A city in western Germany on the Rhine River; was the capital of West Germany between 1949 and 1989.
Industrial city (chemicals, textiles, plastics, aluminum) in North Rhine–Westphalia in the Federal Republic of Germany, 18 km/15 mi SSE of Cologne, on the left bank of the Rhine; It was the seat of government of West Germany 1949–90 and of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1990. In 1991 the Bundestag voted to move the capital to Berlin. This is being done in phases.
Once a Roman outpost, Bonn was captured by the French 1794, annexed 1801, and was allotted to Prussia 1815. Beethoven was born here. There are three new museums, including the Museum of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany (opened 1994).