My little jubilee, the 50th country visited was Liechtenstein. And boy what a ceremony happened. The Principality of Liechtenstein and the Swiss Confederation were celebrating the 100 years of their common Dounae contract. We were about to cross the bridge that was built over the river Rhine, but we were stopped as the celebration was just…
Krapina is my hometown. Zagorje runs through veins. Kajkavian dialect is spoken out loud by my core. So please, allow me to show you a portion of heaven given to us people from Zagorje to enjoy, nourish, and remain proud. Krapina Krapina was first mentioned in 1193. It has always been a favorite site for…
This is a post of a lovely, walkable city that will charm all wine, gastronomy and history lovers. From Markets to Mustard! This capital of Burgundie is calling you to get all its tastes. And you will not know all of these existed! The province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until…
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Michel de Notre-Dame, as we all know as Nostradamus, was an apothecary by profession, and published in the year 1555 a book called Les Prophéties (The Prophecies). In his collection of 942 poetic quatrains, he predicted various future events that experts, and many amateurs, find a way of interpreting into related events occurring in the present day. Some historical evidence suggests…
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Again one of those hop on – hop off excursions or daily trips from Brussels. The city is situated on the banks of the river Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, […]
Again one of those hop on – hop off excursions or daily trips from Brussels.
The city is situated on the banks of the river Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and as such is one of the oldest cities in Germany. First traces of human settlement are dating back as far as 50,000 years until the Romans came.
As the region is situated in the Rhine-Ruhr region, it became rich by its mines, especially the coal.
During the Middle Ages, Bonn developed into a spiritual and trading centre: the current Bonn market was already a market settlement more than 1,000 years ago!
Rests of the Roman ‘s presence
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, 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, like the Eburoni.
During the time of the Western Roman Empire, possibly in the mid-5th century the fort was built in order to defend the city. The main gate are called Sterntor.
Mediaval city wall
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.
To date, Bonn’s Roman fort remains the largest fort of its type known from the ancient world. 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 a military jail.
Between the 11th and 15th centuries, the Romanesque style Bonn Minster was built… to me the most beautiful houses I have seen in Bonn, are dating from this time:
Porch of a romanesque house, 14th century ❤
Then the magnificent palaces and buildings that are still bringing Baroque splendour to the city today:
Poppelsdorf Palace
For example is the Poppelsdorfer Schloss which is now part of the University of Bonn.
Gardens of the Poppelsdorf Palace
As mentioned before, under the Prussian rule, in 1818, the Palace became part of the University of Bonn. In the same year the Park was converted to the Botanical Garden of Bonn.
Botanical Garden of Bonn
From these times was the Ludwig van Beethoven – famous compser, born in Bonn in 1770 at Bonngasse 515, which is now house number 20.
Beethoven house
There is a Beethovenhalle – a concert hall in Bonn, dedicated to this famous citizen.
Bethovenhalle on the shores of Rhine
By that time, we were hungry of walking around so we decided to have fair lunch at the popular Münsterplatz which has the view on the Bonn Minster cathedral and Beethoven’s statue.
Münsterplatz with cathedral and Beethoven’s statue
We didn’t eat that much local, but we drank as the Bonner’s. 🙂
The Bonn Minster is a Roman Catholic church in Bonn. It is one of Germany’s oldest churches, having been built between the 11th and 13th centuries. However, the Minster is now a minor basilica.
Bonner Münster
Originally the Minster was the collegiate church of Saints Cassius and Florentius, who were Roman legionaries of the legendary all-Christian Theban Legion. The legion’s garrison, according to legend, was in the Egyptian town of Thebes. Roman Emperor Maximianus Herculius ordered the legion to march to Gaul and assist in subduing rebels from Burgundy (nowadays central France). Somehow they refused to do so and were martyred and beheaded.
Beheaded legionars in front of the cathedral
Here are some photos from the city center walk:
During the period of German separation following the Second World War, Bonn was made provisional capital city from 1949 to 1990 and the seat of the German federal government up until 1999. With Bonn as the capital, the brand new German republic experienced a matchless economic, social, and political upturn.
Thereby, together with the capital Berlin, the city has remained the de facto joint seat of government of Germany. The Ministry of defence of Germany is sitting there.
Old villas that were serving as diplomatic houses are whitnessing the times of aristocracy and ater politicaly important ages of the city. Please, take a walk with me through the Villa District!
Bonn is also the headquarters of Deutsche Post DHL and Deutsche Telekom, it is the home to the total of 19 United Nations institutions and the HARIBO factory (the gummy bears). The abbreviation comes from the first two letters of name and surname of the founder HAns RIegel and his city if orgin; BOnn. 🙂
I’ve not been to Bonn before – in fact I’ve only just been to Berlin, which was my first visit to Germany. But I like the look of the city – especially the Botanical Garden x
What a cool little trip! I’ve only visited Franc many many years ago as a teenager, and would love to browse around Europe some more! Love the pictures!
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Bonn is certainly enchanting and inviting.. Great clicks you have
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I’ve not been to Bonn before – in fact I’ve only just been to Berlin, which was my first visit to Germany. But I like the look of the city – especially the Botanical Garden x
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What a cool little trip! I’ve only visited Franc many many years ago as a teenager, and would love to browse around Europe some more! Love the pictures!
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Hi! This is kind of off topic but I need some guidance from an established blog. Is it very difficult to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast. I’m thinking about setting up my own but I’m not sure where to start. Do you have any points or suggestions? Many thanks
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Excellent blog! Do you have any recommendations for aspiring writers?
I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
Would you recommend starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid
option? There are so many choices out there
that I’m completely confused .. Any recommendations? Kudos!
LikeLike
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