Bonn im Kranz der Welterbestätten

The city of Beethoven on the Rhine offers culture in abundance. Apart from the Beethoven-Haus and the rich musical life, especially the varied landscape of museums and the high-standard exhibitions of the Bundeskunsthalle attract visitors from Germany and from abroad. Nevertheless, Bonn is also the ideal starting point to visit the German world cultural heritage sites. You can reach five famous cultural sites easily by car within a radius of half an hour up to one and a half hours. The near castles of Brühl, the Dome of Cologne and the romantic Rhine valley are already traditional destinations. The church of Charlemagne in Aachen and the mine of the customs union in Essen wait for visitors just  about 90 and 101 kilometres away from here.

1. Brühl: In 1984, the castles Augustusburg and Falkenlust, which are only about 25 kilometres away from Bonn, were already included in the list of the Unesco world cultural heritage of humanity as unique examples  of a German Rococo ensemble. The heart of Augustusburg is the show staircase designed by Balthasar Neumann, which was called “The most meaningful, happiest, most magnificent and most beautiful performance of the Rococo Era in Germany” by the art expert Paul Clemen. During the capital era, state receptions were held here, the pictures of which were sent into the whole world.

2. Cologne: As a masterpiece of Gothic architecture, the dome of Cologne has been a world cultural heritage site since 1996. Although the dome was completed at first in 1880, the original architects’ drawings had never been changed in its whole period of construction. Only a few construction parts were built in a neo-Gothic style. The Cologne architects completed the French  architectural style of the Gothic cathedral. The draft of the Western façade broke all conventions: as the biggest church façade of the world it was supposed to have a surface of 7.000 m² flanked by two powerful towers with a height of 156 metres each. Cologne is only about 35 kilometres away from Bonn and it is easy to reach by public transport.

3. The Rhine valley between Koblenz and Bingen: In 2002, the home of Loreley - about whom many songs have been sung - with its fortresses, castles and historic sights embedded in beautiful vineyards, was declared “Unesco World Heritage Cultural Landscape Upper Middle Rhine Valley”. Between Koblenz (about 85 kilometres away from Bonn) and Bingen, all the beauties, which were described in poems, were sung of and were painted by the Romanticists as early as 200 years ago, can be seen on 65 a length of kilometres on both banks of the great stream. As the Siebengebirge is known as the “Gate to the Romantic Rhine”, you can experience the most beautiful parts of the river from here on board of the White Fleet.

4. Aix-la-Chapel: Charlemagne realized his dream of a new Rome with the church “Pfalzkirche”, whose core is a octagonal central room after the model of the Byzantine palace churches. Between 1355 and 1414, the Gothic choir hall, which contains the remains of the emperor, was added to Charlemagne’s building. The rich decoration of the church “Marienkirche” shows that it has been esteemed and worshipped as the burial site of Charlemagne, the coronation place of the German kings and the destination of many pilgrimages for centuries. The magnificent church treasury was one more reason why the dome of Aix-la-Chapelle was included in the list of world cultural heritage as the first German building in 1978.

5. Essen: The “most beautiful mine of the Ruhrpott”, the mine and coalery of the customs union in Essen-Katernberg, was included in the Unesco list of world cultural heritage as an industrial cultural landscape in 2001. Among others, the centre “Design Zentrum NRW”, several artist studios and the restaurant “Casino Zollverein” have moved in at the mine, which was closed in 1986. Now, the rooms are used more and more for concerts, exhibitions, theatre and dancing performances.

Whoever books the package “Experience the region of Bonn with the WelcomeCard”, holds in his hands the key to many museum temples, free rides to the sights, which are listed on the by-sheet (as for example to Brühl), and many reductions. For example, you can take advantage of a fifty-per-cent reduction on the admission fee to castle Augustusburg or twenty-per-cent reduction on boat trips with the Köln-Düsseldorfer Deutsche Rheinschifffahrt AG. The package can be booked with two accommodations in a good standard hotel and a Bonn Regio WelcomeCard valid for 48 hours, for a price of 90 Euros per person in a double room and up.

Information and Reservation:
Tourismus & Congress GmbH Region Bonn/Rhein-Sieg/Ahrweiler
Adenauerallee 131
53113 Bonn
Tel. 0228/9104132
Fax: 0228/9104177
E-Mail: Freizeit(at)bonn-region.de