January 19, 1919 marked a historic turning point for women in Germany: For the first time, they were allowed to vote. This was one of the decisive innovations that the revolutionary transitional government, the Council of People's Deputies, had pushed through on November 12 as part of its government program. Women's suffrage was enshrined as a constitutional right in Article 109 Paragraph 2 of the Weimar Constitution.

The high voter turnout of 82% (compared to 76% in 2017) shows just how great the need for political participation was. The road to this was long and arduous. Olympe de Gouges had already made a start in revolutionary France in 1791 with her "Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen" (Article 6). However, this initially had no consequences; in France, women did not even gain the right to vote until 1944. In Germany, many generations of women fought for this right with the political support of SPD chairman August Bebel and later the entire SPD.

On the bourgeois side, pioneers included Luise Otto-Peters as founder of the "Allgemeiner Deutscher Frauenverein" (1865), which aimed to achieve professional and political equality for women, the writer Hedwig Dohm as a committed individual campaigner ("Der Frauen Natur und Recht", 1876), who also criticized her fellow women for their mostly apolitical stance, Helene Lange, whose magazine "Die Frau" was the most important journalistic forum for the women's rights movement, and Anita Augspurg, who founded the "German Association for Women's Suffrage" in 1902, which ultimately led to the "World League for Women's Suffrage", and many others.

On the Social Democratic side, Clara Zetkin should be mentioned in particular, although she believed that the emancipation of women was only possible through a revolution. The founder of the Spartacus League and the later KPD, Rosa Luxemburg, saw women's suffrage exclusively in terms of the proletarian class struggle and not as an independent emancipatory demand.

The conflict of interests between the bourgeois and social democratic women's associations made it difficult to implement the demands, as did the Prussian law on associations, which prohibited women from becoming members of political associations. This did not change during the First World War, during which the fight against the war and the social tasks on the so-called home front took priority. It was only towards the end of the war that the suffrage movement was revived, culminating in a letter from 58 women's organizations to the last Imperial Chancellor Max von Baden at the end of October 1918. The revolutionary events of November 1918 finally brought the breakthrough. In the German National Constituent Assembly in Weimar, the proportion of women was 8.5 percent, in the first German Reichstag of the Weimar Republic 8.7 percent. Nazi ideology once again reduced women to the domestic sphere. Women's associations were disbanded as part of the Gleichschaltung, and women were deprived of the right to stand for election.

Even though complete equality was far from being achieved with the right to vote, it represented a decisive step forward and an important stage in this struggle. It was not until the Bonn Basic Law (Art. 3 para. 2) was passed, following fierce disputes and a protest campaign by thousands of women from all walks of life in the male-dominated Parliamentary Council, that equality between women and men was guaranteed under constitutional law. Despite the amendment following reunification ("The state shall promote the actual implementation of equal rights for women and men and work towards the elimination of existing disadvantages"), its practical implementation is still ongoing.

There is only one poster in the Bonn City Archives' rich collection of posters that is explicitly aimed at women. Just two days before the election to the Constituent German National Assembly, the SPD organized a women's assembly whose title alluded to the famous and widely read book by August Bebel from 1879: "The natural position of women towards socialism". The speaker, Hildegard Wegscheider, was particularly suited to raising the political awareness of her fellow women due to her background: She was the first woman to graduate from high school with special permission in Prussia, was one of the first women to receive a doctorate, founded the first private girls' high school in Berlin and taught in Bonn from 1909. During the Weimar period, she was a member of the Prussian state parliament, having previously been a member of the Prussian constituent assembly for the SPD. In 1933, the National Socialists dismissed the women's rights activist, who was now working as a senior school councillor in Berlin.

The fact that the SPD was the only party that had campaigned for women's political rights early on was not rewarded with an overwhelming vote from female voters is probably due to the rather conservative and church-bound attitude of many women.

The photo presented for February was taken by Bonn photographer Georg Munker (*16.09.1918 Schnaittach †19.11.2002 Bonn). Part of Munker's estate, which consists of more than 100,000 negatives, is held by the Bonn City Archives; another part of the estate is in the Federal Archives in Koblenz.

