23.9.2015 to 13.12.2015 at the Stadtmuseum Bonn

An exhibition by the Bonn City Museum in collaboration with Georg Divossen and Hans-Werner Greuel.

1898: A permanent bridge over the Rhine is inaugurated in Bonn for the first time. It replaced all the other previous ways of crossing the "Rhine" barrier: Boats, ferries, ship and wooden bridges.

The bridge was built out of transport and economic necessity. But it was soon seen as more than just a functional means of getting to work or transporting goods. The people of Bonn and Beuel became proud of their bridge and tourists marveled at the structure. Posing in front of the bridge for a souvenir photo was not only common for them, views of the bridge were used for advertising and propaganda.

But the bridge also played a central role in the history of the city, as the Rhine spanning it became an object of military strategy. In 1945, it was German soldiers who thought that blowing up the bridge would stop the Allies.

This was followed by years of exclusive ferry service across the Rhine. But the new bridge was then rebuilt on the foundations of the old bridge with breathtaking speed and inaugurated in 1949 - absolutely necessary in terms of transport policy and certainly one of the prerequisites for Bonn's election as the provisional federal capital. A completely new chapter of history was opened in Bonn.

The "Rhine Bridges" exhibition showed a tour through the first decades of the 20th century with photos and exhibits on the most important stages of our city's history. Memories of contemporary witnesses with their experiences of the bridge were on display.

Filmmaker Georg Divossen focused on the Bonn-Beuel bridge and interviewed numerous contemporary witnesses about their experiences across the Rhine. In his film "Bonner Brücken & Beueler Bötchen", he describes the legendary first Bonn Rhine bridge in detail. And Bröckemännche and Bröckefräuche are also featured, of course.