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120-677: Meckenheim is situated approximately 15 km south-west of Bonn and separated from the German former capital (1949–1990) and seat of government (1949–1999) by the Kottenforst forest in the southernmost part of the Cologne Lowland . The highest point in the municipality is at 386.1 m above sea level near the village of Ersdorf at the beginning of the Eifel (also known as the Voreifel ) while its lowest point

240-563: A military jail . Among the legions stationed in Bonn, the "1st", i.e. the Prima Legio Minervia , seems to have served here the longest. Units of the Bonn legion were deployed to theatres of war ranging from modern-day Algeria to what is now the Russian republic of Chechnya . The chief Roman road linking the provincial capitals of Cologne and Mainz cut right through the fort where it joined

360-525: A confiscation of ration cards. German is now the third official language of Belgium, along with French and Dutch (see German-Speaking Community of Belgium ). After the enlargement of the French occupation zone by the American withdrawal from the occupation (1919–1930) , the French encouraged the establishment of an independent Rhenish Republic by banking on traditional anti-Prussian resentments, especially in

480-586: A crossing of the river the day before the much anticipated Rhine crossings by the 21st Army Group ( First Canadian Army and the British Second Army ) under Field Marshal Montgomery in the third week of March 1945. Operation Varsity was a massive airborne operation in conjunction with Operation Plunder , the amphibious crossings. By early April, the Rhine had been crossed by all the Allied armies operating west of

600-584: A dormitory town for Bonn has also meant that many high-ranking civil servants and soldiers (the official first headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Defence is still in Bonn and the command centres of the armed forces branches [German: Führungsstäbe ] were stationed here until 2012) have taken up residence in the surrounding area and thus also in Meckenheim. Meckenheim is also known for its agricultural products, including fruit cultivation (Apple cultivation

720-621: A plebiscite in 1935, when the region was returned to Germany. In fact, the last Allied troops left Germany five years early, in 1930, as a result of an agreement reached between Germany and the Allies in parallel with the Young Plan on German war reparations . Sections of the Rhineland, which had once belonged to the Habsburg Netherlands ' Duchy of Limburg , were annexed by Belgium according to

840-641: A production site in Bonn. Since April 2018, the head office of the company is located in the Rhineland-Palatinate municipality of Grafschaft . Rhine Province The Rhine Province ( German : Rheinprovinz ), also known as Rhenish Prussia ( Rheinpreußen ) or synonymous with the Rhineland ( Rheinland ), was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia , within

960-553: A space of about 30,000 acres (120 km ), about half of which was in the valley of the Mosel , a third in that of the Rhine itself, and the rest mainly on the Nahe and the Ahr . In the hilly districts more than half the surface was sometimes occupied by forests, and large plantations of oak are formed for the use of the bark in tanning. Considerable herds of cattle were reared on the rich pastures of

1080-608: A total of 16,147 households. A total of 1098 primary school pupils, 316 lower secondary school pupils, 613 intermediate secondary school pupils and 774 grammar school pupils attended schools in the town. The area around Meckenheim was already settled in the Neolithic Age . At the time of the Roman occupation of the Rhine region, an aqueduct from the Eifel to Cologne ran through the district of today's Lüftelberg. The area around Meckenheim

1200-589: Is Cologne Bonn Airport . Meckenheim is home to several companies and authorities. Since the 1970s, for example, a branch office of the Federal Criminal Police Office has been located in Merl, which is responsible for state security (for example, crimes against politicians or with a political background) and cybercrime. The Bundeswehr's IT service provider, BWI GmbH , is also based in this district. The fact that Meckenheim has served and continues to serve as

1320-613: Is 15 km (9 mi) and 12.5 km (8 mi) in west–east dimensions. The city borders have a total length of 61 km (38 mi). The geographical centre of Bonn is the Bundeskanzlerplatz (Chancellor Square) in Bonn-Gronau. The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia is divided into five governmental districts (German: Regierungsbezirk ), and Bonn is part of the governmental district of Cologne (German: Regierungsbezirk Köln ). Within this governmental district,

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1440-516: Is a large area of protected woods on the hills west of the city centre. It is about 40 square kilometres (15 square miles) in area and part of the Rhineland Nature Park (1,045 km or 403 sq mi). In the very south of the city, on the border with Wachtberg and Rhineland-Palatinate , there is an extinct volcano, the Rodderberg , featuring a popular area for hikes. Also south of

1560-578: Is also on display in the August-Macke-Haus , located in Macke's former home where he lived from 1911 to 1914. The Bundeskunsthalle (full name: Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland or Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany), focuses on the crossroads of culture, arts, and science. To date, it attracted more than 17 million visitors. One of its main objectives

1680-526: Is also the origin of the town's self-designation as an apple town ) and turnip cabbage from the Grafschafter Krautfabrik , which is located in Alt-Meckenheim. Other companies have settled in the industrial park between Merl and Lüftelberg. Bonn Bonn ( German pronunciation: [bɔn] ) is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia , located on

1800-438: Is an art museum founded in 1947. The Kunstmuseum exhibits both temporary exhibitions and its permanent collection. The latter is focused on Rhenish Expressionism and post-war German art. German artists on display include Georg Baselitz , Joseph Beuys , Hanne Darboven , Anselm Kiefer , Blinky Palermo and Wolf Vostell . The museum owns one of the largest collections of artwork by Expressionist painter August Macke . His work

