, stationed in Bonn
Chronology In 1989, Bonn celebrated its 2,000th anniversary. The city was commemorating the construction of the first fortified
Roman camp on the Rhine in 12 BCE, after the Roman governor
Agrippa had already settled the
Ubii there in 38 BCE. However, people had lived in the area of today’s city much earlier. Evidence of this includes the 14,000-year-old
double burial at Oberkassel as well as a trench and wooden palisades found on the
Venusberg, dating back to around 4080 BCE. In the years before the birth of Christ, Roman presence in Bonna was modest, but this changed after the Roman defeat in the
Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE. In the following decades, a
legion was stationed there, which built the
Legionary Fortress Bonn in the northern part of present-day Bonn. Around the camp, and to the south along what is now Adenauerallee, traders and craftsmen settled in a
vicus. the Elder With the
end of the Roman Empire, Bonn declined during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. During the
Viking raids in the Rhineland, Bonn was burned twice in 882, and in 883, the recently rebuilt town was again attacked, burned, and looted by the Normans. In the
Frankish Empire, and finally in the 9th and 10th centuries, a religious center developed around the
Bonn Minster (the Villa Basilika), and a market settlement emerged in the area of today’s market square. The year 1243 is considered the year in which Bonn was granted full city rights. The outcome of the
Battle of Worringen in 1288 was of great importance for the further development of the city. The
Cologne prince-electors made Bonn—along with
Brühl and
Poppelsdorf—one of their residences, and eventually their
residence city. The magnificent palaces built by the prince-electors in the 17th and 18th centuries gave the city its
baroque splendor. This era ended with the occupation by
French troops on October 8, 1794. This was followed by nearly two decades of occupation by the troops of
Napoleon. Taxes in the form of food, clothing, and accommodations, as well as the loss of the electoral state administration, led to poverty among the population and a decline in the number of inhabitants by around 20%. The French introduced a civil code (
Code civil) and a municipal constitution in Bonn. Even under
French occupation, medium and large industrial companies, particularly in the textile sector, were established in Bonn. The French also pursued a thorough
secularization: properties of the ecclesiastical electorate, especially the electoral buildings, were taken into state ownership. Other sons of noble families also favored studying at this university in the 19th century. Before the founding of the Bonn university, Cologne had been its main rival. The "enlightened tradition" of Bonn, compared to the "holy Cologne," likely made it more suitable for a confessionally neutral university. Practical reasons also favored Bonn: the old electoral palace and the Poppelsdorf Palace were already available as suitable buildings. From 1815 onward, professors, students, civil servants, and officers arrived in Bonn, including many Protestants from the Prussian provinces, which was unusual for the predominantly Catholic Rhineland. Prussia also made Bonn a garrison town. As a result, Bonn became popular as a retirement location for military officers. Tourism also grew after German unification in 1871, fueled by the
Romanticism on the Rhine of the time. (front right),
Old Parliament House and
Schürmann-Bau (center),
Langer Eugen (left), and
Post Tower – with the
Siebengebirge mountains in the background (2015) After the
First World War, the city was initially occupied by
Canadian, then
British, and finally (until 1926) by
French troops. More than 1,000 Bonn residents, mostly of
Jewish descent, were murdered during the
Nazi era (
Holocaust). About 8,000 people were forced to leave their hometown, were arrested, or imprisoned in
concentration camps. When
American troops entered Bonn on March 9, 1945, ending
World War II for the city, 30% of the buildings were destroyed. Of these, 70% were slightly to severely damaged, and 30% were completely destroyed residential buildings. More than 4,000 Bonn residents had died in bombings. On May 28, 1945, Bonn became part of the
British occupation zone. After the Second World War, the city experienced rapid reconstruction and expansion, especially after the decision to make Bonn the provisional capital of the new Federal Republic of Germany instead of
Frankfurt am Main on November 29, 1949 (see Capital of Germany#The capital debate). As a result of the
law implementing the Bundestag resolution of June 20, 1991, to complete German unification (Berlin/Bonn Act)—which involved the relocation of the parliament, parts of the government, many diplomatic missions, lobbyists, and the privatization of the
German Federal Post Office—the city underwent another transformation around the turn of the millennium. The remaining ministries, newly established federal agencies, headquarters of major German companies,
international organizations, and institutions of science and research administration are now the drivers of this structural change, which has so far been considered successful and continues to this day. On October 30, 2014, under the patronage and active participation of Chancellor Angela Merkel, the
Unity Tree Monument for German Unity was planted. Municipal Mergers The city of Bonn was enlarged several times through
municipal mergers. Around 1900, Bonn grew significantly. As a result, on June 1, 1904, the towns of
Poppelsdorf,
Endenich,
Kessenich, and
Dottendorf—which had already merged physically with Bonn—were incorporated. Through the
law on the municipal reorganization of the Bonn area ("Bonn Act") of August 1, 1969, the city’s population roughly doubled, and the
Sieg District was merged with the
Bonn District to form the Rhein-Sieg District. The formerly independent cities of
Bad Godesberg and
Beuel and the municipality of
Duisdorf became independent boroughs of Bonn. The borough of Beuel, on the right bank of the Rhine, was also assigned the villages of
Holzlar,
Hoholz, and the
Oberkassel administrative area, which had previously belonged to the Sieg District. Bonn itself was expanded with the villages of
Ippendorf,
Röttgen,
Ückesdorf,
Lessenich/Meßdorf, and
Buschdorf from the former Bonn District, while
Lengsdorf and Duisdorf, along with some new housing developments, formed the borough of Hardtberg. The city of Bad Godesberg had already incorporated several villages earlier. As early as 1899,
Plittersdorf and
Rüngsdorf had joined Godesberg, and in 1904,
Friesdorf was added, effectively merging Bad Godesberg with Bonn. In 1915, Bad Godesberg expanded southwest out of the valley, leading to the incorporation of
Muffendorf. On July 1, 1935,
Lannesdorf and
Mehlem became districts of Bad Godesberg. ==Politics and government==