Bonn

Bonn (pop. 294,300), historic city on the Rhine River in North Rhine-West-phalia, founded in the 1st century A.D. by the Romans. It was the birthplace of Beethoven and from 1238 to 1794 served as the residence of the electors of Cologne. In 1949 it became the de facto capital of West Germany (Berlin was always considered the de jure capital). As such it served as the administrative center of the German Federal Republic. With the unification of the Federal Republic and the East German communist People's Democratic Republic in October 1990 into a single German state, Bonn lost it's status as capital to Berlin in 1991. The full transition to Berlin will take until the early 2000s.

See also: Germany.