Cultural facilities
House on the Redoute
In the "Haus an der Redoute", artists have the opportunity to present their works of art to a broad public. A basic requirement for an exhibition in the "Haus an der Redoute" premises is a direct connection to Bad Godesberg, be it through the center of life or the center of artistic activity.
To apply for an exhibition in the "Haus an der Redoute", the following documents must be submitted to the Bad Godesberg district administration office:
- Completed application form
- curriculum vitae
- exhibition concept
- Illustration of at least one work
These documents are decisive for the evaluation of the application by a committee of art experts who will decide whether an exhibition can be realized. The individual exhibition dates are set by the Bad Godesberg district administration office.
If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Jasmin Schillhabel at the Bad Godesberg district administration office at jasmin.schillhabelbonnde
Art exhibitions in the Redoute
| Period of the exhibition Date of the vernissage/opening |
Artist |
Title of the exhibition |
|
January 10 to February 23, 2025 Vernissage: |
International Art Association Bad Godesberg |
Godesberg past and present |
|
March 6 to April 13, 2025 Vernissage: |
Black and white exhibition 2025 |
|
|
April 18 to May 18, 2025 Vernissage: |
Artist group Seven |
Illusions |
|
May 23 to June 29, 2025 Vernissage: |
Monica von Geyr |
Limitation Reduction in form and color |
|
July 4 to August 10, 2025 Vernissage: |
Marie-Luise and Wolfgang Dauer |
Breathing with the waves - objects and paintings by Marie-Luise and Wolfgang Dauer |
| August 11 to September 14, 2025 | Group of artists | (title to be announced) |
|
September 19 to October 26, 2025 Vernissage: |
Bettina Zettelmeier | From the forest to the Rhine - landscape painting |
| October 27 to November 23, 2025 | Group of artists | (title to be announced) |
|
November 28, 2025 to January 4, 2026 Vernissage: |
Kunstverein Bad Godesberg | Kunstverein & friends |
- Contact
- Location
Contact
Location
Bezirksverwaltungsstelle Bad Godesberg
Haus an der Redoute
Kurfürstenallee 1 a
53177 Bonn
Hansa House
The Hansa-Haus was built as a hotel and converted into a commercial and office building in 1925. The city acquired the property in 1979, renovated it thoroughly and then made it available to clubs on favorable terms. Since then, the Hansa-Haus has developed into a well-functioning club location.
The necessary fire protection and renovation work was linked to the implementation of the council's decision in 2012 to develop the Hansa-Haus into a center for rock and pop music. The refurbishment costs amounted to around 1.8 million euros. After the renovation was completed and the Hansa-Haus was occupied, the current tenants presented a varied program in the new premises.
Godesberger Turnverein 1888 e.V.
The Godesberger Turnverein, founded in 1888, is now the second largest sports club in Bonn and the largest in the south of Bonn with around 2,100 members. 120 dedicated and qualified trainers offer a wide range of competitive and popular sports. There is also a course program open to guests in the areas of health and trend sports and dance.
The sports program is aimed at sports enthusiasts of all ages - from toddlers in parent/child gymnastics groups to older children, teenagers and adults through to senior citizens. More than 20 sports facilities are used throughout Bad Godesberg. The club's office has been located in the Hansa-Haus since 1984. It is well worth a visit.
The Music Network (Rock and Pop Center)
The RPZ is the new creative center for the regional cultural scene in the city of Bonn. The unique combination of rehearsal rooms, affordable offices for young start-up companies and an independent event hall is an ideal environment for musicians and artists to realize themselves. The cultural stage of the Rock and Pop Center offers young talent the unique opportunity to actively shape Bonn's musical landscape and share the stage with established artists.
This project aims to further develop the diversity of the local music scene and enrich rock and pop culture beyond its borders. The operating music network acts as a central contact point and hub for regional music culture.
fringe ensemble
The fringe ensemble is an independent theater ensemble that maintains an event and rehearsal venue in the Hansa-Haus in Bonn-Bad Godesberg. The venue has a performance hall approved by the city of Bonn for 120 spectators as well as various adjoining rooms that are used as storage, workshops and social rooms.