Georg Munker was one of the few permanent press photographers of the early Bonn Republic - his extensive oeuvre is characterized by the documentation of political events and current Bonn topics. The black and white photo (DC17_03432) shows that he was also able to capture moods in a very romantic way. The picture can be dated to the mid-1960s and shows a young couple facing each other against the backdrop of the fountain on Kaiserplatz in Bonn, which is illuminated at night. Barely more than the silhouettes of the two lovers can be seen and it appears that their bodies are united in a heart shape. The faces are sharply outlined by the backlighting, almost like a silhouette, with even the slightly parted lips of the two seemingly carved out: pure romance - fitting for Valentine's Day on February 14.

Valentine's Day is now celebrated worldwide as the "day of lovers". As with many traditional celebrations, there are many different theories about its origins and spread. In Germany, Valentine's Day only became "modern" after the Second World War - American soldiers organized the first "Valentine's Ball" in Nuremberg in 1950. More than on any other day of the year, flower sales in Germany skyrocket on the "festival of lovers", which could lead to the conclusion that Valentine's Day was invented by florists. However, the romantic custom is an old one and has been celebrated since the 14th century. However, the origin of the day of remembrance goes back to a much earlier time and has been handed down in various versions, as there were several early Christian saints named Valentinus. According to tradition, it is primarily attributed to Bishop Valentine of Terni, who, despite the prohibition of Emperor Claudius II, married soldiers in a Christian ceremony and gave them flowers, which was then adopted as a custom on Valentine's Day. Valentine of Terni is said to have been executed on February 14, 269 because of his Christian faith, which explains the date for the anniversary. The veneration of St. Valentine can be traced back to around 350. Saint Valentine is considered the patron saint of beekeepers, lovers and brides and grooms and was finally canonized by Pope Gelasius in 496.

The English writer and secretary of state Samuel Pepys is said to have founded the "valentines", or greeting cards, in 1667 with a four-line love poem; these handwritten Valentine's greetings have given way to mass-produced cards since the 19th century. In England, men and women have been choosing a "valentine" on February 14 for over 500 years. As Ophelia sang in Shakespeare's "Hamlet":

Tomorrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.

Even if this name does not immediately spring to mind in connection with Expressionism, Paul Adolf Seehaus was the only native of Bonn in the circle of Rhenish Expressionists. Born on September 7, 1891 under the name Paul Adolf Hermann (probably at Bornheimer Straße 8), he had an intimate relationship with his father, with whom he often spent time in nature. At the age of thirteen, bone tuberculosis probably confined him to bed for a long time, where Seehaus also put his attempts at writing on paper.

However, he quickly discovered that painting was a better medium. In 1911, he began an intimate acquaintance with the well-known Bonn artist August Macke. A teacher-pupil relationship developed. As Macke regarded Seehaus as an independent artist very early on, he took him along to the "Exhibition of Rhenish Expressionists", which took place from July 10 to August 10, 1913, as well as to the "First German Autumn Salon" from September 20 to November 1, 1913. Seehaus liked the meetings of the Rhenish Expressionists, as he was among like-minded people there who could exchange ideas about the latest art trends.

In March 1913, Seehaus began studying art history at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Bonn. Parallel to his studies, he increasingly took part in exhibitions and spent the semester breaks in various places to find artistic inspiration.

His dissertation from 1918 onwards severely hampered Seehaus' artistic activities, but he was able to catch up with his fiancée in Hamburg after completing his doctorate. Seehaus was in his element there. He cultivated contacts with other artists and painted "on stock" in his studio. At the end of February 1919, Seehaus was attacked by a sudden, alleged pneumonia, from which he died on March 13, 1919.

Despite his fame at the time, his name is rarely associated with Rhenish Expressionism today, which is due to his early death. The art historian and curator Peter Dering wanted to change this.

In cooperation with the August-Macke-Haus, his dissertation was published as an accompanying book to the exhibition "Paul Adolf Seehaus (1891-1919) - Life and Work", which ran from June 18 to September 12, 2004.

In it, he presents a comprehensive study of the artist's life story, analyzes his wealth of artistic ideas and compiles a comprehensive catalog raisonné of his works in line with Seehaus' life stages. The exhibition catalog shows works by artists who inspired Seehaus in his development and were great role models for him, such as Caspar David Friedrich, El Greco and, of course, August Macke. Styles that Seehaus incorporated into his works, such as Cubism, are also described.

Landscape painting, probably the most important genre in Seehaus' work, is examined in detail. Over the course of time, the artist changed his style from colorful to dark landscape paintings. Areas that he repeatedly painted in his works were the Bonn area, the Eifel and the coasts of the Baltic Sea and Great Britain.

