To this day, Bonn remains profoundly shaped by the fact that it has repeatedly played a prominent role throughout various eras: Bonn was the site of a Roman camp, later a electoral residence and fortified city, and once again a center of power in its role as the federal capital in the 20th century. “Despite the (power) status associated with this,” explains Prof. Dr. Michael Rohrschneider, “Bonn has also repeatedly become ‘powerless’ throughout its history, a pawn of greater powers, interests, and catastrophes, including, for example, the extensive destruction of Bonn in 1689.” Rohrschneider is a professor of early modern history and Rhineland regional history and director of the Center for Historical Peace Research at the University of Bonn.
The symposium’s program spans two millennia of Bonn’s city history. Beginning with insights into everyday life in Roman Bonn, through the ranging from the significance of medieval royal charters to the city fire of 1689. The role of the University of Bonn during times of political upheaval and other urban developments in the 20th century are also topics of the lectures.
To conclude, experts from the museum sector will turn their attention to the Bonn City Museum. “I’m looking forward to the panel discussion at the end of the symposium, when we’ll talk together about perspectives for the future Museum of City History,” says Florian Pauls, director of the Bonn City Museum. The panel will be structured using the fishbowl method: anyone in the audience who is interested can step into the circle of discussants and share their expectations and suggestions for the Bonn City Museum.
The event will be opened with welcoming remarks by Dr. Birgit Schneider-Bönninger, Bonn’s Department Head for Sports and Culture, as well as Florian Pauls, Director of the Bonn City Museum, and Prof. Dr. Michael Rohrschneider.
Registration is required and must be sent to stadtmuseum@bonn.de by March 25, 2026. For more information on the symposium, topics, and speakers: https://www.hsozkult.de/event/id/event-160310
The Friends of the Bonn City Museum are supporting the event.
Media contact:
Prof. Dr. Michael Rohrschneider
University of Bonn, Institute of History,
Department of Early Modern History and Rhenish Regional History
Am Hofgarten 22, D-53113 Bonn
+49(0)228 737505