Six out of the 14 Federal Ministries have their first seat on the Rhine. They represent the political fields as determined by the Berlin/Bonn Act: education and science, culture, research and technology, telecommunication, environment and health, food, agriculture and forestry, development policy, defense. More than 20 federal authorities, amongst them the Federal Cartel Office and the Federal Court of Audit have moved from Berlin and Frankfurt to Bonn in order to partially compensate for the loss of ministerial jobs. Thus Bonn – with the title of federal City adopted from a Swiss tradition - has become a second political focus within the strong federal system of the German Republic.

The idea to transform Bonn into a center for international cooperation already formed part of the parliamentary vote in 1991. Since then, a great number of organizations working in the international field have been attracted to the city. Together with about 150 non-governmental organizations they form a strong network. The most important success in the field of international activities, however, has been the settlement of currently twenty United Nations organizations, amongst them the UN Climate Secretariat (UNFCCC). International activities concentrate on development cooperation, ecological topics and crisis prevention. Their common denominator is ‘UN Bonn – Shaping a Sustainable Future’.

Since the summer of 2006, the nucleus of the international Bonn is the United Nations Campus next to the World Conference Center Bonn, which has been enlarged and tailored to the needs of UN Bonn. The UN organizations have moved into the former office building of members of parliament.

By hosting a number of large conferences over the past years, Bonn has repeatedly proven its capacities as a convention city. Two World Climate Summits, the International Conference on Freshwater and the United Nations Talks on Afghanistan, an International Conference for Renewable Energies and the Conference of the Parties of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in May 2008 are only some examples. A highlight was the World Climate Conference in 2017, when the world visited Bonn. Around 22,000 people from more than 190 countries took part in COP 23 from 6 to 17 November 2017. 

Since the relocation of the Deutsche Welle broadcasting corporation to Bonn in 2003, the location’s international image is transported to all corners of the world.

Embedded in the scientific triangle formed by the cities of Aachen, Bonn and Cologne, called the ABC region and renowned as the most compact region of scientific research and technology in Europe, Bonn has acquired an international reputation as a scientific location.

The nucleus is the university founded in 1818 with roughly 35,000 students today. In addition, new institutes, research centers and universities of applied sciences have been created during these last years. Last but not least, Bonn hosts several leading German authorities and organizations fostering and promoting science.

Scientific highlights in the region include the Max Planck Institute’s "Center of Advanced European Studies and Research" (caesar), which conducts research on neurosciences, cell biology and biophysics with a focus on neurons and neural networks; and LIFE&BRAIN, a center of excellence in the field of translational biomedicine. With the DZNE research institute, Bonn hosts one of the six German institutes for health research on the most important and widespread diseases. Last not least, Bonn hosts a series of leading German organizations fostering and promoting science.

The services sector ranks first in Bonn’s business world. Several global players have decided to establish their headquarters in Bonn, amongst them the Deutsche Post DHL Group and Deutsche Telekom, along with numerous subsidiaries. In terms of stock exchange value of the companies based in the city, Bonn ranks second Germany-wide. The IT sector alone employs approximately 10,000 people in Bonn in several larger and a greater number of medium-sized enterprises, making Bonn the number 4 of Germany’s IT locations.

Being birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven, music ranks very high in Bonn. The annual Beethoven Festival has become an important event to promote the composer’s works. Preparations for Beethoven’s 250th anniversary in 2020 are well under way. The row of new museums along the Museum Mile attract a great number of visitors: the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany, Bonn’s Art Museum, the House of Contemporary History of the Federal Republic of Germany, Museum Alexander Koenig and Deutsches Museum Bonn welcome more than one million visitors every year. Moreover, the city offers a lively and strong cultural scene boosting a great variety of cultural events.

Bonn today is a city with over 327,000 inhabitants and its figures reveal a rare phenomenon in German cities: statistics show an excess of births over deaths.

Hotel business registers almost 1.5 million overnight stays per year.

Since July 1996, Bonn has been entitled to call itself a UN City. Ten years later, in July 2006, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel was able to hand over the new branch office of the United Nations to former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Today, it constitutes the main building on Bonn’s UN Campus. The Federal Government had invested EUR 55 million into refurbishing the high-rise building, which used to accommodate MP offices and is widely known by its nickname ‘Tall Eugene’ (after the first name of a former President of Parliament). Almost all UN units residing in Bonn are assembled under its roof. The other, older MP office building was rebuilt as an ecological pilot project to serve as the seat of the UN Climate Secretariat (UNFCCC) and was completed in autumn 2013.