1920-559: Is called Bundeswahlkreis Bonn (096). In the German federal election 2017 , Ulrich Kelber ( SPD ) was elected a member of German Federal parliament, the Bundestag by direct mandate. It is his fifth term. Katja Dörner representing Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and Alexander Graf Lambsdorff for FDP were elected as well. Kelber resigned in 2019 because he was appointed Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information . As Dörner

2040-742: 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

2160-579: Is located directly near the interchange of Bundesautobahn 61 and 565 and is also connected to the Voreifelbahn . BAB 565 connects Meckenheim directly to Bonn and via the Bundesautobahn 555 to the western and Bundesautobahn 59 to the eastern parts of Cologne . The Meckenheim-Nord (10) and Merl (11) exits lead from the BAB 565 towards the town, from BAB 61 it can be accessed from the west via Rheinbach (28). At

2280-445: Is located in the nearby town of Siegburg and serves as Bonn's station on the high-speed rail line between Cologne and Frankfurt , offering faster connections to Southern Germany. It can be reached by Stadtbahn line 66 (approx. 25 minutes from central Bonn). Bonn has a Stadtbahn light rail and a tram system. The Bonn Stadtbahn has 4 regular lines that connect the main north–south axis (centre to Bad Godesberg ) and quarters east of

2400-682: Is on the premises of the Museum Koenig where the Parlamentarischer Rat first met. The Deutsches Museum Bonn , affiliated with one of the world's foremost science museums, the Deutsches Museum in Munich, is an interactive science museum focusing on post-war German scientists, engineers, and inventions. Other museums include the Beethoven House , birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven ,

2520-447: Is one of Germany's few 24-hour airports, and is a hub for Eurowings and cargo operators FedEx Express and UPS Airlines . The federal motorway ( Autobahn ) A59 connects the airport with the city. Long distance and regional trains to and from the airport stop at Cologne/Bonn Airport station . Another major airport within a one-hour drive by car is Düsseldorf International Airport . Bonn's central railway station, Bonn Hauptbahnhof

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2640-564: Is one of the foremost German museums of contemporary German history, with branches in Berlin and Leipzig . In its permanent exhibition, 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 Kunstmuseum Bonn or Bonn Museum of Modern Art

2760-519: Is situated 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) north-east from the city centre of Bonn. With around 10.3 million passengers passing through it in 2015, it is the seventh-largest passenger airport in Germany and the third-largest in terms of cargo operations. By traffic units, which combines cargo and passengers, the airport is in fifth position in Germany. As of March 2015, Cologne Bonn Airport had services to 115 passenger destinations in 35 countries. The airport

2880-399: Is still very popular as a residential town. As of February 2023, three new development areas are actively planned for new detached houses and apartment blocks. Meckenheim has two Sister cities , Le Mée-sur-Seine , Île-de-France , France and Bernau bei Berlin , Brandenburg , Germany. Politics in Meckenheim is shaped by a mayor and the town council , both of whom are in accordance with

3000-594: Is the Kurfürstliches Schloss , built as a residence for the prince-elector and now the main building of the University of Bonn . The Poppelsdorfer Allee is an avenue flanked by Chestnut trees which had the first horsecar of the city. It connects the Kurfürstliches Schloss with the Poppelsdorfer Schloss , a palace that was built as a resort for the prince-electors in the first half of

3120-455: Is the city's biggest park intra muros. The Rhine promenade and the Alter Zoll (Old Toll Station) are in direct neighbourhood of the city centre and are popular amongst both residents and visitors. The Arboretum Park Härle is an arboretum with specimens dating to back to 1870. The Botanischer Garten (Botanical Garden) is affiliated with the university. The natural reserve of Kottenforst

3240-442: Is the city's main public transportation hub. It lies just outside the old town and near the central university buildings. It is served by regional ( S-Bahn and Regionalbahn ) and long-distance ( IC and ICE ) trains. Daily, more than 67,000 people travel via Bonn Hauptbahnhof. In late 2016, around 80 long distance and more than 165 regional trains departed to or from Bonn every day. Another long-distance station, ( Siegburg/Bonn ),

3360-543: Is to show the cultural heritage outside of Germany or Europe. Next to its changing exhibitions, the Bundeskunsthalle regularly hosts concerts, discussion panels, congresses, and lectures. The Museum Koenig is Bonn's natural history museum. Affiliated with the University of Bonn , it is also a zoological research institution housing the Leibniz-Institut für Biodiversität der Tiere . Politically interesting, it

3480-526: Is where the Swist leaves the municipal area to the northwest at 159.5 m above sea level. The North Rhine-Westphalian town borders (clockwise) on Alfter , Bonn, Wachtberg , Grafschaft and Rheinbach , whereby Alfter, Wachtberg and Rheinbach, like Meckenheim itself, belong to the Rhein-Sieg district ; Grafschaft is in the district of Ahrweiler , which already belongs to Rhineland-Palatinate . The total area of

3600-699: The Altes Rathaus , which is also used for representative and official purposes. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows: Four delegates represent the Federal city of Bonn in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia . The last election took place in May 2022. The current delegates are Guido Déus ( CDU ), Christos Katzidis (CDU), Joachim Stamp ( FDP ), Tim Achtermeyer (Greens) and Dr. Julia Höller (Greens) Bonn's constituency

3720-692: The A562 (connecting the right with the left bank of the Rhine south of Bonn), and the A565 (connecting the A59 and the A555 with the A61 to the southwest). Three Bundesstraßen, which have a general 100 kilometres per hour (62 miles per hour) speed limit in contrast to the Autobahn, connect Bonn to its immediate surroundings (Bundesstraßen B9, B42 and B56). With Bonn being divided into two parts by