Further catalogs of exhibitions dealing with Bonn artists and their works can be found in the holdings of the Bonn City Archive and the Bonn City History Library.

The origin, publisher, illustrator and year of publication of this handy city map (sheet size 22 x 13 cm) with a list of streets and houses in German and English are unknown.

The size of the sheet and the explanations, partly in English translation, suggest a touristic background. The slightly incorrect street names possibly indicate a foreign publisher. Perhaps the city map was part of an English-language travel guide. British tourists and students were frequently encountered in Bonn until the mid-19th century (see the literature mentioned below).

The explanatory index on the right-hand side lists institutions and other relevant buildings in German and English in numbers 1 to 21. From no. 22 onwards, the streets in Bonn-Zentrum are listed. The names are not always correct, for example Diel Kirche instead of Dietkirchen.

Of particular note is the still completely undeveloped "Mühlheimer Feld" along Poppelsdorf Allee. The field is named after an old deserted settlement. The "Auf der Saugasse" parcel roughly covers the area of today's inner Nordstadt.

Other special features include the shooting range with parade ground on the site of the former University Women's Hospital and today's Beethovenhalle as well as the visible sections of the Godesberg stream near the Stockentor (No. 42). The city garden at Alter Zoll, which has been a listed building since 2018, is also depicted in great detail.

So there are some clues to answer some of the questions. Good luck with the puzzle!

The Rhenish artist Paul Magar (1909 to 2000) would have celebrated his 110th birthday on November 14, 2019. The Bad Godesberg Art and Culture Association (KuKuG e.V.) is organizing a Magar memorial year in his honour. The city archive owns several prints by Magar, whose well-known oeuvre was created in Bonn-Bad Godesberg. From the portfolio "Bonn. 12 original lithographs", the sheet "Münster" will be presented.

Born in Altenahr, Paul Magar studied at various art schools and at the art academy in Berlin; his early style was academic. After the war, Russian captivity and the loss of all his works in Berlin, he made a new start in Bad Godesberg in 1947. There he found his own, unmistakable style by studying the paintings of Macke, Marc, Feininger and above all Delaunay. Magar's art is characterized above all by cubism and geometric abstraction - the graphic structure is decisive for his work.

In the 1960s, Magar received several large public commissions in Bonn, including the large mural in the sanctuary of the Church of St. Bernhard in Bonn-Auerberg, the large-scale mosaic on the Bad Godesberg traffic pavilion and the glass mosaic for the front of the Kurfürstenbad in Bad Godesberg. In 1973, Paul Magar's portfolio "Bonn. 12 original lithographs". The portfolio with sheets measuring 53 x 63 centimeters is accompanied by a text written by Bonn art historian Prof. Heinrich Lützeler. Magar was inspired by Eberhard Marx, the former director of the Bonn Art Museum, to create this cubist-influenced Bonn picture cycle. After Marx saw Magar's portfolio oeuvre "Dome on the Rhine" (12 pencil drawings in offset print, 1970), he persuaded him to tackle a similar project for Bonn and so Magar's portfolio with the Bonn motifs was created. This was presented to Willy Brandt by the city of Bonn on the occasion of his 60th birthday, and the twelve lithographs made such an impression on Brandt that he paid Magar a visit in his studio.

Sheet 6 of the Bonn portfolio, entitled "Münster", shows a well-known Bonn scene for which Magar has chosen a very unusual perspective. The Beethoven monument - central in the foreground - can be seen from the back and provides a view of Bonn Minster.

The viewer's point of view is not real: Magar reduces distances here, whereby the expanse of the square is lost; he concentrates the objects by using strong contrasts of light and dark. He allows backgrounds to shine through so that architectural structures and figures appear "transparent", which is reminiscent of Magar's studies of stained glass; the sharply defined forms are also reminiscent of the technique of stained glass. The Münsterplatz is populated with numerous people, but they only have a staffage function - as silhouettes, they appear completely anonymous. Magar has incorporated these always anonymous figures into his predominantly structural-architectural pictures since the 1970s. There is only a hint of vegetation in Magar's work; here the trees are stylized into calyxes.