In summer 2015 the new World Conference Center Bonn was inaugurated in the presence of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Large UN conferences can now be hosted in state-of-the-art facilities in Bonn. To meet increasing demands of UN Bonn, the foundations stone for a new extension building on the UN Campus were laid in fall of 2016.

True to the motto ‘Shaping a Sustainable Future’ the United Nations in Bonn have adopted an overarching common theme. With roughly 20 organizations and 1,000 staff, UN Bonn helps governments and humankind to find answers and ways to achieve a sustainable future on our planet. The UN organizations in Bonn are the following:

• UNFCCC - Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, unfccc.int
• UNCCD - Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, unccd.int
• UNV - United Nations Volunteers programme, unv.org
• UN SDG ActionCampaign - Sustainable Development Goals Action Campaign, sdgactioncampaign.org
• UNEP/CMS: Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, cms.int
• UNEP/AEWA - Secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, unep-aewa.org
• UNEP/ASCOBANS - Secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas, ascobans.org
• UNEP/EUROBATS - Secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation of the Populations of European Bats, eurobats.org
• IPBES - Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, ipbes.net
• UNESCO-UNEVOC - UNESCO International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training,
• UNU-ViE - United Nations University, Vice Rectorate in Europe
• UNU-ViE SCYCLE - United Nations University, Vice Rectorate in Europe – Sustainable Cycles Programme,
• UNU-EHS - United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security
• UNSSC - UN System Staff College Knowledge Centre for Sustainable Development
• WHO/ECEH - World Health Organization, European Centre for Environment and Health
• UNISDR - Secretariat of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
• UN-SPIDER - United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response
• UNRIC - United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe
• UNIDO ITPO – UNIDO Investment and Technology Promotion Office

These units are complemented by international law organizations, such as the Global Crops Diversity Trust and the IRENA Innovation and Technology Center.

Bonn’s UN Campus provides to all these organizations ideal working conditions and an environment rich in synergies. A special advantage is the close neighborhood to the World Conference Center Bonn and to many important partners and points of contact. This offers an excellent environment for cooperative action, quick communication and interaction among UN organizations, federal ministries and federal superior authorities, the roughly 150 non-governmental organizations, Bonn-based research institutes and the resident economic global players. With their topics and their competence, they all determine the city’s profile as an international location. Collaboration and dialogue on issues of sustainable and humane development among this diversity of actors in Bonn have turned the city into a hub for sustainability.

This synergy network of sustainability is reinforced by numerous partners from the areas of politics, resident organizations, industry, science, culture and NGOs of international scope. Among the latter are not only German organizations engaging in international issues and activities, but also approximately twenty international non-governmental organizations which have established their headquarters in Bonn since 1990. Examples of resident organizations include:

• The Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC) commits itself to the conversion of resources formerly used for military ends into resources for civil purposes, performing vital work in areas of crisis   www.bicc.de
• The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has successfully coordinated the Paralympics from Bonn since 1999,  www.ipc.org
• Fair Trade Labelling Organisations International (FLO) coordinates and supports the work of the national Transfair Organisations  www.fairtrade.net
• The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is an international NGO working towards worldwide sustainable forest management by means of forest certification on the basis of comparable Standards  www.fsc.org
• The Right Livelihood College, in cooperation with the awardees of the so-called Alternative Nobel Prize, offers an innovative location for education and research in the field of sustainability  www.rlc-bonn.de

Conference activities in Bonn are equally geared towards themes of global sustainability. Germany’s United Nations City provides new platforms to constructive dialogue at national, international and supranational level. Time and again, fresh momentum emanates from Bonn and its actors on the road towards worldwide sustainable development. Whether climate, desertification, water, soil, gender equality, biodiversity or early warning – Bonn has developed into a competence center for environment and development issues and policies.

As a conference venue, Bonn was able to prove competence and expertise on many occasions. With the regular Bonn Climate Talks, Bonn plays an important role in the international climate process. Many other international conferences take place in the city, such as the annual Global Media Forum hosted by Deutsche Welle in Bonn or the Resilient Cities conference series as an important conference format in the field of cities and climate adaptation. Bonn’s name became well-known during the Climate Summits in 1999 and 2001, the Afghanistan Talks hosted at the Petersberg near Bonn in 2001 and 2002, the International Conference on Freshwater in 2001, the International Conference on Renewable Energies in 2004, the International Conference on Early Warning in 2006, The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity in 2008 and the NGO Conference of the UN Department for Public Information (DPI/NGO) in 2011. In 2015, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee met in Bonn. And around 22,000 participants from more than 190 countries attended the World Climate Conference in 2017.

