The paddle steamer "Stolzenfels" is the attraction on the banks of the Godesberg Bastei in the early summer of 1906. Numerous families from Godesberg and the surrounding area take advantage of the beautiful weekend weather for a walk along the Rhine promenade. The photo was taken by Daniel Friedrich Voigt (1864-1934). Voigt had originally trained as a shoemaker and later became one of Bad Godesberg's most important photographers (9.5 x 14.4 cm).

The Abitur period - probably the most stressful phase in the life of a high school student. The Abitur newspaper is one of the positive aspects of this time. Memories of the time spent at school together, tips on how to behave in the following years and a critical review of the school, lessons and teachers are all part of the content of a typical Abitur newspaper. Over the decades, however, the focus of the newspapers has changed. They adapt to the spirit of the times and reflect the current school and youth culture.

Abitur newspapers can serve as an important source of contemporary history, including the history of the city. The Bonn City Archive owns a collection of Bonn Abitur newspapers and would like to add more copies to it. The Bonn City Archives would therefore be pleased to receive old or completely new Abitur newspapers, in paper form or digitized.

Contact person: Ms. Meyer

Address: Stadtarchiv und Stadthistorische Bibliothek Bonn, Berliner Platz 2, 53103 Bonn

E-mail address:  stadtarchivbonnde

In 1930, the Sarrasani Circus visits Bonn and offers the audience a show in which 20 members of the Sioux tribe from North America play the leading role. The illustration shows a letter from the correspondence between the circus and the city of Bonn. It shows the elaborate letterhead depicting the participants in the Wild West Show (Stadtarchiv Bonn Pr 20/412).

To mark the start of fall 2013 and the Wagner year, we would like to present a postcard from our postcard collection: This is a portrait-format advertising postcard measuring 9x14 cm from the Söhnlein company. It was created around 1930 using multicolor halftone printing. A cheerful winegrower offers us "A greeting from the Rhine" on an idyllic vineyard. The view shows the romantic Rhine valley at Drachenfels in Königswinter.

The sparkling wine brand "Rheingold" was the first German sparkling wine brand to be entered in the German trademark register back in 1876. Johann Jacob Söhnlein used the name for his sparkling wine because of his admiration for Richard Wagner's "Ring des Nibelungen".

Contact: Julia Zuber,  stadtarchivbonnde

Students lived in these windowless high-rise bunkers, as living space was very scarce in those years. In February 2011, an exhibition of the photographer Käthe Augenstein (1899-1981) took place in Bad Godesberg in the "Haus an der Redoute". A selection of the Bonn artist's extensive oeuvre was exhibited here for the first time. Augenstein's photographic estate is one of the Bonn City Archive's particularly valuable holdings.

This fall, the exhibition will travel to Berlin, where it will be shown "In the Hidden Museum" from October 25 and will be on display there until February 9, 2014. Käthe Augenstein's black and white photo "Der Bonn Studentenbunker in der Trierer Straße" from 1949 is part of a photo series in which she documents student life in the post-war years.

Augenstein describes her photo very aptly: "Smaller than convict cells, but incomparably more homely and personal are the bunks in the Bonn student bunker. Doctors and chemists often drew entire pages from their textbooks on the wall here - in preparation for their exams."

Leafing through the Bonn General-Anzeiger of November 16, 1913, we found the concert announcement shown here between everyday news from "near and far" and countless advertisements promoting various goods such as "Good Dogs", "Great Potatoes", the "Latest Autumn Fashion" or "Fresh Herrings". Everything seems to be quiet and in seasonal order in Bonn.

The program of the concert of the Bonn Männer-Gesang-Verein announced for 19 November 1913 (Day of Prayer and Repentance) reflects the political currents and ideas of the time and makes us think of the gloomy events to come. The choral society presents a program that commemorates the heroes of the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig (16.10.-19.10.1813) - the Monument to the Battle of the Nations was inaugurated in 1913.

Filled with pride, it commemorates Prussia's fight against French rule in Germany. In the decisive battle of the Wars of Liberation, Napoleon was defeated by an alliance of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden.

At this point, we would like to draw your attention to a special feature of the City History Library. In addition to the extensive Bonn newspaper collection (dating back to the 1770s), there is also an extensive collection of newspaper cuttings dating back to 1899. It is easy to use and often the only source on a historical event. It is invaluable as a quick introduction to a topic.

André Osterritter (1906-1957) created his very own Rhenish winter greeting with this colorful caricature around 60 years ago. The Bonn-born painter, graphic artist and caricaturist, who had already taken part in painting exhibitions in the 1930s/40s, including at the "Villa Obernier" municipal museum, achieved regional fame in particular through his later caricature works. He made a name for himself in the young German capital primarily through his poster designs for the Bonn Carnival Festival Committee and the publications of his caricatures in Bonn and other newspapers.

In his bitingly humorous drawings, he often took up topical urban issues such as the construction of Bonn's new Rhine bridge in 1949, the "forest of advertisements and signs in Bonn's economic miracle" or the waste problems of the emerging metropolis. Osterritter, who was a graphic designer in the city planning office from 1948, even showed his talent for drawing to his closest professional and colleague circle, to whom numerous greeting cards from his estate are dedicated. André Osterritter died on August 8, 1957 in Mehlem.

Contact for collections/bequests: Markus Ernzerhoff,  markus.ernzerhoffbonnde