In Paul Magar's anniversary year, the following interesting events are being organized by KuKuG e.V. in cooperation with the association "Bürger. Bad.Godesberg" association:

5.11 - 1.12.2019: Farb-Sicht, Retrospective 1
Exhibition in Bad Godesberg, in the Haus an der Redoute

From 14.11. 2019: Color View, Retrospective 2
Exhibition in Konz

10.11.- 2.12.2019: Color View, Retrospective 3
Exhibition in Bad Godesberg, Kunstverein

16.11.2019: Bus excursion to Konz to view the Magar exhibition and bus excursion from Konz to the Magar exhibitions in Bad Godesberg

The development of children's books has taken place over centuries. The Middle Ages provide an introduction. At that time, there were hardly any children's books. The majority of the population was poor and very few people could afford to send their children to school. In addition, children from poor families had to help their fathers in the trades or their mothers in the household at an early age. Only children of rich citizens and nobles went to school and learned to read and write. However, this was mainly in order to be educated strictly and prepared for privileged tasks. At that time, every book had to be copied by hand, which is why copies were only made of the most important books. This did not include children's books. When the goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg invented letterpress printing in 1450, books could be reproduced more quickly, but children's books were not important enough to take advantage of this new development.

At the beginning of the 17th century, children were taught to read, mainly in order to be able to read the Bible. Little by little, small pictures were shown alongside the ABC so that the letters could be learned to match the pictures. From the middle of the 17th century, encyclopaedic children's books were even designed. The aim was to explain the world to children. Each article was first followed by a picture and then the text in two languages: German and Latin. This meant that the Latin language was also learned. In the 18th century, the question arose as to whether girls should also read and if so, what. At first there were only books about household and child-rearing, but later novels for girls also became popular. Adventure books for children were also very popular, with "Robinson Cruseo" by Daniel Defoe (original from 1715) becoming very famous. From the 19th century onwards, more and more entertainment stories for children developed, which has not changed to this day.

The City Archive and City History Library are in possession of some very special and old children's books. For example, the title "Neues französisches und deutsches, der Fassungskraft der Kinder angemessenes ABC, welches auserlesene, leichte und belehrende Fabeln, Unterhaltungen, &c. enthält, nebst einer Anleitung zur Erleichterung des französischen Unterrichts 1849" from 1810.

This book is written in German and French. It is interesting to note why this book was written. The author was often asked by teachers for an easy book for learning French. They wanted a small book "which, in addition to the ABC, would contain entertainments for children, stories, fables, etc., all arranged in stages, for the amusement of children and to encourage their taste in reading". For, as the author noted, the material in the ABC books of the time was "either beyond the comprehension of children, or it has nothing, or very little, to attract them".

Another book in the library's collection is entitled "Dä Hond on dat Eechhohn. Ä Verzellsche für Blahge" ("The dog and the squirrel. A story for children"). It was written in 1849 by Johanna Kinkel from Bonn in Rhenish dialect. The title "Arndt's Fairy Tales" is from 1909. Written by Ernst Moritz Arndt, who taught as a professor at the university in Bonn for many years, it contains six fairy tales. Even though Arndt was more of a fighter and his combat writings and war songs are more famous, his fairy tales are "stories full of grace and mischievousness" and are intended to delight children's hearts.

The City History Library's collection also includes new children's books. For example, special Bonn children's books. There is the Bonn storybook for children "Lisa and her friends of the night" by Ursula Frank, in which the smartest mouse in Bonn, Lisa, is the main character. Through her adventures across Bonn, children learn about the city, sights and, of course, Beethoven.

For older children, there is the school and children's book "Bonn Book for Children" by Barbara Stein. The book takes you through Bonn's history from ancient times to the present day and shows the most important people, monuments and landmarks. The book also contains coloring sheets, quizzes and handicraft instructions, worksheets, search and observation tasks.

Sources:

• Jacobs, Heiner: The world of pictures in children's books. Children's and youth books from five centuries. Cologne: Museums of the City of Cologne, 1988
• Mozin, Abbe: Neues französisches und deutsches, der Fassungskraft der Kinder angemessenes ABC, welches auserlesene, leichte und belehrende Fabeln, Unterhaltungen, &c. enthält, nebst einer Anleitung zur Erleichterung des französischen Unterrichts 1849. Bonn: Kaspar Tilmes, 1810
• Kinkel, Johanna: Dä Hond on dat Eechhohn. Ä Verzellsche for Blahge. Bonn: Sulzbach, 1849
• Arndt, Ernst Moritz: Arndt's fairy tales. Leipzig: Abel & Müller GmbH, 1909
• Frank, Ursula: Lisa and her friends of the night. The Bonn fairy tale book for children. Königswinter: Lempertz, 2013
• Stein, Barbara: Bonn book for children. 8th revised ed. Bonn: Bouvier, 2017