Bonn’s central theme is sustainability – and the City is walking its talk: at local level, for the people in Bonn. Internationally, the City is active in a number of networks, such as ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability and the World Mayors Council on Climate Change (with Bonn’s Mayor being member of the boards), as well as the Climate Alliance of Cities. Bonn cooperates with other cities, networks and UN organizations to advance sustainability-related issues. In the field of local-government cooperation, Bonn strikes a new path by maintaining sustainability-oriented project partnerships with cities around the globe. These include Minsk (Belarus), Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Bukhara (Uzbekistan), La Paz (Bolivia), Cape Coast (Ghana) and Chengdu (China). The partnerships focus on joint projects and experience exchange on environment and development issues. The commitment made by the City of Bonn for the promotion of sustainable development was consolidated with a respective decision taken by the City Council on 25 February 2016. This decision regarded the support of the United Nations Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals as laid down thereby. Bonn does not only act as host city and international location, but has become an actor in the field sustainability.

The foundations for Bonn’s international profile today were laid in the Berlin-Bonn Act of 26 April 1994, which stipulates the central task of developing Bonn into a center of development policy and a location for national, international and supranational organizations. This German center of international relations was further enhanced by the transfer from Berlin to Bonn of important organizations of development policy, most importantly GIZ, which took its first seat in the city to become the largest of the approximately 150 governmental, semi-governmental, church and private organizations working from Bonn towards development worldwide.

There are, moreover, science and research organizations as well as scientific institutions entertaining an intensive international exchange, such as the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG – German Research Council), Hochschulrektorenkonferenz (HRK – German Rectors’ Conference), Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD – German Academic Exchange Service) and the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation (AvH). The foundation of the Centre of Development Research at the University of Bonn (Zentrum für Entwicklungsforschung – ZEF) and the Centre of European Integration Studies (Zentrum für Europäische Integrationsforschung – ZEI) was sponsored with funds that became available under the Compensation Agreement. The ZEF above all entertains close cooperation with development organizations, building a bridge between science and practical experience. The German Institute for Development Policy (Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik – DIE) acts at the interface of research and development cooperation.

To improve networking among the scientific community and international institutions in Bonn, the City and the University of Bonn have signed a cooperation agreement in 2014. The agreement is filled with life by the University’s International Science Forum and by the Liaison Office for International Academic Sciences of the City of Bonn. Networks like BION, the interdisciplinary network of internationally-oriented biodiversity research in Bonn build further bridges to the topics of the United Nations Bonn.

Bonn as an international location and platform of international dialogue is not a meaningless concept. Bonn makes excellent use of its opportunities to become the German competence center for issues that will determine our future, bringing together many partners of international scope to that end. Twenty one years of United Nations Bonn epitomize the important steps that have been taken on our way towards a sustainable future and the many new alliances that have been forged to reach this global goal!

• The „Villa Hammerschmidt“, with its large park, is the seat of the President of the Federal Republik of Germany in Bonn
• The former chancellor´s office is now the seat of the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), while the second official seat of the chancellor is in the Palais Schaumburg
• The "Tulpenfeld" is home to several development aid organisations, the German Institute for Development Policy (Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik - DIE) and the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur)
• German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle: its programs are transmitted from Bonn to all corners of the globe.
• Deutsche Post DHL has moved into the Post Tower, the building of its headquarters, just south of the Deutsche Welle studios. The building, 162.5 metres (appr. 530 ft) tall, was designed by the architect Helmut Jahn and has become the new landmark of the structural change in Bonn
• Deutsche Telekom AG continues to expand in Bonn. The enterprise had two spacious office-buildings constructed opposite its corporate headquarters and connected the two complexes by means of a glass skywalk
• Extending the radius a little further, you will find the Museum Mile  with the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany), the Kunstmuseum Bonn (Bonn Museum of Modern Art), the Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig (Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig) and the Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (German National Museum of Contemporary History)
• A hub of German development policy has evolved right beside it with the Bonn headquarters of the German Society for International Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH - GIZ) in the "Mäanderbau" (Meander Building), which has also just been extended by another building

Bonn is the native city of Ludwig van Beethoven who was born here in 1770. This ´gift of history´ implies a particular responsibility for the City to preserve the memory of the composer’s ingenious creativity and oeuvre and to exploit to the full both the artistic and social potentials of this unique artist. The Beethoven Orchester Bonn is the orchestra of the Bonn Opera and is counted among Germany’s most renowned cultural orchestras. Moreover, the distinguished orchestra (e.g. six Echo Awards´ in classical music) plays an important role as a ´cultural ambassador´ of the City of Bonn. The home of the Beethoven Orchester Bonn, the Beethovenhalle, which was opened in 1959, is currently being extensively renovated and modernised.