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3840-631: The Armistice of 1918 , Allied forces occupied the Rhineland as far east as the river with some small bridgeheads on the east bank at places like Cologne . Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919 the occupation was continued and the Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission was set up to supervise affairs. The treaty specified three occupation zones, which were due to be evacuated by Allied troops five, ten and finally 15 years after

3960-573: The Département de Rhin-et-Moselle . In 1815, after the German campaign of 1813 , the Rhineland, and with it Meckenheim, became part of Prussia ( Rhine Province ) as a result of the Congress of Vienna . It was not until 1929 that Meckenheim regained the right to call itself a town (Landgemeinde Stadt Meckenheim) again. During the Second World War , Meckenheim was spared destruction for a long time; it

4080-723: The First United States Army fought a costly battle to capture the Hürtgen Forest . The heavily forested and ravined terrain of the Hürtgen negated Allied combined arms advantages (close air support, armor, artillery) and favoured German defenders. The U.S. Army lost 24,000 troops. The military necessity of their sacrifice has been debated by military historians. In early 1945, after a long winter stalemate, military operations by most Allied armies in Northwest Europe resumed with

4200-709: The German Reich , from 1822 to 1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg . Its capital was Koblenz and in 1939 it had 8 million inhabitants. The Province of Hohenzollern was militarily associated with the Oberpräsident of the Rhine Province. Also, for a short period of time, the Province of Hohenzollern was indirectly and de facto controlled by the Rhine Province. The Rhine Province

4320-530: The Middle Rhine make it an important tourist destination. Situated in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region, Germany's largest metropolitan area with over 11 million inhabitants, Bonn lies within the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia , on the border with Rhineland-Palatinate . Spanning an area of more 141.2 km (55 sq mi) on both sides of the river Rhine , almost three-quarters of

4440-543: The Palatinate . In the end, the separatists failed to gain any decisive support among the population since they were viewed as puppets of the French. The Treaty of Versailles also specified the demilitarization of the entire area to provide a buffer between Germany on one side and France, Belgium and Luxembourg (and, to a lesser extent, the Netherlands) on the other side, which meant that no German forces were allowed there after

4560-679: The People's State of Hesse , was transferred to Hesse-Nassau. In the last free German federal election in March 1933 , two of the four parliamentary districts of the Rhine Province (Cologne-Aachen and Koblenz-Trier) were the only districts in Germany in which the Nazi Party did not win the plurality of votes. In violation of the Treaty of Versailles and the spirit of the Locarno Pact , Nazi Germany remilitarized

4680-412: The Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn (Rhinish Regional Museum Bonn), the Bonn Women's Museum , the Rheinisches Malermuseum and the Arithmeum . There are several parks, leisure and protected areas in and around Bonn. The Rheinaue  [ de ] is Bonn's most important leisure park, with its role being comparable to what Central Park is for New York City. It lies on the banks of the Rhine and

4800-405: The Rhine , three bridges are crucial for inner-city road traffic: the Konrad-Adenauer-Brücke (A562) in the South, the Friedrich-Ebert-Brücke (A565) in the North, and the Kennedybrücke (B56) in the centre. In addition, regular ferries operate between Bonn-Mehlem and Königswinter , Bonn- Bad Godesberg and Königswinter- Niederdollendorf , and Bonn-Graurheindorf and Niederkassel -Mondorf. Located in

4920-411: The Swist river, the area between Meckenheim and Merl was not or only sparsely populated. Meckenheim was granted town privileges on July 28, 1636 by Prince-elector Ferdinand of Bavaria , the Archbishop of Cologne at the time; at this time, Meckenheim belonged to the secular domain of the archbishopric, known as the Electorate of Cologne ( Kurköln ). On March 28, 1787, a major fire destroyed almost

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5040-404: The Treaty of Versailles . The cantons of Eupen , Malmedy and Sankt Vith though (with the exception of Malmedy) German in culture and language, became the East Cantons of Belgium. Although a plebiscite was held in early 1920, it was not conducted as a secret ballot but required only those opposed to Belgian annexation to register their formal protest. Only a few did so because of the threat of

5160-415: The Ubii , in Bonn. The Latin name for that settlement, "Bonna", may stem from the original population of this and many other settlements in the area, the Eburoni . Bona is Celtic for tribe. The Eburoni were members of a large tribal coalition effectively wiped out during the final phase of Caesar 's War in Gaul . After several decades, the army gave up the small camp linked to the Ubii-settlement. During

5280-420: The minster , grew the medieval city of Bonn. Local legends arose from this period that the name of the village came from Saint Boniface via Vulgar Latin *Bonnifatia , but this proved to be a myth. Between the 11th and 13th centuries, the Romanesque style Bonn Minster was built, and in 1597 Bonn became the seat of the Archdiocese of Cologne . The city gained more influence and grew considerably. The city

5400-431: The 18,000 federal officials remain in Bonn. A total of 19 United Nations (UN) institutions operate from Bonn today. The current mayor of Bonn is Katja Dörner of Alliance 90/The Greens since 2020. She defeated incumbent mayor Ashok-Alexander Sridharan in the most recent mayoral election, which was held on 13 September 2020, with a runoff held on 27 September. The results were as follows: The Bonn city council governs

5520-442: The 18th century, and whose grounds are now a botanical garden (the Botanischer Garten Bonn ). This axis is interrupted by a railway line and Bonn Hauptbahnhof , a building erected in 1883/84. The Beethoven Monument stands on the Münsterplatz, which is flanked by the Bonn Minster , one of Germany's oldest churches. The three highest structures in the city are the WDR radio mast in Bonn-Venusberg (180 m or 590 ft),