Almost forgotten today, 30 years ago city hostesses were still a fixture in Bonn's city administration: in 1969, "the eleven friendly ladies of the information and hostess service", as the city's administrative report puts it, took over the care of congress and conference visitors for the first time. The "Bonn hostesses" or "federal hostesses", as they were also called, were primarily intended to represent the charm and hospitality of the still young federal capital and thus, above all, to shape a positive image of Bonn. In addition to congresses, the young women were also present at cultural events, press conferences, council meetings, receptions, state visits and events abroad. They were particularly in demand for major events, such as the Federal Garden Show in 1979.

In April 1971, the city's hostesses visited the Chancellery in Bonn at the invitation of Chancellery Minister Horst Ehmke, which the Nordbayerische Kurier commented on with the jovial headline "Pretty visit to the Chancellery". Several photographs in a file from the "Advertising and Transport Office" document this visit, during which the city's "Bonn hostesses" apparently also met Chancellor Willy Brandt and presented him with a Bonn tie.

Often the focus of public attention, they enjoyed a special role among municipal employees and even had their own office in Godesberg Town Hall. However, the women, who were trained in languages and city history, were rarely to be found at their desks, but mainly behind the counters of the city's information pavilions, where, as "walking encyclopaedias on Bonn", they provided information to capital city tourists from Germany and abroad in alternating shifts or helped with hotel searches.

Not only because of their knowledge, which the women received as part of their education and training at the city's advertising and transport office, hostesses were a "job in the city with good marriage prospects", according to a contemporary Bonn newspaper. The attention of the local and sometimes national press was often focused quite one-sidedly on the 'external qualities' of the uniformed "city girls", "girls in purple" or "mini girls", as they were dubbed in corresponding reports. When the city introduced a new, more 'fashionable' hostess uniform in the fall of 1970, which included a warmer midi skirt and boots instead of the short mini, not least at the request of the wearers, this sparked a major fashion debate in the local press, in which even the acting head of the city, Wolfgang Hesse, had his say.

The profession of city hostess - long relegated to appearances as a 'wordless flanker' at receptions or next to lecterns - is now an outdated model, not least thanks to the changing female role model. In 1989 - the year of the 2000th anniversary celebrations - there were still 55 municipal hostesses in Bonn. All the more reason to remember an almost forgotten part of the capital's history.

Today's Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz, formerly the area west of Brückenstraße, was a field of rubble after the Second World War; it was the area with the greatest destruction in Bonn. A photo from the city archives (DA01_04831-a), which shows this area around 1948/1949, bears witness to this.

The picture by Paul Kersten from the municipal picture library already shows the shell of the Mohr seed store at the Wenzelgasse/Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz intersection, while the houses on the south side of Friedrichstraße can be seen in the background. It was at this time, on August 5, 1949 - exactly 70 years ago - that the street naming committee decided to call the newly created square "Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz". However, there was a fierce debate about the naming of the square beforehand - a veritable "naming controversy". The question of Bertha von Suttner's relationship to Bonn was raised by the General Anzeiger, among others, in the summer of 1951:

But is it necessary to give one of the city's largest squares, near the old Beethovenhalle, this name of all things, which is so foreign to every Bonn resident that they first have to check the dictionary to find out who is being remembered in such a way by their descendants?

Bonn Square was named after the Austrian pacifist Bertha Sophia Felicita Baroness von Suttner, née Countess Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau (1843-1914). She was the first female Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1905. She became famous for her anti-war book "Lay Down Your Arms" from 1889, which was a great success in the pacifist movement. Her tireless contribution to peace is reflected in the fact that she founded the "Austrian Society of Friends of Peace" in 1891 and was elected Vice President of the International Peace Bureau at the 3rd World Peace Congress in Rome in the same year. One year later, she also co-founded the "German Peace Society", the oldest organization of the German peace movement. The naming of the central Bonn square, one of the most important traffic junctions in Bonn, was thus seen as a reminder of peace: it was a clear commitment to a future in peace, a decision that was underpinned by the promise "Never again war!".

