by Helga Stark | Apr, 2025 | Bonn Sights, EN, points of interest, tradition
In the first phase the white-flowered cherries, such as the plum cherry in Wolfstraße, Franzstraße or in the Rheinaue, bloom. After that it takes about 14 days for the thick pink-flowered Japanese flowering cherries (especially in Breite Straße and Heerstraße) to delight the eye.
How did Bonn get these magnificent cherries in the first place? In the 1980s, the Old Town (which is actually the Nordstadt and was only renamed ‘Old Town’ for tourist reasons) was redeveloped. Traffic was forced to slow down and Japanese cherries were planned to provide a splash of colour. The cherry trees were a gift from the Japanese government to Bonn and the city planner Brigitte Denkel made sure that they were planted. The cherry blossoms symbolise the friendship between Japan and Germany.
In many cultures, cherry blossoms have a special symbolic meaning, especially in Japan, where they are a symbol of beauty, transience and new beginnings.
On weekends there is also a flea market, design market and food market, which attract tens of thousands of people on the streets. All the shops, cafés and pubs in the area are prepared for the crowds. Those who prefer it quieter come during the week, in the morning or evening. Night photos of the cherry blossoms are also worth the visit after hours.
If you don’t want to plunge into the hustle and bustle, you can find Japanese cherry trees in Beuel, for example, on Professor-Neu-Allee or in the Rheinaue park.
My personal favourite cherry blossom spot is a small avenue in the Rheinaue near the Japanese garden: these cherry trees were donated by a Japanese choir that performs Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ every year with about 5,000 singers. The cherry trees were a gift in honour of Beethoven’s birthplace. Beethoven is as revered in Japan as the cherry blossom, but that’s another story…
by Gert Fischer | Mar, 2025 | EN, points of interest, tradition
With the Old Cemetery in the city centre, the Bad Godesberg Castle Cemetery and the Poppelsdorf Cemetery, Bonn has three outstanding burial sites due to their significance, ambience or location. If you add to this the village churchyards in some districts that are still preserved and date back even further, Bonn’s cemetery landscape is almost worth a trip. This historical heritage overshadows the more modern facilities.
Photo: A. Savin
Thus, Bonn’s largest cemetery by far, the Nordfriedhof on Kölnstraße in today’s Auerberg district, is perhaps the Cinderella of cemeteries. Opened in 1884 as the official successor to the Old Cemetery, which could no longer be expanded, the Nordfriedhof got off to a bad start mainly due to its location. More than three kilometres from the centre of Bonn, it was on the far northern outskirts of the city. It only received a rail connection in 1906, when the Rheinuferbahn (Rhine bank railway) started operating. In the first decades of its existence, it was located in an open field. On the way there, you passed the smouldering rubbish heap where today’s Sportpark Nord is located, the Rheinische Provinzial-Irrenanstalt (today the LVR-Klinik Bonn), the Städtische Hilfshospital für Geisteskranke, Epileptiker und Trunksüchtige (a municipal hospital for the mentally ill, epileptics and alcoholics) and the orphanage and correctional home, which was located on the former site of the leprosarium (an isolation ward for infectious diseases). And contemporaries were certainly also aware that the cemetery area included the former place of execution with the gallows and the Schindanger, where animal carcasses that could no longer be used were disposed of. It is therefore not surprising that the so-called ‘better circles’ at the time sought burial sites elsewhere. After 1905, this was also officially possible. Those who lived ‘west of the railway’ could be buried in the cemetery of the recently incorporated Poppelsdorf. The inhabitants of the southern and western parts of the city made ample use of this opportunity. The Nordfriedhof thus became the cemetery for the city centre and the northern part of the city. Accordingly, the names of the families buried here that are significant in local history are linked to this part of the city. The graves of professors and wealthy individuals were buried mainly in the Poppelsdorf Cemetery, as were those of many of Bonn’s dignitaries.