5640-434: The 1st century AD , the army then chose a site to the north of the emerging town in what is now the section of Bonn-Castell to build a large military installation dubbed Castra Bonnensis, i.e., literally, "Fort Bonn". Initially built from wood, the fort was eventually rebuilt in stone. With additions, changes and new construction, the fort remained in use by the army into the waning days of the Western Roman Empire , possibly

5760-405: The Allied forces had withdrawn. Furthermore, quite unbearably from the German perspective, the treaty entitled the Allies to reoccupy the Rhineland at their will if the Allies unilaterally found the German side responsible for any violation of the treaty. In 1932, Wetzlar ( Landkreis Wetzlar  [ de ] ), formerly an exclave of the Rhine Province situated between Hesse-Nassau and

5880-451: The Archbishops and Prince-electors of Cologne . From 1949 to 1990, Bonn was the capital of West Germany . The era when Bonn served as the capital of West Germany is referred to by historians as the Bonn Republic . Due to a political compromise ( Berlin-Bonn Act ) following the reunification, the German federal government maintains a substantial presence in Bonn. Roughly a third of all ministerial jobs are located in Bonn as of 2019 , and

6000-454: The British and the French but did not demand war over the issue. The remilitarization of the Rhineland was supported by most of the local population because of a resurgence of German nationalism and the bitterness that had been harboured over the Allied occupation of the Rhineland until 1930 and Saarland until 1935. A side effect of the French occupations was the offspring of French soldiers and German women. Those children, who were seen as

6120-408: The Federal Republic of Germany. Bonn's time as the capital of West Germany is commonly referred to as the Bonn Republic , in contrast to the Berlin Republic which followed reunification in 1990. German reunification in 1990 made Berlin the nominal capital of Germany again. This decision, however, did not mandate that the republic's political institutions would also move. While some argued for

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6240-471: The Netherlands. On the western and southern frontiers (especially in the Saarland ) resided smaller French-speaking communities, while the industrial region of the Ruhr housed recent Polish migrants from the eastern provinces of the Empire . The Rhine Province was the most densely populated part of Prussia, the general average being 617 persons per km . The province contains a greater number of large towns than any other province in Prussia. Upwards of half,

6360-416: The Rhine ( Beuel and Oberkassel ), as well as many nearby towns like Brühl , Wesseling , Sankt Augustin , Siegburg , Königswinter , and Bad Honnef . All lines serve the Central Station and two lines continue to Cologne, where they connect to the Cologne Stadtbahn . The Bonn tram system consists of two lines that connect closer quarters in the south, north and east of Bonn to the Central Station. While

6480-444: The Rhine Province furnished its most substantial claim to the title of the "richest jewel in the crown of Prussia". Besides parts of the carboniferous measures of the Saar and the Ruhr, it also contains important deposits of coal near Aachen . Iron ore was found in abundance near Koblenz, the Bleiberg in the Eifel possessed an apparently inexhaustible supply of lead, and zinc was found near Cologne and Aachen. The mineral products of

6600-402: The Rhine Province in 1905 was 6,435,778, including 4,472,058 Roman Catholics , 1,877,582 Protestants and 55,408 Jews . The left bank was predominantly Catholic, while on the right bank about half the population was Protestant. The great bulk of the population was ethnically German, although some villages and towns in the northern part ( Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg ) were more oriented toward

6720-486: The Rhine Province was split between the French and British Occupation Zones . The Rhine Province was abolished in August 1946 when the northern part of the province, under British administration, was merged with the former province of Westphalia to form North Rhine-Westphalia and most of the southern portion, under French administration, was merged with the Palatinate (previously an exclave of Bavaria ) and other territories to form Rhineland-Palatinate . These areas of

6840-424: The Rhine river. The supporting operation by the US Ninth Army, Operation Grenade , was planned to coincide from the River Roer , in the south. This was delayed for two weeks, however, by German flooding of the Roer valley. On March 7, 1945, a company of armoured infantry of the U.S. 9th Armored Division captured the last intact bridge over the Rhine at Remagen . General George Patton 's Third US Army also made

6960-409: The Rhineland on Saturday, March 7, 1936. The occupation was done with very little military force, the troops entered on tractors and no effort was made to stop it . Even though France had an overwhelming force nearby it did not act because of its political instability, and since the remilitarization occurred during a weekend, the British government could not find out or discuss actions to be taken until

7080-412: The Stadtbahn mostly has its own right-of-way, the tram often operates on general road lanes. A few sections of track are used by both systems. These urban rail lines are supplemented by a bus system of roughly 30 regular lines, especially since some parts of the city like Hardtberg and most of Bad Godesberg completely lack a Stadtbahn/Tram connection. Several lines offer night services, especially during

7200-401: The US 1st Infantry Division captured the city during the battle of 8–9 March 1945. After the Second World War, Bonn was in the British zone of occupation. Following the advocacy of West Germany's first chancellor, Konrad Adenauer , a former Cologne Mayor and a native of that area, Bonn became the de facto capital, officially designated the "temporary seat of the Federal institutions," of

7320-422: The banks of the Rhine . It has a population of over 300,000. About 24 km (15 mi) south-southeast of Cologne , Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region, Germany's largest metropolitan area and the second biggest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union, with over 11 million inhabitants. The city served as the capital of West Germany from its formation in 1949 until 1990 and as