Thanks to the initiative of the "Frauennetzwerk für Frieden e.V." in Bonn, Bertha von Suttner was honored and brought closer to the people of Bonn: The two and a half meter high stainless steel memorial stele for Bertha von Suttner goes back to this association, which financed the sculpture through fundraising. The stele, designed by Finnish artist Sirpa Masalin with the contours of Bertha von Suttner, was inaugurated on September 21, 2013, the United Nations International Day of Peace. It is located in the middle of the sidewalk on the corner of Sandkaule. A year later, to mark the 100th anniversary of Berta von Suttner's death, the "Women's Network for Peace" organized an exhibition entitled "Bertha von Suttner - A Life for Peace", which was shown in the foyer of the City Hall.

The association once again used the 70th anniversary of the naming of the square as an opportunity to commemorate Bertha von Suttner: In June, a display board with historical photos was unveiled at the "Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz" stop and from the end of August to the end of October, the aforementioned exhibition from 2013 can be seen again in the City Hall. The Women's Museum is also involved, showing the feature film "Heart of the World" (1954) about Bertha von Suttner's life on August 30. From September 21, 2019, the first journey of the "Bertha-Bahn" (streetcar line 62) will start, which will travel through Bonn for a year with the likeness of Bertha von Suttner. This will be accompanied by information about the pacifist at various locations: https://www.frauennetzwerk-fuer-frieden.de/themen/bertha-von-suttner/bertha-bahn-2019.html

Last but not least, historian Alma Hanning will give a lecture in the Haus der Bildung on Suttner's work "Die Waffen nieder!", which was first published 130 years ago.

September 13 marks the 200th anniversary of Clara Schumann's birth. The anniversary provides an opportunity for the city archive to present an exhibit with a dedication to the composer in the September time slot.

The visually appealing, but at first glance not very meaningful exhibit contains a number of remarkable (Bonn) references. The year 1854, in which the score was published, marked a decisive turning point in the life of the world-famous pianist. In March of that year, her husband Robert, with whom she had first forced a love match as a 21-year-old through a lawsuit against her father Friedrich Wieck, was admitted to the sanatorium in Bonn Endenich after a suicide attempt, where he died two years later in the presence of Clara.

From then on, the artist was completely on her own with her seven children. In the four decades that she outlived her husband, the celebrated virtuoso led an erratic life of travel that took her to concerts all over Europe, earning a living for her family. The diversity and independence of her life as a mother, artist, manager and sought-after piano teacher make her an extraordinary modern woman in her time. She was laid to rest in the Old Cemetery in Bonn alongside her husband Robert, as she had wished. Both their coffins have been preserved in the crypt.

Joseph Joachim, the addressee of the dedication, a famous violinist and frequent musical partner of Clara, was a close friend of the Schumanns and, like Johannes Brahms, cared for the mentally ill composer and stood by Clara during this difficult time and long after Schumann's death. The dedication, written on one of her concert tours, may be understood as a token of gratitude for this friendship. Joachim had a special relationship with the city of Bonn, above all through his cultivation of Beethoven and his promotion of Robert Schumann's musical legacy. In 1890, he organized the first chamber music festival in the Beethoven House, which had just been saved by a citizens' initiative, and became the first honorary president of the Beethoven House Association. Shortly before his death, he was awarded honorary citizenship of Bonn.

Founded in 1793, the music publisher Nikolaus Simrock published first editions and reprints of scores by Beethoven, Haydn, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Schumann and, above all, Brahms, and was regarded as one of the leading publishers in this sector. Its headquarters were in Bonn until 1870, then in Berlin. The poems of Friedrich Hebbel, author of the Nachtlied, repeatedly inspired Robert Schumann to compose, above all his only opera Genoveva.

It turns out that this inconspicuous archive has an astonishing source value.

A caricature drawing and a graphic from the collection of the Bonn City Archives give reason to think of Helfrich Bernhard Hundeshagen, who was born on September 18, 1784 in Hanau and died on October 9, 1858 in Endenich (near Bonn). His parents were Johann Balthasar Hundeshagen (1734-1800), a grammar school professor, syndic in Hanau, Privy Government and Court Councillor, and his wife Dorothea Charlotte Stein.

