Bonn

Situated in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region, Germany's largest metropolitan area with over 11 million inhabitants, Bonn lies within the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, on the border with Rhineland-Palatinate. Spanning an area of more 141.2 km² (55 sq mi) on both sides of the river Rhine, almost three-quarters of the city lies on the river's left bank.

To the south and to the west, Bonn is bordering the Eifel region which encompasses the Rhineland Nature Park. To the north, Bonn borders the Cologne Lowland. Natural borders are constituted by the river Sieg to the north-east and by the Siebengebirge (also known as the Seven Hills) to the east. The largest extension of the city in north–south dimensions is 15 km (9 mi) and 12.5 km (8 mi) in west–east dimensions. The city borders have a total length of 61 km (38 mi). The geographical centre of Bonn is the Bundeskanzlerplatz (Chancellor Square) in Bonn-Gronau.

The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia is divided into five governmental districts (German: Regierungsbezirk), and Bonn is part of the governmental district of Cologne (German: Regierungsbezirk Köln). Within this governmental district, the city of Bonn is an urban district in its own right. The urban district of Bonn is then again divided into four administrative municipal districts (German: Stadtbezirk). These are Bonn, Bonn-Bad Godesberg, Bonn-Beuel and Bonn-Hardtberg. In 1969, the independent towns of Bad Godesberg and Beuel as well as several villages were incorporated into Bonn, resulting in a city more than twice as large as before.

Administrative divisions of the Federal City of Bonn

Municipal district (Stadtbezirk)	Coat of arms	Population (as of December 2014)[8]	Sub-district (Stadtteil)
Bad Godesberg		73.172	Alt-Godesberg, Friesdorf, Godesberg-Nord, Godesberg-Villenviertel, Heiderhof, Hochkreuz, Lannesdorf, Mehlem, Muffendorf, Pennenfeld, Plittersdorf, Rüngsdorf, Schweinheim
Beuel		66.695	Beuel-Mitte, Beuel-Ost, Geislar, Hoholz, Holtorf, Holzlar, Küdinghoven, Limperich, Oberkassel, Pützchen/Bechlinghoven, Ramersdorf, Schwarzrheindorf/Vilich-Rheindorf, Vilich, Vilich-Müldorf
Bonn		149.733	Auerberg, Bonn-Castell (known until 2003 as Bonn-Nord), Bonn-Zentrum, Buschdorf, Dottendorf, Dransdorf, Endenich, Graurheindorf, Gronau, Ippendorf, Kessenich, Lessenich/Meßdorf, Nordstadt, Poppelsdorf, Röttgen, Südstadt, Tannenbusch, Ückesdorf, Venusberg, Weststadt
Hardtberg		33.360	Brüser Berg, Duisdorf, Hardthöhe, Lengsdorf

Bonn has an oceanic climate (Cfb).[9] In the south of the Cologne lowland in the Rhine valley, Bonn is in one of Germany's warmest regions.

The Sterntor, originally built around 1244, is a gate reconstructed on the remnants of the medieval city wall.

The history of the city dates back to Roman times. In about 12 BC, 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, the Eburoni. The Eburoni were members of a large tribal coalition effectively wiped out during the final phase of Caesar's War in Gaul. After several decades, the army gave up the small camp linked to the Ubii-settlement. During the 1st century AD, the army then chose a site to the north of the emerging town in what is now the section of Bonn-Castell to build a large military installation dubbed Castra Bonnensis, i.e., literally, "Fort Bonn". Initially built from wood, the fort was eventually rebuilt in stone. With additions, changes and new construction, the fort remained in use by the army into the waning days of the Western Roman Empire, possibly the mid-5th century. 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. The Sterntor (star gate) in the city center is a reconstruction using the last remnants of the medieval city wall.

To date, Bonn's Roman fort remains the largest fort of its type known from the ancient world, i.e. a fort built to accommodate a full-strength Imperial Legion and its auxiliaries. The fort covered an area of approximately 250,000 square metres (62 acres). 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. Among the legions stationed in Bonn, the "1st", i.e. the Prima Legio Minervia, seems to have served here the longest. Units of the Bonn legion were deployed to theatres of war ranging from modern-day Algeria to what is now the Russian republic of Chechnya.

The Altes Rathaus (old town hall) as seen from the central market square. It was built in 1737 in Rococo-style.