The fringe ensemble develops and rehearses its plays for the stage there and also develops projects specifically for the space with professional stage artists and amateurs. For example, the project series "BaseCamp DE/TR", a co-production by German and Turkish theater artists, for which the hall and other rooms were used as performance spaces through which the audience could move freely.
Another focus of the fringe ensemble's work at Hansa-Haus is projects with amateurs under professional direction. With the Bonn International Speech Choir, which is made up of 23 Bonn citizens from 13 nations, the fringe ensemble develops a new project every year in weekly rehearsals. There is also a multi-generational project, which also rehearses and performs in the Hansa-Haus - "Unheimlich oder irgendwann explodiert die Sonne" was the title of the first project, which was created in 2019.
The fringe ensemble also makes the space available to other artists and groups for rehearsals, workshops and symposia.
oneworld café
The oneworld café is an open offer for all young people in Godesberg aged 14 and over. Here they can meet up, chill out or take part in activities. Internet, WLAN, games and magazines are available. The staff are always available to help young people with their personal questions and problems.
The oneworld café's activities are available during regular opening hours and are tailored to the wishes and interests of the young people. These include, for example, a regular cooking program or the webday.
"oneworld" is a joint project of the two Bad Godesberg youth welfare organizations Evangelische Jugendhilfe Godesheim gGmbH and CJG Herman-Josef-Haus. It consists of the oneworld café and the oneworld mobile, which regularly visits young people at three locations in Bad Godesberg.
Naval comradeship Bonn von 1898 e.V.
The members of the Marinekameradschaft Bonn von 1898 e.V. are sailors with heart and soul (active or inactive) or are connected to the maritime idea. The naval comradeship meets in the cozy, appropriately furnished clubhouse, the so-called "Messe", in the middle of Bad Godesberg.
Old memories are refreshed and the camaraderie and conviviality experienced on board are cultivated. Tried and tested traditions and virtues from the seafaring days are included. The principle applies: party-politically and denominationally free and independent.
Bonn Shanty Choir
In spring 1987, two small singing groups from the naval comradeships Bonn von 1898 e.V. and "Eisbrecher Stettin" Bonn-Duisdorf e.V. agreed to sing sailor songs and shanties together from then on. Thus began the Bonn Shanty Choir.
The choir has set itself the task of cultivating international, maritime songs. The choir sings modern sea shanties and shanties handed down from the great days of sailing. The Bonn Shanty Choir underlines its social commitment with performances in retirement/nursing homes and residential homes as well as with benefit concerts that serve various charitable purposes.
German Red Cross Bonn District Association
In the DRK clothes store, an employee and several volunteers sell donated, well-preserved adult clothing and children's items for a small fee. All proceeds generated in the clothes store, after deduction of operating costs, go exclusively to the social work of the DRK.
Opening hours:
Thursday and Friday 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
There's something on offer here
- Theater Bonn - Schauspielhaus Bad Godesberg (opens in a new tab)
- Small theater (opens in a new tab)
- Ludwig van Beethoven Music School Bonn (opens in a new tab)
- German Museum Bonn (opens in a new tab)
- Drinking pavilion and music in the park at Bürger.Bad.Godesberg e.V. (opens in a new tab)
- Bad Godesberg Art Association (opens in a new tab)
City center
Numerous retail outlets in the pedestrian zone invite you to shop. Cafés and restaurants offer space for enjoyment and communication. There are opportunities for cultural leisure activities in the "Kinopolis", the Schauspielhaus and the "little theater", for example.
A stroll through the well-kept parks rounds off a visit to the city center. The Kurfürstenquelle is located in the Kurpark and Stadtpark next to the Stadthalle. There is a spring water tap in the associated drinking pavilion. A little further along Brunnenallee is the Draitschquelle spring, whose healing water you can taste on site. The Bad Godesberg mineral water is also bottled here. The Draitsch spring has formed the basis for Bad Godesberg's spa operations since the end of the 18th century.