Every September/October, Bonn celebrates the Beethoven Fest which attracts both national and international interest. The Beethovenfest presents leading international orchestras, outstanding ensembles, prominent soloists and talented young musicians. The City of Bonn has founded a company named the Beethoven Jubiläums GmbH to prepare for the year of Beethoven’s 250th birthday in 2020. The Bonn Schumannfest has since 1998 been focusing on the musical oeuvre of Robert and Clara Schumann, presenting ever since talented young musicians and renowned choirs in its festival programme.

Bonn´s tradition as a theatre city goes back as far as the era of the Electors. The art-loving citizens, however, had the first theatre built for themselves in 1826. In 1965, a new building was inaugurated for Theater Bonn on the banks of the Rhine; its Grand Hall with 1037 seats is today used mainly by the Bonn Opera, but also offers a stage for international dance performances. The drama theatre has a building of its own in the borough of Bad Godesberg and another location in the Workshop Theatre at the Opera House. The private theatre scene is also worth mentioning: the ´Contra-Kreis Theater´ near the University, ´Das Kleine Theater´ in Bad Godesberg, the ´Eurotheater Central´ in Bonn’s pedestrian precinct are part of it as are ´Das Junge Theater Bonn´ (´The Young Theatre´) and ´theater marabu´in Beuel. ‘Brotfabrik’ in Beuel (a former bread factory), ´Theater im Keller (tik- ´Theatre in the Basement´) in Duisdorf complete the picture. The Pantheon theatre, which found a new home in Beuel in 2016, is known throughout Germany

for its satirical, comedy and cabaret performances. The improvisation theatre ‘Haus der Springmaus’ (´House of the Jumping Mouse´) and the ´Jubiläums-Ensemble´ (´Jubilee Ensemble´) in the ´Altes Ballhaus´ (´Old Ballroom´) have settled in the Endenich district, the ´Ballhaus´ being shared by the ´fringe ensemble´ and ´cocoon dance´. Another new attraction that has been delighting its audiences with outstanding artists and fantastic shows since 2016 is the GOP Varieté-Theater in the Bonn Marriott World Conference Hotel.

The Cultural Office of Bonn has been presenting Bonn’s music and independent art and culture in a series of "Stadtgartenkonzerte" (city garden concerts) at the Alte Zoll since 2012 and its new "Stadtmusik" Festivals (city music) in the city centre since 2015.

Also in 2012, another event series saw the light of day owing to private initiative: ´Kunst!Rasen´ (Art!Lawn) provides a stage on the Gronau green close to the Rhine for international artists of Pop and Rock Music. The Jazzfest Bonn has been established in 2010 as the festival of contemporary improvisation music in Bonn. Top-class national and international jazz groups present their current programmes at selected venues within a period of ten to twelve days.

Last but not least, literature also has its established place in Bonn. World-famous authors spent productive years here, and since the 19th century, the study of literature in Bonn has acquired a degree of renown reaching far beyond national borders, and to this day Bonn’s literature scene lives in the tension produced by diverse regional and international reference points.

Since its inauguration in 2011, the Literaturhaus Bonn e.V. (Literature House Bonn) serves as a place of meeting with writers, of mediation, promotion of reading, advising authors or the exchange between readers. Activities take place at different venues in Bonn. The Cultural Office has also made a high-profile contribution to promoting reading skills and fascination for literature among children with the annual "Rheinischen Lesefest Käpt’n Book" reading festival, which was expanded and networked throughout the region in 2010. In Summer 2015, the central library of Stadtbibliothek Bonn (Bonn City Library) and the Volkshochschule (Adult Education Centre) moved into their new home in Haus der Bildung (House of Education) at Mülheimer Platz.

The Bonn Silent Film Festival (Bonner Stummfilm-Festival), organised by the Silent Film Friends’ Association, is in its way a unique event in Germany and enjoys worldwide fame among cineasts. It attracts an enthusiastic audience to the Arcade Court of the University every year.

The Museum Mile (‘Museumsmeile´) is Bonn’s major attraction for lovers of art and culture from all over the world. The Museum of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany (´Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland´), the ´Art and Exposition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany´ (´Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland´) and the ´Bonn Museum of Art´ (´Kunstmuseum Bonn´) have made a name for themselves in the German and

European museum scene since their inaugurations in 1992 and 1994 respectively. The traditional Museum Alexander Koenig and the ´Deutsches Museum Bonn´. (´German Museum Bonn´) complete the Museum Mile.