The chief Roman road linking the provincial capitals of Cologne and Mainz cut right through the fort where it joined the fort's main road (now, Römerstraße). Once past the South Gate, the Cologne–Mainz road continued along what are now streets named Belderberg, Adenauerallee et al. On both sides of the road, the local settlement, Bonna, grew into a sizeable Roman town. Bonn is shown on the 4th century Peutinger Map.

In late antiquity, much of the town seems to have been destroyed by marauding invaders. The remaining civilian population then took refuge inside the fort along with the remnants of the troops stationed here. During the final decades of Imperial rule, the troops were supplied by Franci chieftains employed by the Roman administration. When the end came, these troops simply shifted their allegiances to the new barbarian rulers, the Kingdom of the Franks. From the fort, the Bonnburg, as well as from a new medieval settlement to the South centered around what later became the minster, grew the medieval city of Bonn. Local legends arose from this period that the name of the village came from Saint Boniface via Vulgar Latin *Bonnifatia, but this proved to be a myth.

Founded in 1818, the University of Bonn counts Nietzsche, Marx and Adenauer among its alumni.

Between the 11th and 13th centuries, the Romanesque style Bonn Minster was built, and in 1597 Bonn became the seat of the Archdiocese of Cologne. The city gained more influence and grew considerably. The city was subject to a major bombardment during the Siege of Bonn in 1689. The elector Clemens August (ruled 1723–1761) ordered the construction of a series of Baroque buildings which still give the city its character. Another memorable ruler was Max Franz (ruled 1784–1794), who founded the university and the spa quarter of Bad Godesberg. In addition he was a patron of the young Ludwig van Beethoven, who was born in Bonn in 1770; the elector financed the composer's first journey to Vienna.

In 1794, the city was seized by French troops, becoming a part of the First French Empire. In 1815 following the Napoleonic Wars, Bonn became part of the Kingdom of Prussia. Administered within the Prussian Rhine Province, the city became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany. Bonn was of little relevance in these years.

During the Second World War, Bonn acquired military significance because of its strategic location on the Rhine, which formed a natural barrier to easy penetration into the German heartland from the west. The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Bonn on 7 March 1945, and the US 1st Infantry Division captured the city during the battle of 8–9 March 1945.[10]

French president Charles de Gaulle on state visit to Bonn (1962), the capital of West Germany until German reunification.

After the Second World War, Bonn was in the British zone of occupation. Following the advocacy of West Germany's first chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, a former Cologne Mayor and a native of that area, Bonn became the de facto capital, officially designated the "temporary seat of the Federal institutions," of the newly formed Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. However, the Bundestag, seated in Bonn's Bundeshaus, affirmed Berlin's status as the German capital. Bonn was chosen as the provisional capital and seat of government despite the fact that Frankfurt already had most of the required facilities and using Bonn was estimated to be 95 million DM more expensive than using Frankfurt. Bonn was chosen because Adenauer and other prominent politicians intended to make Berlin the capital of the reunified Germany, and felt that locating the capital in a major city like Frankfurt or Hamburg would imply a permanent capital and weaken support in West Germany for reunification.

In 1949, the Parliamentary Council in Bonn drafted and adopted the current German constitution, the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. As the political centre of West Germany, Bonn saw six Chancellors and six Presidents of the Federal Republic of Germany. Bonn's time as the capital of West Germany is commonly referred to as the Bonn Republic, in contrast to the Berlin Republic which followed reunification in 1990.[11]

Between 1950 and 1994, Villa Hammerschmidt was the primary official residence of the President of Germany. Today it serves as the President's secondary residence.

German reunification in 1990 made Berlin the nominal capital of Germany again. This decision, however, did not mandate that the republic's political institutions would also move. While some argued for the seat of government to move to Berlin, others advocated leaving it in Bonn – a situation roughly analogous to that of the Netherlands, where Amsterdam is the capital but The Hague is the seat of government. Berlin's previous history as united Germany's capital was strongly connected with the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and more ominously with Nazi Germany. It was felt that a new peacefully united Germany should not be governed from a city connected to such overtones of war. Additionally, Bonn was closer to Brussels, headquarters of the European Economic Community. Former chancellor and mayor of West Berlin Willy Brandt caused considerable offence to the Western Allies during the debate by stating that France would not have kept the seat of government at Vichy after Liberation.[12]