Bad Godesberg on foot - tour through the historic city center
The last Elector of Cologne, Archbishop Max Franz, laid the foundations for Bad Godesberg's development as a spa town by expanding the existing healing springs, building the Redoute and creating green spaces. In the second half of the 19th century, the actual upswing of the spa town began with the connection to the railroad. The beautiful landscape and favorable climate made the town a popular retirement home for wealthy people.
With the beginning of the Bonn capital era, Bad Godesberg was shaped by the numerous embassies that took up residence in the tranquil little town. Bad Godesberg is now developing into a modern healthcare location with top-class specialist clinics and rehabilitation facilities, but has retained the charm of the former spa town.
1st town hall
The Stadthalle was completed in 1955 according to plans by architects Wilhelm and Dirk Denninger. It has two large halls, conference rooms and a restaurant. The SPD's Godesberg Program was adopted here in 1959. Although idyllically nestled in the Bad Godesberg Stadtpark, the Stadthalle has excellent transport connections.
2. town hall
The Bad Godesberg town hall consists of an ensemble of six adjoining houses in the neoclassical style, which were built under Elector Max Franz in 1792 and 1793 as lodging houses for bathers.
After years of use as a hotel and bathing establishment, the administration moved into the buildings after Bad Godesberg became a city in 1935. Bad Godesberg was incorporated into Bonn in 1969 and has since formed one of Bonn's four districts.
3. city park
The extensive city park was begun in 1890/91 by the Cologne master gardener Kowaleck and expanded again and again over several decades. The park is kept in the style of an English landscape garden and planted with valuable, partly exotic trees, some of which have developed into real giants.
The small theater on the edge of the park was built in 1919 and initially served as the official residence of the mayor. Since 1970, the pretty villa has been the venue for a successful small private theater with 161 seats. The repertoire ranges from classical to modern, from tragedy to light-hearted boulevard plays. In 1962, the Kurfürstenquelle spring was drilled in the city park, the water of which comes from a depth of 200 meters. The healing water is still occasionally served in the Kurparkpavillon.
4th La Redoute
The building was erected between 1790 and 1792 at the behest of Archbishop and Elector Max Franz in the elegant neoclassical style. It served as a society house for courtly bathers, where weekly balls and games of chance were held. The young Ludwig van Beethoven is said to have played music here in the presence of Joseph Haydn. From 1856 to 1920, the Redoute was the private villa of the von Wendelstadt family and then became municipal property.
The building became famous as a venue for national and international receptions of the German government. The Haus an der Redoute is located directly next to the Redoute. It was once the electoral chamber theater and is now used as an exhibition venue. The "Redüttchen", or "little Redoute", served as a gardener's cottage for the adjoining park; today it is a restaurant. The park, laid out in the English style, stretches uphill across the grounds behind the Redoute.
5th Draitsch and Elector Spring
If you follow Redoutenweg to Elisabethstraße, you will come to a staircase on the left that leads to Redoutenpark. The climb is worthwhile because of the beautiful view of the park and Redoute. Continue along Brunnenallee to the Draitschbrunnen fountain (approx. 250 meters). It was opened in 1790 by Elector Max Franz. The Elector's spring with healing water is also located in Bad Godesberg.
After the election of the then neighboring city of Bonn as the federal capital, Bad Godesberg's character also changed. The baths, which were reopened in 1946 after being closed during the Second World War, did not regain their former importance and eventually came to a standstill.
However, the sale and distribution of mineral water - in addition to the traditional "Draitschquelle" spring, another spring, the "Kurfürstenquelle", was drilled in the Stadtpark in 1962 (approx. 70 meters) - was continued and intensified. The water from the "Kurfürstenquelle" is served in the drinking hall (the drinking pavilion) opened in 1970 in the city park (Kurpark), and in the pavilion built in 1977 on Brunnenallee, water from the "Kurfürstenquelle" is also offered alongside that from the "Draitschquelle". (see above) Both waters are so-called acidulous waters. (Source: Georg Schwedt: Ferdinand Wurzer and the founding of the Godesberg Gesundbrunnen)
Although the springs feeding the fountain were probably already known in Roman times, knowledge of the healing powers of the "Draitschquelle", as it was known from time immemorial, was limited to the surrounding area. The attempt by Elector Clemens August (1723 - 1761) to develop the Godesberg springs along the lines of the then world-famous spa resort of Spa (in present-day Belgium) also remained an episode. (Source: Georg Schwedt: Ferdinand Wurzer und die Gründung des Godesberger Gesundbrunnens).