The objective of the Haus der Geschichte is to present an illustrative and informative narrative of contemporary history. The permanent exhibition covers 4,000 square metres and displays photos, documents and, above all, original objects relating to German history. ´August Macke and the Rhenish Expressionists´ is a central theme of the collection of the Kunstmuseum (Museum of Art), another one exhibits German Art since 1945 in the spectacular museum building designed by the Berlin architect Axel Schultes. The Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle (Arts and Exhibition Hall), designed by Gustav Peichl is used for temporary exhibitions, and presents national and international cultural trends but also includes science and technology. The Federal Arts and Exhibition Hall and the House of History happen two of the most frequented museums of Germany. The Museum Koenig ranks among Germany´s most important zoological museums. Under the headline ´The Blue Planet´ it has been revamped into an ecological information centre of a novel

kind. Milestones of research from the past fifty years are presented on over 1,500 square metres in the ´Deutsches Museum Bonn´. (´German Museum Bonn´). The approximately 100 original exhibits in the Science Centre range from the Maglev-Train to the ion trap, for which latter a Nobel Prize was awarded.

The City Museums are situated in downtown Bonn within walking distance to each other. Among them are such top-class institutions as the renowned Beethoven House, one of the most important memorial places of culture world-wide, the Academic Museum of Art with one of the largest and oldest collections of casts of ancient sculptures. The Memorial to the Bonn Victims of National Socialism (Gedenkstätte für die Bonner Opfer des Nationalsozialismus). And the Bonn City Museum (StadtMuseum Bonn) present their exhibition and, respectively, collection of exhibits in the Franziskanerstrasse in the immediate neighbourhood of the Old City Hall (Altes Rathaus).

The ´Arithmeum´, on one side of the Hofgarten green, boasts a unique collection of historic and still operational calculating machines. A number of other organisations have joined forces in the Macke-neighbourhood in the North of Bonn. They show a wide range of exhibits, from objects relating to Rhenish history, culture and art from the Palaeolithic Age to the present day on display in the ´LVR-Landesmuseum´ (´Museum of the Rhineland´) to contemporary art presented by the Bonner Kunstverein (´Bonn Arts Association´). A highly interesting institution in the Macke neighbourhood is the Frauenmuseum (´Women’s Museum´), the first of its kind worldwide.

The former homes of famous Bonn artists are also open to the public: the August Macke House, which opened its extension in 2017, the Schumann House, the Ernst Moritz Arndt House and of course Ludwig van Beethoven’s Birth House. Bonn’s Haus der Kultur (´House of Culture´) accommodates 20 associations and institutions operating nationwide, the largest number of non-state cultural networks under one roof.

Bonn´s Old Town Hall has been the seat of the self-government of its citizenry for over 700 years. As its overlord the Cologne Archbishop and Elector Konrad von Hochstaden had reconfirmed to Bonn in 1244 "the enjoyment of its liberties, privileges and good customs". In 1285, the citizens drew up a Council Constitution. The construction year of the first Town Hall, predecessor of the present one, is not known. According to an ancient engraving of the town it must have been a late-Gothic building. It was reduced to ruins in the siege and bombardment of Bonn in 1689. Clemens August, Archbishop and Elector of Cologne, laid the foundation stone to a new building designed by French architect Michel Leveilly on April 24, 1737. This new Town Hall with its Rococo façade was inaugurated in October 1738. Severely damaged in the air raid of October 18, 1944, the Town Hall was restored in the old style in 1949/50.

The flight of stairs on the front side was repeatedly the scene of historic events. It was here that Gottfried Kinkel, the poet, university professor and fighter for civil liberties, made his rousing revolutionary speech; it was here that the first President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Theodor Heuss, spoke to the people on September 12, 1949, the day of his election. Bonn’s five decades of history as Germany’s federal capital and seat of government have seen many a prominent visitor, both from Germany and abroad, received in the Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus). No statesman, no reigning monarch visiting Bonn on official mission left the Town Hall out. It was from these stairs that the French President Charles de Gaulle, on September 5, 1962, and the American President John F. Kennedy, on July 23, 1963, addressed the people gathered to welcome them. Queen Elizabeth II visited the Town Hall in 1965 and 1978, and in 1989 the Bonners cheered Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Head of State and Party General Secretary. South Africa´s Nelson Mandela, the Japanese Imperial Couple, United Nations General Secretary Kofi Annan, they all signed the City of Bonn’s Golden Book of Visitors.