The heated debate that resulted was settled by the Bundestag (Germany's parliament) only on 20 June 1991. By a vote of 338–320,[13] the Bundestag voted to move the seat of government to Berlin. The vote broke largely along regional lines, with legislators from the south and west favouring Bonn and legislators from the north and east voting for Berlin.[14][15] It also broke along generational lines as well; older legislators with memories of Berlin's past glory favoured Berlin, while younger legislators favoured Bonn. Ultimately, the votes of the eastern German legislators tipped the balance in favour of Berlin.[16]

From 1990 to 1999, Bonn served as the seat of government of reunited Germany. In recognition of its former status as German capital, it holds the name of Federal City (German: Bundesstadt). Bonn currently shares the status of Germany's seat of government with Berlin, with the President, the Chancellor and many government ministries (such as Food & Agriculture and Defence) maintaining large presences in Bonn. Over 8,000 of the 18,000 federal officials remain in Bonn.[4] A total of 19 United Nations (UN) institutions operate from Bonn today.

The city council of Bonn used to be based in the Rococo-style and 1737 built Altes Rathaus (old city hall) adjacent to Bonn's central market square. However, due to the enlargement of Bonn in 1969 through the incorporation of Beuel and Bad Godesberg, it moved into the larger Stadthaus facilities further up north. This was necessary for the city council to accommodate the increased number of representatives. The mayor of Bonn still sits in the Altes Rathaus, which is also used for representative and official purposes.

As of the 2020–2025 election cycle, the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Greens (Bündnis'90/Die Grünen) hold 17 seats respectively, followed by the Social Democrats (SPD) with 11 seats, the local Bürgerbund Bonn with 5 seats, the Liberals (FDP) and Volt with 3 seats respectively, the Left (Die Linke) with 4 seats, , the Alternative for Germany (AfD) with 2 seats, and independent candidates with a total of 4 seats. There are currently 66 seats in the city council of Bonn.[17]

The Stadthaus, home of the city council of Bonn.

The mayor is Katja Dörner (Bündnis '90/Die Grünen), elected in 2020.[18]

Four delegates represent the Federal city of Bonn in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The last election took place in May 2017. The current delegates are Guido Déus (CDU), Christos Katzidis (CDU), Joachim Stamp (FDP) and Franziska Müller-Rech (FDP).

Bonn's constituency is called Bundeswahlkreis Bonn (096). In the German federal election 2017, Ulrich Kelber (SPD) was elected a member of German Federal parliament, the Bundestag by direct mandate. It is his fifth term. Katja Dörner representing Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and Alexander Graf Lambsdorff for FDP were eleceted as well. Kelber resigned in 2019 because he was appointed Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information. As Dörner was elected Lord Mayer of Bonn in September 2020, she resigned as a member of parliament after her entry into office.

• Bonn Minster[19]
• Doppelkirche Schwarzrheindorf built in 1151
• Old Cemetery Bonn (Alter Friedhof), one of the best known cemeteries in Germany[20]
• Kreuzbergkirche, built in 1627 with Johann Balthasar Neumann's Heilige Stiege, it is a stairway for Christian pilgrims[21]
• St. Remigius, where Beethoven was baptized

• Godesburg fortress ruins[22][23]

Beethovenhalle

• Beethovenhalle
• Bundesviertel (federal quarter) with many government structures including
  • Post Tower, the tallest building in the state North Rhine-Westphalia, housing the headquarters of Deutsche Post/DHL
  • Maritim Bonn, five-star hotel and convention centre
  • Schürmann-Bau, headquarters of Deutsche Welle
  • Langer Eugen, since 2006 the centre of the United Nations Campus, formerly housing the offices of the members of the German parliament
• Deutsche Telekom headquarters
• T-Mobile headquarters
• Kameha Grand, five-star hotel

The Bundeskunsthalle focuses on the cultural heritage outside of Germany or Europe, at the crossroads of culture, the arts, and science.