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7440-428: The capital of reunited Germany from 1990 until 1999 when the seat of government was moved back to Berlin . Bonn is the birthplace of Germany's present day constitution, the Basic Law . Founded in the 1st century BC as an Ubii and then Roman settlement in the province Germania Inferior , Bonn is one of Germany's oldest cities. It was the capital city of the Electorate of Cologne from 1597 to 1794, residence of

7560-457: The capital of the reunified Germany, and they felt that locating the capital in a major city like Frankfurt or Hamburg would imply a permanent capital and even weaken support in West Germany for reunification. In 1949, the Parliamentary Council in Bonn drafted and adopted the current German constitution, the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany . As the political centre of West Germany, Bonn saw six Chancellors and six Presidents of

7680-464: The city alongside the mayor. It used to be based in the Rococo -style Altes Rathaus (old city hall), built in 1737, located adjacent to Bonn's central market square. However, due to the enlargement of Bonn in 1969 through the incorporation of Beuel and Bad Godesberg, it moved into the larger Stadthaus facilities further north. This was necessary for the city council to accommodate an increased number of representatives. The mayor of Bonn still sits in

7800-428: The city became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany . Bonn was of little relevance in these years. During the Second World War , Bonn acquired military significance because of its strategic location on the Rhine, which formed a natural barrier to easy penetration into the German heartland from the west. The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Bonn on 7 March 1945, and

7920-400: The city council and mayor, will probably take place in 2025. In 2007, an unusual event took place when the incumbent mayor Yvonne Kempen (1960–2011, CDU) was voted out of office by the town council. Kempen had been elected for the first time in 1999 and confirmed in office in 2004, but over the years had fallen out with the town council, the district administrator of the Rhein-Sieg district and

8040-511: The city is 34.8 km² , with a maximum north-south extension of 11 km and a maximum west-east extension of 5.5 km. Of this area, approx. 1500 ha are used as residential areas, 565 ha as farm and building areas, 570 ha as areas for other uses, 614 ha as garden land, 1324 ha as agricultural land and 1070 ha as arable land. The remaining area is mainly divided between grassland, forests and smaller areas of water. A total of 8.5 km of motorway, 23 km of country roads and 8 km of district roads run through

8160-481: The city is considered a second, unofficial, capital of the country. Bonn is the secondary seat of the President , the Chancellor , and the Bundesrat , and the primary seat of six federal government ministries and twenty federal authorities. The title of Federal City (German: Bundesstadt ) reflects its important political status within Germany. The global headquarters of Deutsche Post DHL and Deutsche Telekom , both DAX -listed corporations, are in Bonn. The city

8280-402: The city lies on the river's left bank. To the south and to the west, Bonn borders the Eifel region which encompasses the Rhineland Nature Park . To the north, Bonn borders the Cologne Lowland . Natural borders are constituted by the river Sieg to the north-east and by the Siebengebirge (also known as the Seven Hills) to the east. The largest extension of the city in north–south dimensions

8400-494: The city of Bonn is an urban district in its own right. The urban district of Bonn is then again divided into four administrative municipal districts (German: Stadtbezirk ). These are Bonn, Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Bonn-Beuel and Bonn-Hardtberg. In 1969, the independent towns of Bad Godesberg and Beuel as well as several villages were incorporated into Bonn, resulting in a city more than twice as large as before. Bonn has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ; Trewartha : Dobk ). In

8520-456: The city of Bonn is the University of Bonn (including the university clinics) and Stadtwerke Bonn also follows as a major employer. On the other hand, there are several traditional, nationally known private companies in Bonn such as luxury food producers Verpoorten and Kessko, the Klais organ manufacture and the Bonn flag factory. The largest confectionery manufacturer in Europe, Haribo , has its founding headquarters (founded in 1920) and

8640-511: The city, there is the Siebengebirge which is part of the lower half of the Middle Rhine region. The nearby upper half of the Middle Rhine from Bingen to Koblenz is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with more than 40 castles and fortresses from the Middle Ages and important German vineyards. Named after Konrad Adenauer , the first post-war Chancellor of West Germany, Cologne Bonn Airport

8760-493: The continuing French pollution of German culture, were shunned by the broader German society and were known as Rhineland Bastards . Children fathered by French colonial or American troops of African ancestry were especially despised and became targets of Nazi sterilisation programmes in the 1930s. The American poet Charles Bukowski was born in 1920 in Andernach as the son of a German mother and an American soldier, who served in

8880-411: The district also included lignite, copper, manganese, vitriol, lime, gypsum, volcanic stones (used for millstones) and slates. By far the most important item was coal. Of the numerous mineral springs, the best known were those of Aachen and Kreuznach. The mineral resources of the Rhine Province, coupled with its favourable situation and the facilities of transit afforded by its great waterway, made it

9000-400: The district government of the administrative district of Cologne ( Regierungsbezirk Köln ) over various issues and had also taken legal action against these people in some cases; cooperation between Kempen and the superior authorities, which was necessary in many cases, was then no longer or only possible with difficulty. After the vote-out, early elections were held in March 2008. Meckenheim

9120-436: The district, while the principal exports are coal, fruit, wine, dyes, cloth, silk and other manufactured articles of various descriptions. In the 1815 Congress of Vienna , Prussia gained control of the duchies of Cleves, Berg, Gelderland and Jülich, the ecclesiastical principalities of Trier and Cologne, the free cities of Aachen and Cologne, and nearly one hundred small lordships and abbeys which would all be amalgamated into

