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!

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.

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:

Then the magnificent palaces and buildings that are still bringing Baroque splendour to the city today:

For example is the Poppelsdorfer Schloss which is now part of the University of Bonn.

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.

From these times was the  Ludwig van Beethoven – famous compser, born in Bonn in 1770 at Bonngasse 515, which is now house number 20.

There is a Beethovenhalle – a concert hall in Bonn, dedicated to this famous citizen.

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.

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.

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.

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. 🙂