Just as Bonn's other four major museums, the Haus der Geschichte or Museum of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany, is located on the so-called Museumsmeile ("Museum Mile"). The Haus der Geschichte is one of the foremost German museums of contemporary German history, with branches in Berlin and Leipzig. In its permanent exhibition, the Haus der Geschichte presents German history from 1945 until the present, also shedding light on Bonn's own role as former capital of West Germany. Numerous temporary exhibitions emphasize different features, such as Nazism or important personalities in German history.[24]

The Kunstmuseum Bonn or Bonn Museum of Modern Art is an art museum founded in 1947. The Kunstmuseum exhibits both temporary exhibitions and its permanent collection. The latter is focused on Rhenish Expressionism and post-war German art.[25] German artists on display include Georg Baselitz, Joseph Beuys, Hanne Darboven, Anselm Kiefer, Blinky Palermo and Wolf Vostell. The museum owns one of the largest collections of artwork by Expressionist painter August Macke. His work is also on display in the August-Macke-Haus, located in Macke's former home where he lived from 1911 to 1914.

The Museum Koenig is Bonn's natural history museum.

The Bundeskunsthalle (full name: Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland or Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany), focuses on the crossroads of culture, arts, and science. To date, it attracted more than 17 million visitors.[26] One of its main objectives is to show the cultural heritage outside of Germany or Europe.[27] Next to its changing exhibitions, the Bundeskunsthalle regularly hosts concerts, discussion panels, congresses, and lectures.

The Museum Koenig is Bonn's natural history museum. Affiliated with the University of Bonn, it is also a zoological research institution housing the Leibniz-Institut für Biodiversität der Tiere. Politically interesting, it is on the premises of the Museum Koenig where the Parlamentarischer Rat first met.[28] The Deutsches Museum Bonn, affiliated with one of the world's foremost science museums, the Deutsches Museum in Munich, is an interactive science museum focusing on post-war German scientists, engineers, and inventions.[29] Other museums include the Beethoven House, birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven,[30] the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn (Rhinish Regional Museum Bonn),[31] the Bonn Women's Museum, the Rheinisches Malermuseum and the Arithmeum.

Drachenburg Castle in the Siebengebirge south of Bonn.

There are several parks, leisure and protected areas in and around Bonn. The Rheinaue is Bonn's most important leisure park, with its role being comparable to what Central Park is for New York City. It lies on the banks of the Rhine and is the city's biggest park intra muros.[32] The Rhine promenade and the Alter Zoll (Old Toll Station) are in direct neighbourhood of the city centre and are popular amongst both residents and visitors. The Arboretum Park Härle is an arboretum with specimens dating to back to 1870. The Botanischer Garten (Botanical Garden) is affiliated with the university and it is here where Titan arum set a world record.[33] The natural reserve of Kottenforst is a large area of protected woods on the hills west of the city centre. It is about 40 square kilometres (15 square miles) in area and part of the Rhineland Nature Park (1,045 km² or 403 sq mi).[34]

In the very south of the city, on the border with Wachtberg and Rhineland-Palatinate, there is an extinct volcano, the Rodderberg, featuring a popular area for hikes. Also south of the city, there is the Siebengebirge which is part of the lower half of the Middle Rhine region. The nearby upper half of the Middle Rhine from Bingen to Koblenz is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with more than 40 castles and fortresses from the Middle Ages and important German vineyards.

The international airport of Cologne and Bonn (IATA: CGN) is Germany's seventh-largest.

Named after Konrad Adenauer, the first post-war Chancellor of West Germany, Cologne Bonn Airport is situated 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) north-east from the city centre of Bonn. With around 10.3 million passengers passing through it in 2015, it is the seventh-largest passenger airport in Germany and the third-largest in terms of cargo operations. By traffic units, which combines cargo and passengers, the airport is in fifth position in Germany.[35] As of March 2015, Cologne Bonn Airport had services to 115 passenger destinations in 35 countries.[36] The airport is one of Germany's few 24-hour airports, and is a hub for Eurowings and cargo operators FedEx Express and UPS Airlines.

The federal motorway (Autobahn) A59 connects the airport with the city. Long distance and regional trains to and from the airport stop at Cologne/Bonn Airport station. Other major airports within a one-hour drive by car are Frankurt International Airport and Düsseldorf International Airport.

Bonn Hauptbahnhof, Bonn's busiest railway station, is connected to Bonn's partly underground U-Bahn network.

Bonn's central railway station, Bonn Hauptbahnhof, serves urban (S-Bahn, U-Bahn, sharing the same network with the neighbouring city of Cologne), regional (Regionalbahn), and long-distance destinations (ICE) such as Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris. Daily, more than 67,000 people travel via Bonn Hauptbahnhof. In late 2016, around 80 long distance and more than 165 regional trains departed to or from Bonn every day.[37][38][39] The other major railway station (Siegburg/Bonn) lies on the high-speed rail line between Cologne and Frankfurt.

