Redoute and City Hall
Impressum: Walter Voigt 53173 Bonn, Bürgerstrasse 8 Tel.: 0228-352020 

Translated by Ellen and Ulrich Littmann

<<< zurück

The way through the Redoute Park leads us to the park side of the Redoute. 
It was built 1790 - 1792 at the orders of Archbishop and Prince Elector Max Franz, and the members of his court used it for social events such as the weekly balls and gambling.

 

 

After the Redoute had been built, 
today´s restaurant "Redüttchen" 
originally served as the home of the park gardener, later it was used as the spa´s pharmacy.

 

 

We continue our tour through the Redoute Park, which has been designed in the English style with lawns and clusters of trees from exotic origins and thus regarded as a treasure. From the"Duck Pond" you can look across the Rhine valley to the Seven Mountains.

 

(A view of the Petersberg, in the background the Ölberg as the highest elevation in the Seven Mountains)

 

At the end of the Redoute Park we turn to walk downhill towards the former Rigal´s Mansion (locals call it "castlet"), built in 1849 as a summer residence by Ludwig Maximilian Freiherr von Rigal-Grunland. 
Over the years it became dilapidated, but was restored 1982/83 as the Embassy of the PR China.

 

 

Adjacent is Rigal´s Chapel. 
This was built 1856/57 as a symbol of gratitude, because Prussia had provided shelter and home for Hugenot families when they were driven out of France. 
Until today it serves as a Protestant church.

 

 

We walk back towards the Godesburg castle and pass at the row of facades of the Kurfürstenallee the City Music School.

 

Hence a bronce group playing instruments.

 

 
The Godesberg City Hall (now borough administration) with its classisistic facade actually consists of six separate buildings erected 1792-1793 at the orders of Prince Elector Max Franz for the accommodation of visitors using the spa. 
In 1815, some of these buildings became the Hotel Blinzler. In 1860, the three buildings on the right were integrated as "cold-water therapeutic institution"; after its operation had ceased, the administration of the new township (raised from the status of a community) Bad Godesberg moved in in 1936.
Here stands the Hettite symbol of the Disk of the Sun, a gift of the Turkish Embassy in Bonn for the bi-millenium of the City of Bonn in 1989.

 

Across a bridge we arrive at the Little Theater, a well-known stage in the Rhineland.

 

 

We continue towards the Prince Elector´s Fountain and on to the (conference center) Stadthalle,

 

 

which  every year in March also is the site of our "Spring Meeting", the GODEMA as the regional trade and crafts fair.

We return westward through the park to City Hall.

From there we move on toward the Redoute (front side) and pass the "House at the Redoute" - this was built together with the Redoute as the theater of the court.

After thorough renovation in 2000 it now serves as a gallery and exhibition center.

 

 

The front of the Redoute is now presenting itself like the view out of a picture book.

 

 

From the Redoute we walk in the direction of the Godesburg Castle, past the beautiful old houses to the beginning of the pedestrian area.

On the right hand we see the stage tower of the Godesberg Theater. 
 (Since 1986 it is the Theater of Drama Performance
of the City of Bonn).

 

 

We cross Theaterplatz (the city´s central square) to
Koblenzer Straße.

Koblenzer Strasse will become a pedestrian zone
in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the right, the Bürgerstrasse with its spectacular facades in the style of Art Nouveau, further down the market and Kinopolis (a multiplex cinema).

At the beginning of the Koblenzer Strasse we find the restaurant "Lindenwirtin Aennchen",
named after its proprietress Aennchen Schumacher (1860-1935) who had made the guesthouse a popular meeting place for the students of Bonn University.

 Today, too, one can enjoy its excellent gastronomy.

Here, right under the Godeburg Castle we come to the end of this part of our tour.

 

 

 

 Continue the tour on the banks and the Meadows of the Rhine

back to start of the tour.