After extensive renovation in 2010 and 2011, the Old Town Hall now gleams in new splendour. The Old Town Hall Society (`Verein Altes Rathaus`) and the City jointly work for this to continue.

However, not only the Town Hall but also the Market Square has become well-known all over the world due to the numerous state visits. It went through a similar history of ups and downs. The Market Square came into being in the 11th century as the centre of a settlement of craftsmen along the road which traversed Bonn from north to south. The Market Fountain or obelisk dates back to Bonn´s era as capital and residence of the Electors and Archbishops of Cologne. The square was already then considered an excellent business address: here were the houses of the merchants, pharmacists and craftsmen who paid the bulk of the taxes.

The small houses around the Market Square were replaced by four-storeyed business buildings in the late 19th century. Almost all of them burnt down following the air raid of October 18, 1944. Today the Market Square is again the heart of urban life in the Federal City of Bonn and provides an idyllic scenery for many open-air events.

The official residence of the Federal President in Bonn is one of the most popular photo objects. Villa Hammerschmidt, hosting the first New Year Reception of the Head of State on January 4, 1951, was designed by the architect August Dieckhoff and built in 1860. At that time, Bonn was considered a ‘Town of Millionaires´, and as the´Riviera on the Rhine´ chosen by many wealthy industrialists as their place of residence. Leopold Koenig, father of the zoologist Alexander Koenig, bought the property in 1868 and had the house rebuilt by the architect Otto Penner. There have been no major changes since then. The industrialist Rudolf Hammerschmidt, Privy Councillor of Commerce, moved in on April 6, 1901. At that time, Villa Hammerschmidt was the epicentre of Bonn’s society. After 1929, the Villa was rented out and partitioned into apartments. It survived the Second World War without damage and was confiscated by the allied occupying forces from 1945 to late 1949. The Federal Republic of Germany bought the property from Rudolf Hammerschmidt’s heirs for 750,000 D-Marks on April 5, 1950. It was furbished up to be the official residence of the Head of State.

The first Federal President to move into the Villa was Theodor Heuss in 1951. It was both his official and private residence. Furnishings and equipment were collected from all over the Federal Republic: furniture, paintings, and carpets from museums and palaces were made available on loan by the federal states (Länder). Villa Hammerschmidt was both the official and private residence also for most successors. Nowadays Schloss Bellevue (Bellevue Palace) is used as the official residence of the Federal President in Berlin, and the ´White House on the Rhine´ as the official residence in Bonn.

Palais Schaumburg was for many years the control centre of political power in Bonn. Konrad Adenauer was the first to govern the country from here as well as all his successors up to Willy Brandt. Chancellor Helmut Schmidt moved into the new chancellery building in 1976. His old study was restored by the Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (German National Museum of Contemporary History) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Nowadays, the German Chancellor has her second official seat there. The Palais was inadequate for governing already in Adenauer’s time, a wonderful building, however useless for office purposes, with high-ranking civil servants working in attic rooms with slanting ceilings. Eleven successive governments have gathered there since November 1949. It was here that the High Commissioners François-Poncet and Hoyer Miller handed over the instrument of ratification of the Treaty on Germany in 1955, and it was here that the notes of the treaty on the principles of mutual relations were exchanged between Bonn and East Berlin 1973. The Palais, surrounded by a park and built from 1858 to 1860, became the domicile of Prince Adolf Wilhelm zu Schaumburg-Lippe and his spouse, Princess Wilhelmine Victoria of Prussia, sister of Emperor Wilhelm II in 1890 and was for many years an epicentre of society in Bonn. In 1965, the ´Chancellor’s Bungalow´ was completed in the park of Palais Schaumburg. German Heads of Government from Erhard to Schröder used it either as their home or as their temporary domicile. After careful refurbishment in 2009, it is again open to the public and can be visited at certain times.

University, town hall, Bundestag (Parliament Buildings), opera, theatres of comedy and political satire, ministries, UN-agencies – all these are located close to each other in Bonn. The "city of short distances" is for this reason frequently underestimated although it has by now a population of 320,000.

Like 1500 years ago, the real heart of Bonn is the area around the mighty romanesque and gothic Minster. Not far from it is the Old Town Hall in front of whose rococo façade the greengrocery market takes place on weekdays. It is also, however, the scene of state guests and weddings. A few steps further on, the modest house where Beethoven was born takes visitors back to the era of the Princes Elector, who on their part left Bonn with magnificent buildings. The Town Palace, today the Main Building of the University, with its splendid Hofgarten ("Courtyard Green") and the elegant summer residence Clemensruh in Poppelsdorf with its Botanic Garden surround the densely built old city centre.