The bus system of Bonn is composed of roughly 30 lines which operate on a regular basis. During peaks, buses usually run every 5 minutes; off-peak buses run every 20 minutes. Several lines offer night services, especially during the weekends. Bonn is part of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg (Rhine-Sieg Transport Association) which is the public transport association covering the area of the Cologne/Bonn Region.

Road network adjacent to Bonn.

Four Autobahns run through or are adjacent to Bonn: the A59 (right bank of the Rhine, connecting Bonn with Düsseldorf and Duisburg), the A555 (left bank of the Rhine, connecting Bonn with Cologne), the A562 (connecting the right with the left bank of the Rhine south of Bonn), and the A565 (connecting the A59 and the A555 with the A61 to the southwest). Three Bundesstraßen, which have a general 100 kilometres per hour (62 miles per hour) speed limit in contrast to the Autobahn, connect Bonn to its immediate surroundings (Bundesstraßen B9, B42 and B56).

With Bonn being divided into two parts by the Rhine, three bridges are crucial for inner-city road traffic: the Konrad-Adenauer-Brücke (A562), the Friedrich-Ebert-Brücke (A565), and the Kennedybrücke (B56). In addition, regular ferries operate between Bonn-Mehlem and Königswinter, Bonn-Bad Godesberg and Niederdollendorf, and Graurheindorf and Mondorf.

Located in the northern sub-district of Graurheindorf, the inland harbour of Bonn is used for container traffic as well as oversea transport. The annual turnover amounts to around 500,000 t (490,000 long tons; 550,000 short tons). Regular passenger transport occurs to Cologne and Düsseldorf.

• Aloisiuskolleg, a Jesuit private school in Bad Godesberg with boarding facilities
• Amos-Comenius-Gymnasium, a Protestant private school in Bad Godesberg
• Bonn International School (BIS), a private English-speaking school set in the former American Compound in the Rheinaue, which offers places from kindergarten to 12th grade. It follows the curriculum of the International Baccalaureate.
• Libysch Schule, private Arabic high school
• Independent Bonn International School, (IBIS) private primary school (serving from kindergarten, reception, and years 1 to 6)
• École de Gaulle - Adenauer, private French-speaking school serving grades pre-school ("maternelle") to grade 4 (CM1)
• Kardinal-Frings-Gymnasium (KFG), private catholic school of the Archdiocese of Cologne in Beuel
• Liebfrauenschule (LFS), private catholic school of the Archdiocese of Cologne
• Sankt-Adelheid-Gymnasium, private catholic school of the Archdiocese of Cologne in Beuel
• Clara-Fey-Gymnasium, private Catholic school of the Archdiocese of Cologne in Bad Godesberg
• Ernst-Kalkuhl-Gymnasium, private boarding and day school in Oberkassel
• Otto-Kühne-Schule ("PÄDA"), private day school in Bad Godesberg
• Collegium Josephinum Bonn ("CoJoBo"), private catholic day school
• Akademie für Internationale Bildung, private higher educational facility offering programs for international students

Former

• King Fahd Academy, private Islamic school in Bad Godesberg

The city of Bonn is twinned with:[45]

• Tel Aviv, Israel, since 1983[45]
• Potsdam, Germany, since 1988[45][46]

Bonn city district has partnerships with:

• Oxford, United Kingdom, since 1947[45][47]
• Budapest, Budafok, Hungary, since 1991[45]
• Opole, Poland, since 1997[45][48]

Bad Godesberg district has partnerships with:[45][49]

• Saint-Cloud, France, since 1957
• Frascati, Italy, since 1957
• Kortrijk, Belgium, since 1957
• Windsor and Maidenhead, United Kingdom, since 1960

The city of Bonn also has project partnerships with:

Ludwig van Beethoven

Moses Hess

Alexander Koenig

Eduard Krebsbach

• Johann Peter Salomon, baptized 20 February 1745 † 25 November 1815 in London, musician
• Franz Anton Ries, * 10 November 1755 † 1 November 1846 in Bonn, violinist and violin teacher
• Ludwig van Beethoven, * 16 December 1770 † 26 March 1827 in Vienna, composer
• Salomon Oppenheim, Jr., * 19 June 1772 † 8 November 1828 in Mainz, banker
• Peter Joseph Lenné, * 29 September 1789 † 23 January 1866 in Potsdam, gardener and landscape architect
• Friedrich von Gerolt, * 5 March 1797 † 27 July 1879 in Linz, diplomat
• Karl Joseph Simrock, * 28 August 1802 † 18 July 1876 in Bonn, writer and specialist in German
• Wilhelm Neuland, * July 1806 † 28 December 1889 in Bonn, composer and conductor
• Johanna Kinkel, * 8 July 1810 † 15 November 1858 in London, composer and writer
• Moses Hess, * 21 June 1812 † 6 April 1875 in Paris, philosopher and writer
• Johann Gottfried Kinkel, * 11 August 1815 † 12 November 1882 in Zürich, theologian, writer, and politician
• Alexander Kaufmann, * 14 May 1817 † 1 May 1893 in Wertheim, author and archivist
• Leopold Kaufmann, * 13 March 1821 † 27 February 1898 in Bonn, mayor
• Julius von Haast, * 1 May 1822 † 16 August 1887 in Christchurch, New Zealand, professor of geology
• Dietrich Brandis, * 31 March 1824 † 28 May 1907 in Bonn, botanist
• Balduin Möllhausen, * 27 January 1825 † 28 May 1905 in Berlin, traveler and writer
• Maurus Wolter, * 4 June 1825 † 8 July 1890 in Beuron, Benedictine, founder and first abbot of the Abbey of Beuron and Beuronese Congregation
• August Reifferscheid, * 3 October 1835 † 10 November 1887 in Strasbourg, philologist
• Antonius Maria Bodewig, * 2 November 1839 † 8 January 1915 in Rome, Jesuit missionary and founder
• Nathan Zuntz, * 7 October 1847 † 23 March 1920 in Berlin, physician
• Alexander Koenig, * 20 February 1858 † 16 July 1940 in Blücherhof, Klocksin, zoologist, founder of Museum Koenig in Bonn
• Alfred Philippson, * 1 January 1864 † 28 March 1953 in Bonn, geographer
• Johanna Elberskirchen, * 11 April 1864 † 17 May 1943 in Rüdersdorf, feminist writer and activist
• Max Alsberg, * 16 October 1877 † 10 September 1933, lawyer
• Kurt Wolff, * 3 March 1887 † 21 October 1963, publisher
• Hans Riegel (senior), * 3 April 1893 † 31 March 1945, entrepreneur
• Eduard Krebsbach, * 8 August 1894 † 28 May 1947 in Landsberg am Lech, SS doctor in Nazi Mauthausen concentration camp, executed for war crimes
• Paul Kemp, * 20 May 1896 † 13 August 1953 in Bonn, actor

Klaus Barbie

Heide Simonis

• Hermann Josef Abs, * 15 October 1901 † 5 February 1994 in Bad Soden am Taunus, board member of the Deutsche Bank
• Paul Ludwig Landsberg, * 3 December 1901 † 2 April 1944 in Sachsenhausen concentration camp, philosopher
• Heinrich Lützeler, * 27 January 1902 † 13 June 1988 in Bonn, philosopher, art historian, and literary scholar
• Helmut Horten, * 8 January 1909 † , 30 November 1987, entrepreneur
• Theodor Schieffer, * 11 June 1910 † 9 April 1992, historian and medievalist
• Irene Sänger-Bredt, * 24 April 1911 † 20 October 1983 in Stuttgart, mathematician and physicist
• Ernst Friedrich Schumacher, * 16 August 1911 † 4 September 1977 in the train between Geneva and Lausanne, economist
• Klaus Barbie, * 25 October 1913 † 25 September 1991 in Lyon, Nazi SS and Gestapo war criminal, the "Butcher of Lyon"
• Karl-Theodor Molinari, * 7 February 1915 † 11 December 1993 in Dortmund, General and founding chairman of the German Armed Forces Association
• Karlrobert Kreiten, * 26 June 1916 in Bad Godesberg † 7 September 1943 in Berlin-Plotzensee, pianist
• Hans Walter Zech-Nenntwich * 10 July 1916 in Toruń, Second Polish Republic, SS Cavalry member and war criminal
• Walther Killy (1917–1985), German literary scholar, Der Killy
• Hannjo Hasse, * 31 August 1921 † 5 February 1983 in Falkirk, actor
• Walter Gotell, * 15 March 1924 † 5 May 1997 in London, actor
• Walter Eschweiler, born 20 September 1935, football referee
• Alexandra Cordes, * 16 November 1935 † 27 October 1986 in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, writer
• Joachim Bißmeier, born 22 November 1936, actor
• Roswitha Esser, born 18 January 1941, canoeist, gold medal winner at the Olympic Games in 1964 and 1968, Sportswoman of the Year 1964
• Heide Simonis, born 4 July 1943, politician (SPD), former Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, since 2005 honorary chairman of UNICEF Germany
• Paul Alger, born 13 August 1943, football player
• Johannes Mötsch, born 8 July 1949, archivist and historian
• Klaus Ludwig, born 5 October 1949, race car driver

