was built between …

Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Haus der Geschichte (officially Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, i.e. "House of the History of the Federal Republic of …

Rheinisches Landesmuseum

Rheinisches Landesmuseum

The Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, or LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, is a museum in Bonn, Germany, run by the Rhineland Landscape Association. It …

Siegfähre

Siegfähre

Altes Stadthaus

Altes Stadthaus

The Altes Stadthaus ("Old City Hall") is a former administration building in Bonn, Germany, built for the French occupation forces …

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