The mineral water tapped by the new well in 1961/622 can therefore be described as a sodium hydrogen carbonate-chloride acidulous water. And in the summary (Fresenius) one can read: "Compared to the Draitsch spring, the new well provides a considerably larger recoverable quantity of a more concentrated, CO2-rich mineral water. Draitschquelle and Neubohrung have corresponding concentration and temperature properties at comparable depths (...), so that the mineral water-bearing fissure zones are likely to have similar structures." (Source: Georg Schwedt: Ferdinand Wurzer and the founding of the Godesberg Gesundbrunnen)
6. drinking pavilion
The drinking pavilion built in 1969/70 is located in the southern part of the city park. The idea of building a drinking pavilion in the immediate vicinity of the Stadthalle was first considered by the Bad Godesberg town council in 1968. The local politicians wanted to maintain a remnant of the spa tradition.
Until 1995, the town ran the mineral water from the "Kurfürstenquelle" spring, which was drilled in 1962, in the drinking pavilion. From the summer of 1995, the town hall and drinking pavilion were leased to the couple Monika and Thomas Weiermann. Since 2017, the Bürgerverein Bürger.Bad.Godesberg e.V. has taken care of the physical well-being of visitors and the preservation of the drinking pavilion. Since then, a cultural and leisure program has been offered here. "The drinking pavilion is special, it is unique, it has charm, we want to bring life to this place permanently," says the citizens' association. (Source: ARCHITECTURE GUIDE by WERKSTATT Baukultur Bonn, Volume 12)
The "Fluidum 3" sound installation, a project by the Beethoven Foundation and other participants, has been in place at the Trinkpavillon since 2012. The Bürger.Bad.Godesberg e.V. association has been a cooperation partner since 2018."
Further information and additional video material can be found at www.buergerbadgodesberg.de. (opens in a new tab)
7th Carillon
For the 1979 Federal Garden Show, the organizers had the idea of having a carillon built in the tradition of Dutch carillons. It is played only by hand via a keyboard, the keys of which are connected to the clapper in the bell via wires. This allows it to be played dynamically like a piano. The carillon was built by the Dutch company Royal Eijsbouts and installed on the Glockenhügel (on the parking lot opposite the junction with Heinemannstraße). On the initiative of the district mayor at the time, the imposing metal construction was moved to the Kurpark in Bad Godesberg at the beginning of 1981.
The carillon has 23 bells, which are attached to the approximately seven-meter-high metal construction so that they are visible to visitors. The player (carilloneur) can also be observed in the glass cabin at the foot of the structure. This is a great rarity, as carillons usually hang in a high tower. As a comparatively large amount of force is required to strike the bells, the player presses the large keys, which are shaped like the ends of sticks, with his fist. This is why the keyboard of a carillon is called a stick piano. From 1985 to 2018, Bad Godesberg local historian Wilfried Rometsch played the carillon. Since the beginning of 2019, the carilloneers A. Toffel and G. Wagner as well as the pianist and organ builder R. Linden have been playing this rare musical instrument. Since then, concerts with international carilloneurs have been held in addition to regular seasons.
8. theater square and center
The way back to the city center is via Brunnenallee. Via Theaterplatz with the Haus der Kammerspiele, the first new theater building in the Federal Republic (opened in 1952), you reach Koblenzer Straße. Modern residential and office buildings have been erected in the center since 1972 as part of the redevelopment of the old town, including the City-Terrassen at the foot of Godesburg Castle. Attentive walkers can still discover some well-preserved Wilhelminian-style facades in Bad Godesberg's city center.