Nevertheless, the North Cemetery gradually gained its place in the Bonn cemetery landscape. It changed for the better as a park, designed in an exemplary manner including a large chapel added in 1913. Its subsequent three expansions prove that it has become a popular cemetery. Even the reckless handling of some of its remnants could not prevent this. In the 1960s, for example, rows of gravestones were cleared when the main entrance was widened, and the neo-Romanesque gate was demolished. As a result, the list of ‘preserving-worthy’ grave monuments is short compared to the size of the cemetery.
The character of the Nordfriedhof as a cemetery of honour represents a special chapter. The beginnings of this development lie in the First World War. Today, not only the German victims of two world wars are buried here, but also numerous forced and foreign labourers as well as prisoners of war. Initially a place of local remembrance, the war cemetery and cemetery of honour became the central ‘Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and the Victims of Tyranny’ in 1980 (today in Berlin at the Neue Wache). At that time, the bronze plate designed by Hans Schwippert – known as the architect who converted the Pedagogical Academy into the Bundeshaus and Palais Schaumburg into the Federal Chancellery – was transferred from the Hofgarten to the Nordfriedhof for this purpose. One of the more embarrassing chapters in Bonn’s history is that in 2017 it was stolen and replaced by a copy in sandstone.
As a relatively modern cemetery, the Nordfriedhof was not consecrated by a Catholic priest and was not bound to historical structures. Therefore, it reflects the developments that have shaped the funeral industry in the recent past better than many older cemeteries and those that are subject to preservation orders that restrict them to an earlier state. For example, a Yazidi cemetery is integrated into the Nordfriedhof. There are graves where the Greek Orthodox or Russian Orthodox rites were observed, as well as an area for children who died in the womb or at birth. And since 1990, it has had an Islamic burial ground.
A walk through the Nordfriedhof Cemetery is therefore not so interesting if you are interested in art, historically significant graves and famous names. Rather, it is a generously laid out park that reflects the social structure of Bonn city centre and the north of Bonn. Nevertheless, exciting discoveries are not out of the question. For example, there are three graves of members of the Sikh religious community who came to Bonn with the British occupation troops after the First World War. Or the grave of the singer and entertainer Fereydun Farrochsad, who was murdered in Bonn in 1992 in the name of the Islamic revolution in Iran.
Furthermore, the Nordfriedhof is of ecological interest. It has remarkable trees and, due to its size, a wide variety of animal and plant life. With the support of the Rotary Club, the city of Bonn is using it as an experimental area for ‘future trees’ – as a ‘climate grove’.
It is to be hoped that the restoration work on the cemetery chapel, which has been going on for two years now, will finally be completed. Until then, funeral services are held in an unworthy plastic tent. The North Cemetery is still worth a visit!
by Stefan Heinze | Mar, 2025 | EN, Sports, tradition
I moved to Bonn in 1986. Shortly after that, I met Helmut Thillmann at a seminar. He organised the early-morning sports and showed us how relaxed he could run fast and long when we went jogging.
What he didn’t tell us is that on 29 January 1986 he, together with Karl Lennartz, Axel Bosse, Hansjürgen Melzer, Thomas Greiser and Wolf-Dirk von Berchem, founded the ‘Marathon Bonn e.V. (source: GA from 5.4.2016). A significant amount of time was needed for the planning and organisation. Three years later – marking Bonn’s 2000th anniversary – the first marathon took place on 10 June 1989 in the former capital.
Closing streets for a marathon was new for Bonn. The administration provided arguments against, such as, ‘The runners should stop at red lights’ (Source: GA from 11.06.2024) Despite this, a date in summer was chosen because it is traditionally a marathon-poor time. In addition, in the 1980s, shops closed at 2 p.m. on Saturdays, and most employees had the day off.
At the first marathon in Bonn, 2,443 runners finished, including 156 women. The time limit was five hours. It is hard to imagine today that 375 men and 10 women broke the magical three-hour mark. 1969 athletes completed the course in a time of under four hours. (Source: ibid.), On 5 June 1993, after the fifth marathon, the sponsor withdrew. The quote from back then: ‘For that money, we could get a season’s advertising deal with 1. FC Köln.’ (Source: ibid.)