9240-608: The end of the BAB 565 at the Meckenheim junction, it merges into the Bundesstraße 257 , which connects the area with the Eifel and the Nürburgring . Railroad stops of the Voreifelbahn are at Kottenforst , Meckenheim Industriepark and Meckenheim and connects the town to Rheinbach and Euskirchen to the west and Bonn to the east. Bonn Hauptbahnhof is a stop for long-distance trains heading north (Cologne, Ruhr ) and south ( Koblenz , Frankfurt Rhine-Main ). The nearest airport

9360-714: The entire town, which at that time had between 550 (around 1700) and 1100 (1812) inhabitants. When the French invaded the Rhineland during the French Revolutionary Wars following the French Revolution , Meckenheim became part of France in 1794 and lost its town privileges. At this time, Meckenheim was part of the Mairie Adendorf in the Kanton Rheinbach , which was part of the Arrondissement de Bonn in

9480-566: The following Monday. As a result, the governments were inclined to see the remilitarization as a fait accompli . Adolf Hitler took a risk when he sent his troops to the Rhineland. He told them to "turn back and not to resist" if they were stopped by the French Army. The French, however, did not try to stop them because they were about to hold legislative elections ; further, President Albert Lebrun did not want to start an unpopular war against Germany and French intelligence greatly overestimated

9600-569: The formal ratification of the treaty, which took place in 1920, thus the occupation was intended to last until 1935. Initially, 5 zones of Occupation of the Rhineland were established, but the American Forces handed over their zone in 1923, since they had not ratified the Treaty of Versailles, to the French. The treaty also separated the Saar from the Province and administered by the League of Nations until

9720-689: The former province were incorporated as states into the new Federal Republic of Germany when it was established in May 1949. The French organised the Saarland as a separate protectorate on 16 February 1946 and it eventually joined the Federal Republic as a separate state in 1957. Within North Rhine-Westphalia, the Landschaftsverband Rheinland  [ de ] (LVR), which was established in 1953 as regional council, still holds considerable administrative power and can be regarded as

9840-580: The fort along with the remnants of the troops stationed here. During the final decades of Imperial rule, the troops were supplied by Franci chieftains employed by the Roman administration. When the end came, these troops simply shifted their allegiances to the new barbarian rulers, the Kingdom of the Franks . From the fort, the Bonnburg, as well as from a new medieval settlement to the South centered around what later became

9960-565: The fort's main road (now, Römerstraße). Once past the South Gate, the Cologne–Mainz road continued along what are now streets named Belderberg, Adenauerallee et al. On both sides of the road, the local settlement, Bonna , grew into a sizeable Roman town. Bonn is shown on the 4th century Peutinger Map . In late antiquity , much of the town seems to have been destroyed by marauding invaders. The remaining civilian population then took refuge inside

10080-526: The goal of reaching the Rhine. From their winter positions in The Netherlands, the First Canadian Army under General Henry Crerar reinforced by elements of the British Second Army under General Miles Dempsey , drove through the Rhineland beginning in the first week of February 1945. Operation Veritable lasted several weeks, resulting in the clearance of all German forces from the west side of

10200-534: The grand duchy states Hesse-Nassau and Hesse-Darmstadt was also part of the Rhine Province. The principality of Birkenfeld , on the other hand, was an enclave of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg , a separate state of the German Empire . In 1911, the extent of the province was 10,423 km (4,024 sq mi); its extreme length, from north to south, was nearly 200 km (120 mi), and its greatest breadth

10320-654: The headquarters of the Deutsche Post called Post Tower (162.5 m or 533 ft) and the former building for the German members of parliament Langer Eugen (114.7 m or 376 ft) now the location of the UN Campus. 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 ("Museum Mile") . The Haus der Geschichte

10440-529: The high-lying plateaus in the south of the province, but the river-valleys and the northern lowlands were extremely fertile. The great bulk of the soil was in the hands of small proprietors, and this is alleged to have had the effect of somewhat retarding the progress of scientific agriculture. The usual cereal crops were, however, all grown with success, and tobacco, hops, flax, hemp and beetroot (for sugar) were cultivated for commercial purposes. Large quantities of fruit were also produced. The vine-culture occupied

10560-484: The last remnants of the medieval city wall. To date, Bonn's Roman fort remains the largest fort of its type known from the ancient world , i.e. a fort built to accommodate a full-strength Imperial Legion and its auxiliaries. 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, ranging from spacious headquarters and large officers' quarters to barracks , stables and

10680-690: The laws of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia elected for five years. Holger Jung ( Christian Democratic Union of Germany ) has been mayor since the 2020 municipal elections. The town council consists of 46 seats and is made up of parliamentary groups from the CDU, Social Democratic Party of Germany , Alliance 90/The Greens , Free Democratic Party (Germany) , Independent Voters' Association (Unabhängige Wählergemeinschaft, UWG) and Citizens for Meckenheim (Bürger für Meckenheim, BfM). The next local elections in Northrhine-Westphalia, and therefore also elections for

10800-509: The lower Rhine, but the number of sheep in the province was comparatively small, not greatly in excess of that of the goats. The wooded hills were well stocked with deer, and a stray wolf occasionally found its way from the forests of the Ardennes into those of the Hunsrück . The salmon fishery of the Rhine was very productive, and trout abound in the mountain streams. The great mineral wealth of

10920-414: The mid-5th century. The structures themselves remained standing well into the Middle Ages , when they were called the Bonnburg. They were used by Frankish kings until they fell into disuse. Eventually, much of the building materials seem to have been re-used in the construction of Bonn's 13th-century city wall . The Sterntor  [ de ] ( star gate ) in the city center is a reconstruction using