9 Godesburg and castle cemetery
From Aennchenstraße, turn left uphill to a side entrance to the castle cemetery (not recommended for people with walking difficulties). The cemetery, which was laid out in 1805 and extended several times, contains some interesting gravestones. It extends in terraces across the western slope of the castle hill. Numerous historical figures from Godesberg found their final resting place here, including the lime tree landlady Aennchen. From the 17th century, the Jewish community was allowed to bury their dead on the north-eastern slope of the Burgberg. The gravestones that still existed after the Second World War were erected on Aennchenstraße and later restored. From the 20th century onwards, Jewish burials took place in the castle cemetery.
The next stop on the way to the castle is St. Michael's Chapel. It originally stood on the site where the keep of Godesburg Castle now stands. When construction of the castle began, it had to make way. The chapel, named after the archangel Michael, was rebuilt in its current location as the castle chapel. Like the castle, it was destroyed during the Truchsess War. The chapel was rebuilt between 1697 and 1699 under Elector Joseph Clemens, to whom it also owes its remarkable Baroque interior. The small extension on the side served as a hermitage for monks until 1800, but today it is once again inhabited by a hermitess.
Construction of Godesburg Castle was begun in 1210 by Archbishop Dietrich von Hengebach of Cologne and later extended several times. Alongside other castles in the region, Godesburg Castle served to fortify the territorial power of the Electorate of Cologne and as a temporary residence. When followers of Archbishop Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg entrenched themselves in the castle in front of Bavarian troops during the so-called Truchsess War, it was besieged in 1583 and subsequently blown up. The ruins were never rebuilt afterwards.
Archbishop Gebhard converted to Protestantism in 1582 so that he could marry his mistress Agnes von Mansfeld and still retain his sovereign power. This threatened the Catholic majority in the Electors' Council and thus the Catholic influence in the empire. Gebhard's defeat marked the beginning of the almost 200-year rule of the Bavarian Wittelsbachs in the Archbishopric of Cologne. A restaurant was integrated into the ruins in 1959/60 by the architect Gottfried Böhm. From the castle and the keep, which visitors can climb, there is a wonderful view of the Rhine Valley, Siebengebirge, Bad Godesberg and Bonn.
HICOG settlements
HICOG housing estate Muffendorf/Pennenfeld
For employees and members of the US High Commission of Germany, the HiCOG housing estate was built in Muffendorf (now part of Pennenfeld: located in the Röntgenstraße/Hans-Böckler Allee and Zeppelinstraße area) and in Tannenbusch in 1951, while the permanent employees mostly lived in the Plittersdorf housing estate.
The architects, led by Sep Ruf, created an ensemble of different building types and different heights and sizes. In addition to more conventional house types in the architectural style of the 1950s, the influential recourse to Bauhaus ideas is omnipresent. The position of the buildings in relation to the street is also heterogeneous and allows the green open spaces of the estate's parks to flow into one another. With its bright, light-flooded entrance façade, the reinforced concrete high-rise (over 38 m) on the corner of Röntgenstrasse and Hans-Böckler-Allee stands at the center of the listed estate. It is the first high-rise apartment building in Germany.
Particularly noteworthy is the harmonious landscape architecture of the extensive park gardens by Hermann Matern, which harmonize with the building architecture. The estates, which have been listed since 1995, are among the most important housing developments of the post-war period and were the Federal Republic's official contribution to the first international post-war urban planning congress in Vienna. (Text by Gerhard and Katalin Arndt)
The HICOG Settlement Plittersdorf - The American Settlement
The "American Settlement Plittersdorf" was built in 1951 for the American employees of the High Commission. The USA acquired a 2.5 km² area from the Carstanjen community of heirs for this purpose. A total of 454 spacious apartments and five prestigious detached houses were built.
An intact infrastructure subsequently developed. Renowned architects under the direction of Sepp Ruf drew up the plans for the estate.
The residential buildings blend harmoniously into the park-like green spaces, the plans for which were drawn up by Hermann Mattern and Heinrich Raderschall.
In 1999, the estate was abandoned by the USA and sold to "Vereinigte Bonner Wohnungsbau AG".
Due to its significance as a historical and cultural heritage of post-war history and its unique architectural design, the estate was entered in the City of Bonn's list of monuments in 2000. (Text by Rolf Fischer)