• Günter Ollenschläger, born 3 March 1951 in Beuel, medical and science journalist
• Hans "Hannes" Bongartz, born 3 October 1951, football player and coach
• Christa Goetsch, born 28 August 1952, politician (Alliance '90 / The Greens)
• Thomas de Maizière, born 21 January 1954, politician (CDU), former Minister of Defence and of the Interior
• Gerd Faltings, born 28 July 1954, mathematician, Fields Medal winner
• Olaf Manthey, born 21 April 1955, former touring car racing driver
• Michael Kühnen, * 21 June 1955 † 25 April 1991 in Kassel, Neo-Nazi
• Roger Willemsen, * 15 August 1955 † 7 February 2016 in Wentorf, publicist, author, essayist, and presenter
• Norman Rentrop, born 26 October 1957, publisher, author, and investor
• Markus Maria Profitlich, born 25 March 1960, comedian and actor
• Guido Westerwelle, * 27 December 1961 † 8 March 2016, politician (FDP), Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011
• Mathias Dopfner, born 15 January 1963, chief executive officer of Axel Springer AG
• Nikolaus Blome, born 16 September 1963, journalist
• Maxim Kontsevich, born 25 August 1964, mathematician, Fields Medal winner
• Johannes B. Kerner, born 9 December 1964, TV presenter, Abitur at the Aloisiuskolleg, and studied in Bonn
• Anthony Baffoe, born 25 May 1965 football player, sports presenter, and actor
• Sonja Zietlow, born 13 May 1968, TV presenter
• Burkhard Garweg, born 1 September 1968, member of the Red Army Faction
• Sabriye Tenberken, born 19 September 1970, Tibetologist, founder of Braille Without Borders
• Thorsten Libotte, born 20 July 1972, writer
• Tamara Gräfin von Nayhauß, born 23 July 1972, television presenter
• Silke Bodenbender, born 31 January 1974, actress
• Juli Zeh, born 30 June 1974, writer
• Oliver Mintzlaff, born 19 August 1975, track and field athlete and sports manager, CEO of RB Leipzig
• Markus Dieckmann, born 7 January 1976, beach volleyball player
• Bernadette Heerwagen, born 22 June 1977, actress
• Melanie Amann, born 1978, journalist
• Bushido, born 28 September 1978, musician and rapper
• Sebastian Stahl, born 20 September 1978, race car driver
• Sonja Fuss, born 5 November 1978, football player
• Andreas Tölzer, born 27 January 1980, judoka
• Jens Hartwig, born 16 April 1980, actor
• Natalie Horler, born 23 September 1981, front woman of the Dance Project Cascada
• Marcel Ndjeng, born 6 May 1982, football player
• Marc Zwiebler, born 13 March 1984, badminton player
• Benjamin Barg, born 15 September 1984, football player
• Alexandros Margaritis, born 20 September 1984, race car driver
• Ken Miyao, born 16 March 1986, pop singer
• Julia Reda, born 30 November 1986, politician
• Peter Scholze, born 11 December 1987, mathematician, Fields Medal winner
• Célia Okoyino da Mbabi, born 27 June 1988, football player
• Luke Mockridge, born 21 March 1989, comedian and author
• Pius Heinz, born 4 May 1989, poker player, 2011 WSOP Main Event champion
• Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann, born 20 February 1990, basketball player
• Levina, born 1 May 1991, singer
• Bienvenue Basala-Mazana, born 2 January 1992, football player
• Annika Beck, born 16 February 1994, tennis player
• James Hyndman, born 23 April 1962, stage actor
• Konstanze Klosterhalfen, born 18 February 1997, track and field athlete