The Rhine is only a few hundred metres from the Hofgarten. Alexander von Humboldt considered the view from the bastion "Alter Zoll" (Old Customs Station) across the river to the Siebengebirge hills as the "eighth Wonder of the World". Here, south of the Hofgarten, is the beginning of the city´s South, that spacious quarter with its splendid, carefully restored well-to-do middle class houses and villas of the economic boom years following the 1870/71 war ("Gründerzeit") and of the Art Nouveau period ("Jugendstil") which testify to the former wealth of the town. The Northern City is the more modest counterpart of the South. It is a favourite residential area for students, and its colourful pub scene is a major attraction to night owls.

Where the extended building of the palace separates the old inner city from the southern part, a special feature of Bonn begins: a number of outstanding museums lined up like pearls on a string. The first is the Stadthistorisches Museum (Historical Museum of the City). Next are the Akademisches Kunstmuseum (Academic Museum of Art) with its extensive collection of original ancient sculptures and of cast copies in the classical building designed by the famous 19th century architect Schinkel, and the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Haus, which illustrates the way of life of the Biedermeier period.

The splendid Museum Koenig opposite of the Villa Hammerschmidt marks the beginning of the proper Museum Mile. Not only is it a home of natural history, it has also gained a reputation as a zoological research institute. Directly opposite of the "Federal District", the House of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany (Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland) exhibits its instructive presentation of every-day objects and historical documents of the post-World-War II decades. Like the Federal Museum of Art further south, it is one of most frequented museums in Germany. The Kunstmuseum Bonn (Bonn Museum of Art) and the next-door Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Arts and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany) are spectacular examples of modern architecture. The first boasts an excellent collection of Rhenish expressionists around August Macke and of German Art after 1945. The second presents alternating exhibitions of art, science and architecture of international standard. Even further south follows the Deutsches Museum Bonn (German Museum Bonn) illustrating to its visitors science „live“.

With its 30 institutions the Museum scene of Bonn is more extensive anyhow than many people would think: Rheinisches Landesmuseum (Museum of the Rhineland), August-Macke-Haus, the Arts Society, and Europe´s first Women´s Museum, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2011 – to mention only a few. The Beethoven-Haus is, of course, also very important, the house in which the great composer was born. Bonn´s orchestra which bears his name is a most important "ambassador" of Bonn as a city of culture both in Germany and in other countries. It plays an important artistic role in the annual Beethoven Festivals.

The Museum Mile leads directly into the "Federal District" (Bundesviertel) which has influenced - and will continue to influence - the city´s image and character in a very

special manner. The Chancellor´s Office (Bundeskanzleramt) with its big Moore sculpture is now the seat of the Federal Ministry of Economic Co-operation and Development. In 2006, the UN secretariats located in Bonn have moved into the high-rise building ("Tall Eugene", nicknamed after the Speaker of Parliament at the period of its construction, Eugen Gerstenmaier) that used to house the offices of MPs. The former Plenary Hall with its interesting architecture is already now used as a conference venue. It is the nucleus of the World Conference Center Bonn. Not far from it are the broadcasting centre of Deutsche Welle and the corporate headquarters of Deutsche Post World Net whose Post Tower has become a symbol of the new Bonn.

The city´s largest green extends right next to it, the Rheinaue Park. With its 160 hectares it is not only Bonn´s recreation area number one but also the largest location for open-air events in the Federal City. Hundreds of thousands crowd each year in the park for "Rhine in Flames". Part of the park extends, by the way, on the right bank of the Rhine, in the district of Beuel. With the "office town" of Telecom (former T-Mobile)and the buildings at the "Bonner Bogen" there, this "sunny side" of Bonn has become a first-rate business address. This part boasts moreover a prime example of sacral architecture in the Rhineland, the romanesque "Doppelkirche" (a two-floor church) of Schwarz-Rheindorf, whose bright-coloured paintings tell the biblical story in pictures.

Since the period of the Princes Elector, Bonn´s southernmost district, Bad Godesberg, has had a special flair of its own of which the "Redoute" Ball House is a reminder. As a health resort it continues to do credit to its epithet "Bad" (Spa). A spacious area of villas from the industrial boom of the 1870ies has made it a favourite residential district. A curiosity in the Bonn mosaic is found here: the wood-framed houses of Muffendorf produce an air of idyllic rural life which is carefully cultivated.