Hundeshagen studied law in Marburg from 1802 and in Göttingen from 1804 to 1806 and became a "Hofgerichtsadvocat" in Hanau after completing his studies. He had many interests in addition to studying law: philosophy, philology, architecture, archaeology, topography, drawing, painting, writing poetry and composing. As he was unable to pursue a career in law, he concentrated more and more on medieval architecture and especially on topographical and art-historical descriptions.

His first scientific publications began in 1808. From this time onwards, he had contact with many well-known personalities from the art and science world of the time - including Jacob and Johann Grimm, Achim von Arnim, Alexander von Humboldt and Sulpiz Boisserée. During Hundhagen's years in Wiesbaden, he met Johann Wolfgang von Goethe around 1814/15, who was there for a cure. Their correspondence was apparently quite private - a letter from Goethe to Hundeshagen reveals their mutual interest in a certain lady.

Bernhard Hundeshagen undertook extensive and time-consuming studies, leaving behind many drafts and notes as well as elaborate manuscripts. His main work is considered to be "Kaiser Friedrichs I. Barbarossa Palast in der Burg zu Gelnhausen", which he completed as early as 1808 but was only able to publish in 1818. The publication of the work was delayed because the pages that had already been printed were destroyed during a fire caused by the bombing of Hanau by Napoleonic troops on June 3, 1813. Bernhard Hundeshagen also lost a large part of his private property in this fire.

In 1812, he was appointed by the Duke of Nassau for various tasks in the newly established topographical office, in the library, in art and general construction as well as in public education. Officially, he was the director of the new Nassau State Library in Wiesbaden, with various secondary duties as part of his office, including participating in archaeological excavations in the Wiesbaden area and overseeing the dissolution of monastery libraries.

In 1817, he was dismissed without notice for several reasons: Among other things, Hundeshagen had unauthorized and unfunded building projects carried out for the library and made literature purchases that exceeded the available funds. He also fell out with his staff and superiors and refused to take the oath of office when asked to do so by the state government.

After being dismissed from the civil service, he came to Bonn in 1820. Here he became the first lecturer for theoretical and practical architecture at the newly founded university - today this subject would be called architecture. From then on, he referred to himself as a master builder. Lectures were listed in the course catalogs "by architect Dr. Hundeshagen" from the winter semester of 1820/21 to the summer semester of 1824.

In the meantime, he had fallen into a very difficult financial situation and was no longer able to pay his bills. In April 1824, the justice of the peace of the district of Bonn certified his credit unworthiness, which meant personal insolvency. He did not even have the money to pay the stamp duty for this certificate. Hundeshagen had long suffered from "nervous" fits and had already been considered quick-tempered, nervous and peculiar in his youth. The new circumstances seem to have exacerbated his condition.

Through the mediation of some of the scientists with whom Hundeshagen had worked, e.g. Karl Ruckstuhl, who appreciated his achievements during excavations at the Roman camp in Bonn, he received various commissions and support. Hundeshagen worked as an architect and continued to be active as a scientist and draughtsman. He worked on a Nibelungen opera and published several topographical-artistic works, e.g. "Die Stadt und Universität Bonn am Rhein: mit ihren Umgebungen und zwölf Ansichten dargestellt", 1832. As early as 1819/1820, he produced large, colorful, partly artistically designed city maps of the city of Bonn and its surroundings. These can be found in the Bonn City Archives and have been reprinted several times.

Hundeshagen campaigned for the preservation of the Schwarz-Rheindorf double church, which had already been put up for sale for demolition. On this occasion, a street in Beuel was named after Hundeshagen. Gradually, Bernhard Hundeshagen became a kind of "town original", announcing his plans and complaints in newspaper advertisements, leaflets and other campaigns in a rather incomprehensible manner and serving as a figure of derision for the carnivalists. Eventually, the news about him became less frequent. He had allegedly married. After the death of his wife, his mental illness became so bad that he had to be admitted to the mental hospital in Endenich in 1849. He was Robert Schumann's fellow patient there for several years and died on October 9, 1858.

Bernhard Hundeshagen, who has otherwise almost fallen into oblivion, is best known for the so-called "Codex Hundeshagen". This medieval illustrated Nibelung manuscript from 1440 is one of only two known copies. Today it belongs to the collection of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Hundeshagen did not have this manuscript scientifically examined and only gave very vague information about its acquisition.