It was not until 2001 that the marathon was permanently reinstated. Since 2005, the half marathon has also been offered. In 2005, I started running as a former judoka. The beginning was difficult – and it took until the summer of 2006 for me to complete the so-called small bridge 10 km lap (Kennedy and South Bridge) for the first time. That’s when a raffle was held by my employer: up to 25 starting places including preparation training. What could possibly go wrong? At worst, I win!
What I didn’t realise was that everyone who entered would win! Experience shows that only a few people stick to their training schedule from the beginning until the race in April. In addition to the twice-weekly training sessions starting at the company gate, there are Sunday runs starting at Kloster Heisterbach. And Helmut Tillmann is also one of the trainers!
In Janaury 2007 the storm Kyril hit during the running training phase. Hence the 28 km Sunday run took a lot longer than usual due to the many detours needed. Comment from the trainer: I’ll register everyone who is still registered for the half marathon for the marathon.
And so, without ever having participated in a half marathon, I ran my first marathon on 22 April 2007. For the last time, the route also went through Godesberg, Rüngsdorf, Friesdorf, Poppelsdorf, past the Sportpark Nord to Josefshöhe and then to the market square.
Today, the marathon course is twice the half marathon distance: starting near the opera house, over the Kennedybrücke and then south to the Südbrücke and parallel to the Rhine back towards the Kennedybrücke. A samba band plays at the bridge ramp to support the runners and pick up the pace. A large loop around the Beethovenhalle and then along the Rhine promenade (where the Bonn Rowing Club provides the runners with Kölsch beer) to the Rheinaue and on to the Caesar Research Institute.
In the past, the marathon runners continued straight ahead here, but today all runners turn here and run along Konrad-Adenauer-Allee to the Hofgarten. This route is often almost without spectators. From the Hofgarten, the route continues via Münsterplatz and Bottlerplatz to the market square, where the finish is.
For the last two kilometres, the spectators carry you to the finish (or into the second round). There is a great atmosphere on both sides of the running track.
While the number of registrations for the marathon remains stable, the number of registrations for the half marathon continues to rise. In 2025, 10,000 runners will start in the half marathon.
After running the marathon in Bonn several times, as well as in Istanbul, Florence, Nice to Cannes and on Lake Garda, I completed my 15th marathon in Tel Aviv in 2019.
Due to Corona, there was a longer break from running – and without a goal, I also drastically reduced my training. Now I am registered again for the half marathon in Bonn in 2025.
If you want more detailed information about the running track and the individual competitions (also for inline skaters, handbikers or relays), follow the link to the organiser: Deutsche Post Marathon Bonn
by Susanne Erbay | Feb, 2025 | Bonn Sights, EN, points of interest, tradition
Bonn’s Carnival is also known as the ‘fifth season’ and officially begins on 11 November at 11:11 a.m. and reaches its peak in the days before Ash Wednesday.
Originally Carnival was celebrated as a pagan festival to drive out winter. Later, Carnival was celebrated before the Christian fasting period before Easter. Even though not all Bonn residents like or celebrate Carnival, it has cultural and social significance. Many are involved in carnival clubs, of which there are
numerous in Bonn and the surrounding districts. Each carnival club has different ‘uniforms’ or costumes. The uniforms date back to the French occupation at the end of the 18th / beginning of the 19th century. The occupiers banned carnival because they feared unrest. But after the occupation ended people celebrated again, wearing the uniforms the French had left behind. This was a way of making fun of the occupiers, and later also of the Prussian occupiers. One remnant is the ‘Stippeföttche’, a dance in which men with sabres and rifles (which shoot flowers!) shimmy their backsides together.
The carnival associations organise many carnival events during the season. There are formal sessions, balls, dance parties, ladies’ sessions, men’s sessions and children’s sessions – there is something for everyone. Many a successful comedian or musician made their first appearances there and laid the foundation for their success.
The street carnival kicks off on Women’s Carnival Day. Traditionally, women storm the town hall on this
day, cut off the ties of the men and symbolically take power. This custom was introduced over 200 years ago, in 1824, by the Beuel washerwomen. At that time, the men brought the freshly washed laundry to Cologne by ship, received payment for it and promptly squandered it during Carnival. In 1824 the washerwomen had had enough and decided to take drastic action. They got together for a coffee klatch and founded the Old Beuel Women’s Committee 1824 e. V. Since then, the town hall has traditionally been stormed in Beuel where the Women’s Carnival procession also takes place.
