Ever heard of a city district shaped like a puzzle piece? Welcome to Stadtbezirk Bonn one of Bonn’s four unique administrative areas. This district is not just any ordinary place. It’s the heart of Bonn.
Stadtbezirk Bonn came to life during a municipal reform. This happened on August 1 1969. It mainly includes the former city of Bonn. Ippendorf Röttgen Lessenich and Buschdorf were added. These additions gave the district its peculiar shape. Stadtbezirk Hardtberg is surrounded by Bonn on three sides because of this shape.
Locals say this was a condition. The city of Bonn agreed to the municipal reorganization with this shape. It ensured Stadtbezirk Bonn had more residents than Bad Godesberg and Beuel combined. This population size is very important. It affects the composition of many committees and has great significance for internal power dynamics.
The Roman army first camped here around 12 BC. They stationed a small unit. This was in what is now the historical city center. The Romans resettled the Ubii. They were a Germanic tribe allied with Rome. The Latin name Bonna may come from the Eburoni. They were the original population. Bona is Celtic for tribe.
Later in the 1st century AD the army built a large military base. It was north of the town in what is now Bonn-Castell. This was called Castra Bonnensis meaning Fort Bonn. It was first built of wood. Later it was rebuilt in stone. The army used it until the Western Roman Empire fell in the mid-5th century. These structures stood into the Middle Ages. They were called the Bonnburg. Frankish kings used them until they fell into disuse. Much of the material was used to build Bonn’s 13th-century city wall. The Sterntor in the city center is a reconstruction. It uses remnants of the medieval city wall.
Bonn’s Roman fort is the largest of its kind. It was built for a full-strength Imperial Legion. The fort covered about 250000 square meters. It had streets and buildings. There were headquarters officer’s quarters barracks stables and a jail. The Prima Legio Minervia served here the longest. Units were sent to wars from Algeria to Chechnya.
The Roman road from Cologne to Mainz went through the fort. It joined the fort’s main road now Römerstraße. The Cologne–Mainz road continued along Belderberg and Adenauerallee. Bonna grew into a sizeable Roman town along this road. Bonn is on the 4th-century Peutinger Map.
Invaders destroyed much of the town in late antiquity. Civilians took refuge in the fort. Franci chieftains supplied troops during the final decades of Imperial rule. These troops shifted allegiance to the Franks. The medieval city of Bonn grew from the Bonnburg and a new settlement. It centered around the minster.
Between the 11th and 13th centuries the Bonn Minster was built. In 1597 Bonn became the seat of the Archdiocese of Cologne. The city grew in influence. Bonn was bombarded during the Siege of Bonn in 1689. It was returned to Cologne at the Peace of Ryswick.
Elector Clemens August ordered Baroque buildings. They still give the city its character. Max Franz founded the university and the spa of Bad Godesberg. He supported young Ludwig van Beethoven born in Bonn in 1770.
French troops seized the city in 1794. It became part of the First French Empire. In 1815 Bonn became part of Prussia. It joined the German Empire in 1871.
After World War II Bonn was in the British zone. Konrad Adenauer made Bonn the de facto capital. It was the temporary seat of the Federal institutions in 1949. Bonn drafted and adopted the Basic Law. The Bonn Republic refers to Bonn’s time as capital.
Today Bonn is a Federal City. It shares the seat of government with Berlin. Many government ministries remain in Bonn. Nineteen United Nations institutions operate from Bonn.
Explore Stadtbezirk Bonn and discover its layered history. From Roman fortresses to modern-day politics this district blends the old and the new. Enjoy your walk.