11040-570: The most important manufacturing district in Germany. The industry was mainly concentrated around two chief centres, Aachen and Düsseldorf (with the valley of the Wupper ), while there were naturally few manufacturers in the hilly districts of the south or the marshy flats of the north. The largest iron and steel works were at Essen , Oberhausen , Duisburg , Düsseldorf and Cologne, while cutlery and other small metallic wares were extensively made at Solingen, Remscheid and Aachen. The cloth of Aachen and

11160-628: The municipality. In addition, 115 km of municipal roads and 140 km of agricultural roads run through the town of Meckenheim. Meckenheim consists of five city districts, (Alt-)Meckenheim, with the oldest part along the Swist and the "Neuer Markt" area (17,348 inhabitants), Altendorf (1,310), Ersdorf (927), Lüftelberg (1,355) and Merl (6,007). As of 8 September 2023, Meckenheim had 27,076 inhabitants, 1404 of whom were secondary residents. 9172 inhabitants (33.9 %) were over 60 years old, 4758 inhabitants (17.6 %) were under 18 years old. The residents lived in

11280-483: The new Prussian Rhine Province. In 1822 Prussia established the Rhine Province by joining the provinces of Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg . Its capital was Koblenz ; it had 8.0 million inhabitants by 1939. Popes Pius VIII (in 1830) and Gregory XVI (in 1833) raised concerns regarding the pastoral care of Catholics in the Upper Rhineland, both writing letters of concern to the local bishops. Following

11400-477: The newly formed Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. However, the Bundestag, seated in Bonn's Bundeshaus , affirmed Berlin 's status as the German capital. Bonn was chosen as the provisional capital and seat of government despite the fact that Frankfurt already had most of the required facilities and using Bonn was estimated to be 95 million DM more expensive than using Frankfurt. Bonn was chosen because Adenauer and other prominent politicians intended to make Berlin

11520-502: The newly founded municipality of Wachtberg . To this day, however, the three towns that now belong to Wachtberg have retained the "old Meckenheim dialling code" 02225. Even after the federal government moved from Bonn to Berlin in 1999 as a result of the Decision on the Capital of Germany , many jobs remained in Bonn (including at Deutsche Telekom and Deutsche Post ), meaning that Meckenheim

11640-484: The northern sub-district of Graurheindorf, the inland harbour of Bonn is used for container traffic as well as oversea transport. The annual turnover amounts to around 500,000 t (490,000 long tons; 550,000 short tons). Regular passenger transport occurs to Cologne and Düsseldorf. The head offices of Deutsche Telekom , its subsidiary Telekom Deutschland , Deutsche Post , German Academic Exchange Service , and SolarWorld are in Bonn. The third largest employer in

11760-575: The number of German troops. The British government did not oppose the remilitarization in principle, and Lord Lothian famously stated that "the Germans are after all only going into their own back garden". However, the British government rejected the Nazi manner of accomplishing the act, which they had been willing to concede by negotiations with Germany. Winston Churchill advocated military action by co-operation by

11880-638: The occupation troops. Two different military campaigns were fought in the Rhineland. The first operation of the campaign was the Allied Operation Market Garden that sought to allow the Second British Army to advance past the northern flank of the Siegfried Line and enter the Ruhr industrial area. After the failure of that operation for five months, from September 1944 until February 1945,

12000-412: The population were supported by industrial and commercial pursuits, and barely a quarter by agriculture. There was the University of Bonn , and elementary education was especially successful. For purposes of administration, the province was divided into the five districts ( Regierungsbezirke ) of Koblenz , Düsseldorf , Cologne , Aachen and Trier . Koblenz was the official capital, though Cologne

12120-478: The previously vacant site between Meckenheim and Merl now being built on with apartments and a shopping area known as the "Neuer Markt". In the decades from 1960 to the present day, Meckenheim's population has increased almost tenfold. In 1969, a municipal reorganization was also carried out with the Bonn Act (formally Gesetz zur kommunalen Neugliederung des Raumes Bonn , abbreviated as the "Bonn-Gesetz" ). Until 1969,

12240-524: The river, and the battles for the Rhineland were over. In the official histories of the British and Canadian armies, the term Rhineland refers only to fighting west of the river in February and March 1945, with subsequent operations on the river and to the east known as "Rhine Crossing". Both terms are official Battle Honours in the Commonwealth forces. Following the unconditional surrender of Germany in 1945,

12360-567: The seat of government to move to Berlin, others advocated leaving it in Bonn – a situation roughly analogous to that of the Netherlands , where Amsterdam is the capital but The Hague is the seat of government. Berlin's previous history as united Germany's capital was strongly connected with the German Empire , the Weimar Republic and more ominously with both Nazi Germany and Prussia . It

12480-499: The silk of Krefeld formed important articles of export. The chief industries of Elberfeld - Barmen and the valley of the Wupper was cotton-weaving, calico-printing and the manufacture of turkey red and other dyes. Linen was largely made at Mönchengladbach , leather at Malmedy , glass in the Saar district and beetroot sugar near Cologne. Though the Rhineland was par excellence the country of

12600-537: The south of the Cologne lowland in the Rhine valley, Bonn is in one of Germany's warmest regions. The Bonn weather station has recorded the following extreme values: 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 presently the historical centre of the city. Even earlier, the army had resettled members of a Germanic tribal group allied with Rome,