On Carnival Sunday, the Old Town Hall on Bonn’s market square will be stormed by fools. The mayor will try to defend it – but of course she won’t be able to. From 11 a.m. onwards, there will be a lot of carnival hustle and bustle on Bonn’s market square – come and see for yourself.
The highlight of the Bonn Carnival is the Rose Monday Parade. For several hours decorated floats, groups
of people on foot and musicians and bands parade through the city centre and the northern part of the city. Thousands of people line the route and collect sweets and bouquets of flowers. For those who have never been: make sure you have enough bags for the sweets.
The Carnival Prince and the Bonna are the city’s representatives during the carnival season. They take part in numerous events and are the stars of the carnival season, as well as of the Rose Monday parade. The Bonn royal couple’s float is the last one in the Rose Monday parade, before the Bonn-Orange city cleaning service clears away the worst of the dirt from the procession. Everything has to be in order 🙂
It is definitely worth taking part in the carnival adventure, even if you are not from Bonn.
More information and dates can be found at here.
by Gert Fischer | Dec, 2024 | Bonn Sights, EN, points of interest, tradition, Uncategorized
The flight of steps at the Old City Hall has seen better days. Its grand appearances have become rare. Nowadays it only takes centre stage on Carnival Sunday, when the carnival revellers storm the town hall. In addition, there are rare events in which it briefly regains its former grandeur as a big stage. This occurred in 2023, when the Telekom Baskets (Bonn’s professional basketball team) were celebrated by their fans after winning the Champions League. Although there was a good turn-out by the fans, they still did not fill the market square, not unlike the party-goers on Carnival Sunday. It was a completely different scenario when Charles de Gaulle signed the city’s Golden Book on the September 5, 1962. He stepped out onto the staircase together with Konrad Adenauer to a storm of enthusiasm. The market square and the Bischofsplatz were packed with people, who were overflowing into the Sternstraße and the Wenzelgasse. After delivering a seemingly extemporaneous speech in German, the then assassination-threatened French President strode down the stairs and was swallowed up by the crowd, much to the dismay of his security staff.
The steps of Bonn’s old City Hall have seen similar scenes time and again, especially when Bonn was the capital city of Germany. The list of visitors ranged from Theodor Heuss, who addressed the German people from the steps immediately after his election as the first Federal President, to John F. Kennedy in 1963, the Queen Elizabeth of England in 1965, and as late as 1989 when Gorbachev visited. Not all occasions were as spectacular as in the 60s, and over time, state visits became routine. Nevertheless, the steps of the town hall remained something of a stage for the Bonn Republic. The reason for this was mundane: the government district was somewhat remote and, as a provisional arrangement, had no representative assembly area. The market square helped out.
Incidentally, the same applies to demonstrations. Up until the 1980s the Bonn market was the most important demonstration site in the Federal Republic of Germany. The steps of the town hall also played a role there – perhaps most ingloriously on 10 April 1973, when members of a communist splinter group, hidden by a student demonstration against the visit of the South Vietnamese president to Germany, stormed the town hall and smashed its interior. It was only then that, because of the sheer volume, the protests against rearmament had to move to the Hofgarten. They may not have been aware of the meaning of their actions in terms of the carnival. At that time, we lived nearby, and I still remember how the demonstrators, linked arms and running, turned from Suttnerplatz into Rathausgasse, chanting the name of Ho Chi Minh. The rest is history.
The staircase was also the scene of much earlier revolutionary events: on 20 March 1848, for example, Gottfried Kinkel led a procession of citizens, professors and students. Armed with the black, red and gold flag of the democratic movement, he climbed the steps of the town hall and spoke, as Carl Schurz put it, with ‘wondrous eloquence’. Things were less lively on October 24, 1923 when local separatists, under the protection of French soldiers, climbed the steps at 6 am and claimed the ‘Rhenish Republic’. The nightmare was soon over due to a lack of support from the population.
