A Trip to Bonn and a Little Lesson in German History after WWII

Last week Thomas and I drove to the city of Bonn, a beautiful Baroque city which boasts a magnificent soaring cathedral, the home of music's most important and revolutionary composer, Ludwig von Beethoven, and was once the capital of Western Germany after the 2nd World War from 1949-1990.

As you might recall, after WWII the then four Global Superpowers - England, France, Russia and the US - carved up Germany into four sections, believing a divided Germany would prevent her from ever rising to power again. Thus arose a Germany ordered by an open, free-democracy, led by the Allied Forces in the West, and by a Soviet dictated Communism in the East. In addition the German capital of Berlin, which was seen by all Powers as too valuable to surrender to just one Power, was also divided up into four equal quadrants, with the East operating as a Soviet communist bloc and the West as a free and open Democracy, occupied by the Allied Forces of France, England and the US.

It should be noted that in May of '49 the three western forces came together to form the German Federal Republic while the Soviets responded by naming their territory, ironically, the German Democratic Republic, even though there was absolutely nothing Democratic about it!

In order to facilitate government and economics in the West, the German Parliament decided to move Germany's  then capital of Berlin to the rather unpolitical Baroque city of Bonn. It so happens that the newly elected Chancellor Konrad Adenauer just happened to live in a nearby village, which might help explain the unusual selection of Bonn, but only just slightly...

Interestingly, under Chancellor Adenauer's watch, and with the aid of his chief economist Ludwig Erhard, the decimated German economy made a spectacular recovery and within a decade of the end of WWII could boast an Annual Growth Rate of 8%, ranking it as the most prosperous European nation. And thus Bonn grew from a sleepy, unimportant kingdom in the industrial Ruhr region of Germany into the seat of German politics, economics, media and business, framed within  elegant baroque palaces, stunning churches and the Romantic Rhein River running along side.

The highlight of this interesting journey, which included many wonderful museums such as Beethoven House and the Modern Art Gallery, has to be the exhibition at the German Historical Museum entitled, "The USA in Germany after WWII" and then getting the chance to meet and talk with the Head of the Museum itself.  The the system of government funding is different from that in the US, arts organizations still face many similar challenges regarding attracting new and younger audiences, maintaining relevance, effectively incorporating technology and of course, how to create partnerships with other organizations. All important questions that every Art Group must continuously ask itself.

Our rustic lodgings were outside of Bonn at a Cusanuswerk retreat house where we met, ate and prayed with some new friends who had come from all over Germany to study or prepare for upcoming exams.

Our tour to Bonn ended with a a special visit to the pilgrimage church of the Heilige Stiege in Kreuzberg, which features an ornate Baroque Staircase designed by Balthasar Neumann, one of Baroque's most influential and famous architects. Now the Sisters of Charity live there and help run a language institute for foreign seminarians learning German. 

My first trip to Bonn was definitely memorable, if a little grey due to weather, but I would recommend it to anyone as a great day trip when you are in the region. Whether it is art, history, politics, food or culture that excites you, all of these and more are waiting to be discovered in Bonn. It's a romantic city, fabulous sight-seeing and one unforgettable stop on your travel adventure!