12720-610: The spa quarter of Bad Godesberg . In addition he was a patron of the young Ludwig van Beethoven , who was born in Bonn in 1770; the elector financed the composer's first journey to Vienna . In 1794, the city was seized by French troops, becoming a part of the First French Empire . In 1815 following the Napoleonic Wars , Bonn became part of the Kingdom of Prussia . Administered within the Prussian Rhine Province ,

12840-400: The town of Meckenheim, together with Adendorf, Groß-Altendorf, Arzdorf, Ersdorf, Fritzdorf, Lüftelberg and Merl, belonged to the so-called Amt Meckenheim; from 1969, a new town of Meckenheim was created from the parts of Altendorf, Ersdorf, Lüftelberg, Merl and Meckenheim itself, which now also belongs to the newly founded Rhein-Sieg district . Adendorf, Arzdorf and Fritzdorf were transferred to

12960-413: The vine, beer was produced in quantities, distilleries were also numerous, and large quantities of sparkling Mosel wine were made at Koblenz, chiefly for exportation to Britain. Commerce was greatly aided by the navigable rivers, a very extensive network of railways, and the excellent roads constructed during the French régime. The imports consist mainly of raw material for working up in the factories of

13080-633: The votes of the eastern German legislators tipped the balance in favour of Berlin. From 1990 to 1999, Bonn served as the seat of government of reunited Germany. In recognition of its former status as German capital, it holds the name of Federal City (German: Bundesstadt ). Bonn currently shares the status of Germany's seat of government with Berlin, with the President , the Chancellor and many government ministries (such as Food & Agriculture and Defence ) maintaining large presences in Bonn. Over 8,000 of

13200-433: The war, Meckenheim had around 2,500 inhabitants in 1950, and Bonn's election as the federal capital in 1949 (also referred to as Bonn Republic ) meant that more housing had to be built in the town to accommodate all the civil servants. To this end, Meckenheim, the previously independent Merl and the city of Bonn joined forces and founded a development company that was tasked with planning new residential areas. This also led to

13320-668: The weekends. Bonn is part of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg ( Rhine-Sieg Transport Association ) which is the public transport association covering the area of the Cologne/Bonn Region . Four Autobahns run through or are adjacent to Bonn: the A59 (right bank of the Rhine, connecting Bonn with Düsseldorf and Duisburg ), the A555 (left bank of the Rhine , connecting Bonn with Cologne),

13440-510: Was bounded on the north by the Netherlands , on the east by the Prussian provinces of Westphalia and Hesse-Nassau , and the grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt , on the southeast by the Palatinate (a district of the Kingdom of Bavaria ), on the south and southwest by Lorraine , and on the west by Luxembourg , Belgium and the Netherlands. The small exclave district of Wetzlar , wedged between

13560-612: Was elected Lord Mayor of Bonn in September 2020, she resigned as a member of parliament after her entry into office. Beethoven's birthplace is located 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

13680-662: Was felt that a new peacefully united Germany should not be governed from a city connected to such overtones of war. Additionally, Bonn was closer to Brussels , headquarters of the European Economic Community . Former West German chancellor and mayor of West Berlin Willy Brandt caused considerable offence to the Western Allies during the debate by stating that France would not have kept the seat of government at Vichy after Liberation. The heated debate that resulted

13800-416: Was just under 90 km (56 mi). It included about 200 km (120 mi) of the course of the Rhine, which formed the eastern border of the province from Bingen to Koblenz , and then flows in a north-northwesterly direction inside the province, approximately following its eastern border. It is now part of North Rhine-Westphalia , Rhineland-Palatinate , Saarland , and Hesse . The population of

13920-497: Was not until March 1945 that there was fighting and shelling in the town and the surrounding area. On March 6, 1945, American troops occupied the town, and a day later, on March 7, they were able to take the bridge at Remagen during an 18-day-battle and thus conquer a path across the Rhine, which was actually only planned as part of a larger offensive further downstream near Wesel on the Lower Rhine during Operation Plunder . After

14040-529: Was probably settled by the Franks in the 5th century AD, which is still reflected today in the syllables -heim and -dorf in the names of the city and its neighbouring villages. Over 300 graves from this period have been uncovered and analysed. The first documented mention dates back to 853 AD, when the property was transferred to the Cassius Monastery in Bonn. Initially, Meckenheim was located exclusively around

14160-547: Was settled by the Bundestag (Germany's parliament) only on 20 June 1991. By a vote of 338–320, the Bundestag voted to move the seat of government to Berlin. The vote broke largely along regional lines, with legislators from the south and west favouring Bonn and legislators from the north and east voting for Berlin. It also broke along generational lines as well; older legislators with memories of Berlin's past glory favoured Berlin, while younger legislators favoured Bonn. Ultimately,

14280-495: Was subject to a major bombardment during the Siege of Bonn in 1689. Bonn was then returned to Cologne where it remained the capital at the Peace of Ryswick . The elector Clemens August (ruled 1723–1761) ordered the construction of a series of Baroque buildings which still give the city its character. Another memorable ruler was Max Franz (ruled 1784–1794), who founded the university and

14400-637: Was the largest and most important city. Being a frontier province, the Rhineland was strongly garrisoned, and the Rhine was guarded by the three strong fortresses of Cologne with Deutz , Koblenz with Ehrenbreitstein , and Wesel . The province sent 35 members to the German Reichstag and 62 to the Prussian House of Representatives . Of the total area of the Rhine Province, about 45% was occupied by arable land, 16% by meadows and pastures, and 31% by forests. Little except oats and potatoes could be raised on

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