From here you have an excellent view of the Siebengebirge Hills across the Rhine, Drachenfels (Dragon´s Rock) and Petersberg (St. Peter´s Mountain) with the hotel on top are very close, and the romantic middle part of the Rhine Begins.

The „Act to implement the resolution of the German Bundestag of June 20, 1991 on the completion of the Unity of Germany (Berlin/Bonn Act)“ entered into force on April 26, 1994. As far as the future of Bonn is concerned, the following binding provisions of the Act are crucial: „safeguarding a permanent and fair division of labour between the federal capital Berlin and the federal city Bonn“ and „maintaining and promoting political functions in the federal city Bonn in the following political fields:

• Education and science, culture, research and technology, telecommunications
• Environment and health
• Food, agriculture and forestry
• Development policy, national and supranational institutions
• Defence.“

In addition, the act guarantees that „on the whole, the major proportion of the jobs in the federal ministries are to remain in the federal city of Bonn“.

Designating Bonn as the Federal City was a conscious act by the legislator in order to emphasze that also in future. Bonn will continue to assume important political tasks in its capacity as Germany´s second political centre. The term was adopted from Switzerland where it was conferred to the city of Bern.

What has come to Bonn:

To compensate for the loss of jobs and to reinforce the political fields assigned to Bonn, the act stipulates that the following federal agencies and institutions have to move to Bonn, most of them having indeed relocated here in the meantime:

• Federal Cartel Supervisory Office
• Federal Insurance Office
• Federal Banking Supervisory Authority
• Federal Supervisory Authority for the Insurance Industry
• Federal Institute of Vocational Training (BIBB)
• Federal Office for Building and Regional Plannung
• Federal Statistics Office (branch office)
• Federal Office for Food and Forestry
• Central Job Placement Office
• Federal Audit Office
• Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices
• Federal Railway Assets Authority
• Central Office of the Federal Railways
• Federal Central Register at the Federal Prosecutor General´s Office
• Federal Agency for the Agricultural Markets
• German Development Service (DED)
• German Institute of Development Policy (DIE)
• German Food Institute
• German Instiute for Adult Education

Further new settlements in Bonn:

• Headquarters of the Deutsche Telekom AG
• Headquarters of the Deutsche Post DHL
• Headquarters of the Deutsche Postbank AG
• Regulatory Authority for Post and Telecommunications
• Central Länder (regional states) Office for the Safety of Medical Products
• Federal Institute of Sports Sciences
• National Anti Doping Agency (NADA)

Governmental bodies remaining in Bonn:

Six federal ministries have their official seat in Bonn, whilst, in accordance with the Act, establishing a second seat in Berlin:

• Education and Research
• Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
• Health
• Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection
• Economic Cooperation and Development
• Defence

The Federal President uses the Villa Hammerschmidt as his official seat in Bonn; the Bundesrat (House of the representatives of the Regional Governments), the Federal Chancellery including the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government, as well as the federal minstries relocated to Berlin, maintain their second official seats on the Rhine.

The Bonn region has received 1.43 Billion Euro from the Federal Republic to enable it to compensate for the move to Berlin by creating and attracting new qualified jobs to the city. The agreement runs for a ten years period, expiring in 2004.

107 million Euro as an immediate funding

In order to start the process of structural change in the region without any delay, the Federation had made immediate funding available in the form of an advance on the compensation payment. This has enabled Bonn to fund investigations and conceptual studies as well as the purchase and develompment of land for industrial purposes. In addition, the Federation has made available built-up and undeveloped real estate with a current market value of 51 million Euro.

820 million Euro for science, research, technology and education

Most of the money from the compensation fund is invested into building up Bonn as a "region of science and research".

The major projects are:

• CAESAR (Centre for Advanced European Studies and Research), a high-technology research centre
• Centre for European Integration Studies (ZEI)
• North-South Centre for Development Research (ZEF)
• Enlargement of the Wissenschaftszentrum (science centre) Bonn, Ahrstrasse
• Hochschule Rhein-Sieg (Rhine-Sieg University for Applied Sciences at St. Augustin and Rheinbach)
• University for Applied Sciences Institute (Ahrweiler district/ at Remagen)
• LIFE&BRAIN, high performance centre for medical research and development in the fields of biomedicine, brain research and neurological science

CAESAR

The foundation "Centre of Advanced European Studies and Research" is the major single project of the compensation agreement for Bonn. The foundation conducts research with sophisticated chemical and micro-technological methods in the field of neurosciences. The focus is on developing methods of research on the brain and its control mechanisms. Priority of the institute is research into sensory processes and the molecular causes of neurodegenerative diseases.