History

The history of Bonn goes back beyond the Stone Age and archaeological findings prove that people have lived in Bonn for more than 12,000 years. The fortress "Bonna" was first mentioned in the writing of the Roman Florus between 13 and 9 BC. A Roman castle once stood between today's Rathausgasse and the St. Remigius-Kirche church. Around 69 AD, the Bonn complex was destroyed by Germanic reserve troops of the Romans. The first Christian communities in Bonn were founded during this time.

After the Roman Empire dissolved, the Frankish era began in the Rhineland. The Franks spoke of the Castrum Bonna (Bonn Castle) until the 9th century. The castle lost its importance over time and could not withstand with the Norman attacks between 881 and 882. In 925 the German Empire was founded through the division of the Carolingian Empire. Signs of the Middle Ages can still be seen today. In 1151 the Doppelkirche church was consecrated, and the building of the Godesburg Castle began in 1210. The archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden ordered a city wall to be built in 1244, of which the three important city gates Sterntor, Stockentor and Kölntor still remain. In 1348, the Plague caused the city to suffer severe economic and developmental setbacks.

The era of government by the Cologne Electors began with the Truchseßschen War (1583-1588). The victor, Ernst von Bayern, was the first in a long succession of Electors from the House of Wittelsbach, which reigned until 1761. Despite the fact that Bonn came through the Thirty Years' War relatively unscathed, the city was almost completely destroyed during the war with the Netherlands in 1689. Reconstruction was initiated by the Elector Joseph Clemens, who also laid the foundation for a new residence, later the university.

The 18th century was a peaceful time in Bonn, and was ushered in by the erection of buildings by Elector Clemens August. He showed an interest in making structural changes to the Poppelsdorfer Castle, Kreuzberg Church and commissioned the Town Hall. After his death, Max Friedrich, a philosopher of the Enlightenment, governed. His successor, Max Franz, also closely connected to the Enlightenment era, made sure that the Academy erected by Clemens August was given the status of a university. The city experienced a cultural flowering under Max Franz. Bad Godesberg became a health resort and the Redoute ballroom was built.

After the French invasion of the Rhineland, Bonn was governed from France (1798-1814). The city first became Prussian in 1815. The newly founded university of 1818 was of particular significance for the city, and many prominent students such as the Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, Emanual Geibel, Heinrich Heine and Hoffmann von Fallersleben studied here and have helped the university enjoy a high standing. The first Bonn professors are just as well known; August Wilhelm von Schlegel, Heinrich Hertz, Ernst Moritz Arndt and Georg Niebuhr, are just a few.

In the 19th century, the unveiling of the Beethoven memorial on the Münsterplatz was certainly the most important event. Both the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV and the English Queen Victoria were present at the ceremony, observing from the balcony of the Royal Palace (today the Main Post Office). In 1898, the first proper bridge over the Rhine, Kennedy Bridge, was built.

Bonn was occupied by Allied troops after the First World War, from 1918-1926. In 1938, Hitler and Chamberlain met in Bad Godesberg. During the Second World War, bomb attacks between 1944 and 1945 destroyed much of the city center and Beuel. Bonn was occupied by American troops in 1945. In 1949 the Bundestag made Bonn a provisional capital city, and in 1989 Bonn's 2000th anniversary was celebrated. With the reunification treaty a year later, Berlin became the capital of Germany once again and Bonn was made Germany's premier UN city.