Visit Bonn Places

Welcome to Visit Bonn Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Bonn

  

Bonn Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Bonn

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Bonn history

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Founding and Roman times

The history of the city dates back to Roman times. In about 12 BC, the Roman army appears to have stationed a small unit in what is now Bonn-Castell. The army resettled members of a Germanic tribal group allied with Rome, the Ubii, in Bonn. During the 1st century AD, the army chose a site to the north of the emerging town to build a large military installation dubbed Castra Bonnensis, i.e., “Fort Bonn” The fort covered an area of approximately 250,000 square metres (62 acres) Between its walls it contained a dense grid of streets and a multitude of buildings.

Middle Ages and Early Modern times

In 1597 Bonn became the seat of the Archdiocese of Cologne. The city was subject to a major bombardment during the Siege of Bonn in 1689. The elector Clemens August ordered the construction of a series of Baroque buildings. In 1794, the city was seized by French troops, becoming a part of the First French Empire.

20th century and the “Bonn Republic”

Bonn acquired military significance because of its strategic location on the Rhine. 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. Bonn became the de facto capital, designated the “temporary seat of the Federal institutions” of the newly formed Federal Republic of Germany in 1949.

Bonn in the “Berlin Republic”

German reunification in 1990 made Berlin the nominal capital of Germany again. This decision did not mandate that the republic’s political institutions would also move. Some argued for the seat of government to move to Berlin, others advocated leaving it in Bonn. Berlin’s previous history as united Germany’s capital was strongly connected with the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and more ominously with Nazi Germany.

Bonn culture & places

Beethoven’s birthplace is located in Bonngasse near the market place. The Poppelsdorfer Allee is an avenue flanked by Chestnut trees which had the first horsecar of the city. The three highest structures in the city are the WDR radio mast in Bonn-Venusberg (180 m or 590 ft)

Churches

Kreuzbergkirche built in 1627 with Johann Balthasar Neumann’s Heilige Stiege, it is a stairway for Christian pilgrims St. Remigius, where Beethoven was baptized.

Castles and residences

Godesburg fortress ruins

Modern buildings

Beethovenhalle Bundesviertel (federal quarter) with many government structures. Post Tower, the tallest building in the state North Rhine-Westphalia, housing the headquarters of Deutsche Post/DHL Maritim Bonn, five-star hotel and convention centre Schürmann-Bau.

Museums

The Haus der Geschichte or Museum of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany is located on the so-called Museumsmeile (“Museum Mile”) The Kunstmuseum Bonn or Bonn Museum of Modern Art is an art museum founded in 1947. The Deutsches Museum Bonn, affiliated with one of the world’s foremost science museums, is an interactive science museum focusing on post-war German scientists, engineers, and inventions.

Nature

There are several parks, leisure and protected areas in and around Bonn. The Rheinaue [de] is Bonn’s most important leisure park. The natural reserve of Kottenforst is a large area of protected woods west of the city centre.

Bonn geography / climate

Topography

Bonn lies within the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, on the border with Rhineland-Palatinate. Spanning an area of more than 141.2 km (55 sq mi) on both sides of the river Rhine, almost three-quarters of the city lies on the river’s left bank. The geographical centre of Bonn is the Bundeskanzlerplatz (Chancellor Square)

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.

You can visit Bonn places with Walkfo Bonn to hear history at Bonn’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Bonn has 52 places to visit in our interactive Bonn map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Bonn, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Bonn places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Bonn & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 52 audio facts unique to Bonn places in an interactive Bonn map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Bonn Places Map
52 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Bonn historic spots	Bonn tourist destinations	Bonn plaques	Bonn geographic features
Walkfo Bonn tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Bonn

  

Best Bonn places to visit

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Bonn has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Bonn’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Bonn’s information audio spots:

Hausdorff Center for Mathematics The Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM) is a research center in Bonn, Germany. It was formed by the four mathematical institutes of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn.

Poppelsdorf Palace Poppelsdorf Palace is part of the University of Bonn. It is a Baroque building in the Poppeldorf district of the Bonn, western Germany. It was built in the 17th century.

Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn The Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn is one of the oldest museums in Germany. The museum has a number of notable ancient busts and figures dating back to Roman times.

German Commission for UNESCO The German Commission for UNESCO was founded on May 12, 1950, one year before West Germany was officially admitted to UNESCO. It has a liaison function for German Multilateral Foreign Cultural Policy. It is a chartered non-profit voluntary association with up to 114 members. The Secretariat with about 45 staff members is located in Bonn and Berlin.

Endenich Endenich (Kölsch: Endenesch) is a neighborhood in the western part of Bonn, Germany. It was founded in the 8th century, and was first mentioned in 804 as Antiniche. Before 1904 it was an independent municipality.

Bonn Hauptbahnhof Bonn Hauptbahnhof is a railway station located on the left bank of the Rhine along the Cologne–Mainz line. It is the principal station serving the city of Bonn. It acts as a hub for local bus, tram, and Stadtbahn services.

Alter Friedhof, Bonn Alter Friedhof (Old Cemetery) is a historically significant cemetery in Bonn, Germany. It was established in 1715 as a cemetery for soldiers and strangers. It remained in regular use until the new North cemetery opened in 1884.

Agnes Salm-Salm Agnes Salm-Salm played a role in the American Civil War, the Mexican Civil War between President Benito Juárez and the Austrian archduke Maximilian I of Mexico, and the Franco-Prussian War.

Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy The Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfRA) is located in Bonn, Germany. It is one of 80 institutes in the Max Planck Society (Max Planck-Gesellschaft)

Erzbischöfliche Liebfrauenschule Bonn The Erzbischöfliche Liebfrauenschule is a Roman Catholic school for girls in the Südstadt quarter of Bonn, Germany.

Visit Bonn plaques