The importance the Bonn market once played, both in front of the town hall and with the town hall steps as a natural stage, has now almost been forgotten. Recently a major radio station, the SWR, stated that de Gaulle gave his speech in the Hofgarten. And Bonn only occasionally remembers the possibilities that the town hall panorama offers. A big festival where the stage covers the old town hall is a wasted opportunity. Nowadays, the people who make the most of the opportunities are the bridal couples who get married at this historic site. They are happy to use the flight of steps for their guests to form a guard of honour, thus preserving some of the charm of the place. It’s just a shame that the delivery truck traffic is increasingly disrupting the beautiful images. This impression may be subjective.
by Helga Moser | Nov, 2024 | Bonn Sights, culinary, EN, points of interest, Rhine region, tradition
When the days get darker in the dreary month of November and the wet cold dampens the mood, I go to the Christmas market before the winter blues gets a hold of me. Around the Münsterplatz in Bonn, wooden stalls are set up and create a cosy atmosphere with Christmas decorations and bright lights. The enticing aromas of mulled wine, cinnamon, roasted almonds and delicious food inevitably lift the spirits.
At the foot of the Bonn Minster, the city is teeming with life, but at the same time it feels homely . I feel transported back in time and imagine how our Bonn ancestors came to this square in the late Middle Ages to stock up on supplies for the coming winter, to enjoy good food and drink and, of course, to exchange the latest gossip.
Today, more than half a millennium later, it is not much different. In a large part of the 160 wooden stalls placed between Remigiusplatz, Münsterplatz and Friedensplatz, you can buy beautiful and useful items, including hand-made crafts, which make for great Christmas presents for family and friends. Here you will find unique items that are not available in the usual department stores. Inspired by the lovingly decorated displays, you’ll discover gifts that you would never have thought of while lounging on your sofa at home. For example, original jewellery pendants or maybe hand-knitted socks made of pure wool for your daughter, who always has cold feet? And for your girlfriend, who already has everything, a new Christmas ornament is always a hit! And of course, every once in a while I need a little refreshment. The Flammlachs (salmon cooked on an open fire) smells seductive, but I usually return to the Rhine-region classic, Reibekuchen, potatoe pancakes with apple compote. In addition, the sounds of Christmas can be heard from everywhere. The happy laughter of children coming from the direction of the historic carousel reminds me of the dear little ones in my family. For them, I have to make a choice between a handcrafted wooden toy and a cute Perlgraupentier (a figurine of a German miner). Slowly, the shopping bag I brought with me is proving not big enough. But I don’t need to worry because one of the traditional stalls has a selection of beautiful baskets: I have been eyeing them for a long time. No sooner said than done – now I just have to get the hand-made wrapping paper and my Christmas market tour will be a roaring success.
A toast is in order! Relaxing as Christmas approaches, I treat myself to an eggnog, a drink made from white wine, egg liqueur, vanilla and sugar, served hot and garnished with whipped cream. It actually sounds rather fearsome, but it is surprisingly delicious and hits the spot. The fact that I’m standing here alone doesn’t bother me at all. Because we are in the Rhineland it takes no time at all before I am chatting with a fellow eggnog-drinker about the Christmas season.
Of course, this will not be my only visit to a Christmas market. Like so many, I will meet up with friends for a mulled wine on numerous occasions throughout the season. It sweetens up the dreary weather – and when it’s bitter cold outside, the drinks taste even better!
And soon, I’ll be going to the Bonn Greeters’ Christmas market meet-up, which takes place every year. We’ll be swapping anecdotes and information, taking a stroll through the rows of stalls and sampling the wares at various stands. Of course, it’s all preparation for when we show guests around the market, as Christmas markets are one of the top points of interest.
The Christmas market is open until 22 December, with stalls open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and food and drink stalls open until 9:30 p.m. on Sundays to Thursdays, and until 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. And for those who don’t want to leave the cosy setting so quickly, Bonn Tourism has planned a Three Kings market this year for the first time, which will extend beyond the pre-Christmas period. It will take place on Remigiusplatz from 27 December up to and including Monday, 6 January.
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