His estate, which he had bequeathed to the Bonn master builder Christian von der Emden in exchange for money, was auctioned in Bonn in 1867. Part of his estate is in the Bonn City Archives and is in part an adventurous and almost frightening collection of various documents, notes and drawings, some of which he cut up into tiny snippets.

In 1869 - 150 years ago - the Mülheimer Törchen was demolished during the construction of Münsterstraße. It was part of the medieval city wall in the area of today's Cassiusbastei, opposite the Galeria department store (formerly Karstadt). The city wall, which was built in Bonn as the city grew from the mid-13th century, had smaller gates in addition to the three main gates: for example, the Mülheimer Törchen, also known as the "Mülheimer Pförtchen", "Mülmer thörlen", "Mülheimer Türlein" or "Mülheimer Thürgen", was located a little further south of the Sterntor to the southwest. The small square in front of it - "Auf dem Kälberdanz" - was first mentioned in 1737.

Built in the 13th century during the construction of the ring walls, the Mülheimer Törchen was first mentioned in a document in 1372. It took its name from the Fronhof of St. Cassius, which was located close to the Endenich stream. Through this gateway, there was now a direct connection between the Cassius monastery and the small settlement of Mülheim, which consisted of a large farmstead, the Bongartshof (1401-1676) and nine residential houses. The farmstead, also known as "Molenheim", with its mill on the "Bonner Bach" was first mentioned in 1143.

As a copperplate engraving by Matthäus Merian the Elder from 1646 shows, it was located in front of the Mülheimer Törchen on a path between today's Poststrasse and Meckenheimer Strasse and extended as far as Quantiusstrasse - i.e. in the area of the main railway station. The settlement was finally demolished in 1676 when the fortifications were built. On Merian's map of Bonn, the Mülheimer Törchen is depicted as a square porch flanked by two half-towers. A bridge covered with palisades leads over the moat, at the end of which another gateway is built.

The pointed arched entrance to the gate was, similar to the Sterntor, framed by a round bar with dividing rings. In 1689, the gate was badly damaged during the Brandenburg siege of Bonn and rebuilt shortly afterwards using the old building material - namely tuff and basalt - in a rather crude manner. Exactly two hundred years later, it was finally demolished in March 1869 as part of the city's redevelopment.

The Bonn City Archive was recently able to acquire an extraordinary sheet from an English antiquarian bookshop, which adds a remarkable motif to the museum's collection of "Studentika". It is a fine watercolor measuring 17.5 (height) x 26 (width) cm and is inscribed "Students at Bonn". It shows two young men in typical Biedermeier clothing, light-colored trousers, rather dark frock coat, and with the writing utensils necessary for students under their arms. One of them is depicted with a striking red headdress and a long meerschaum tobacco pipe, which was widely used in student circles at the time.

The watercolor is by James Hamilton Stanhope (1788-1825). He was the youngest child of Charles Stanhope, third Earl Stanhope, and his second wife Louisa Grenville. At the age of fifteen, he began a military career that took him to various European theaters of war, including Waterloo, where he ultimately held the rank of lieutenant colonel. From 1817 until his early death, he was, with a brief interruption, a member of the British House of Commons.

The picture of the Bonn students was taken in 1819, exactly 200 years ago, during a trip to the continent that Stanhope undertook together with his future wife and her parents. The young men depicted are therefore Bonn students of the first "generation", as the university had only been founded on October 18, 1818.

In 1820, Stanhope married Frederica Louisa Murray, the eldest daughter of the Earl of Mansfield. Her early death in January 1823 in connection with the birth of their second child led the widower into a deep depression; Stanhope largely withdrew from public life and finally lived in his parents-in-law's house, Kenwood House in London. There he voluntarily retired from life on March 5, 1825 at the age of 36.

Stanhope had already used the reverse of the sheet in 1816: Also in watercolors, he had produced a view of the mouth of the Lahn ("View opposite conflux of Lahn and Rhine, July 16"), which shows a central section of the Middle Rhine in an early Romantic exaggerated manner. Other works by Stanhope with motifs of the Rhine, Moselle and Neckar are known.

The new acquisition of the city archive proves two things: firstly, when Stanhope depicted the Bonn students in 1819, it was by no means his first time on the Rhine. Secondly, the sheet proves that Stanhope was one of the countless Britons who, particularly in the first half of the 19th century, were "captivated by the magic of the Rhine", as the title of a much-visited exhibition at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in 1992 on the discovery of the Rhine landscape put it.