Bonn Scavenger Hunt and Self-Guided Tour

The route: Hauptbahnhof, Münsterplatz, Beethoven's birthplace, the market and the palace

10 stops · about 30 min walking · start: Bonn Central Station · finish: Egyptian Museum

The hunt starts at Bonn Central Station and leads to the Minster, the Martinsbrunnen and the Beethoven Monument on Münsterplatz. It continues through the Sterntor to the Beethoven House on Bonngasse, visits the Palace Church and the Old Town Hall on the market square, and then passes the Electoral Palace before it finishes at the Egyptian Museum in the Koblenzer Tor. Even at the Beethoven House and the Egyptian Museum the clue sits on the outside wall, so the game never asks you to buy an admission ticket, and if your hotel is nearer the market square than the station, the app can open the hunt at the Old Town Hall and arrange the other stops around it.

Open the route map ↗

1. 

   1Bonn Central StationStart

   Bonn's main station lies on the western edge of the city centre, a short walk from Münsterplatz. The railway reached Bonn in 1844 with the line to Cologne, and from 1949 the station welcomed many politicians and diplomats, as Bonn became the seat of the West German government.

2. 

   2Bonn Minster

   Bonn Minster is one of the oldest churches in Germany, built mainly in Romanesque style between the 11th and 13th centuries. It is dedicated to Cassius and Florentius, Roman soldiers who according to legend died for their faith here, and two large stone heads of the saints by the sculptor Stephan Balkenhol lie beside it.

3. 

   3Martinsbrunnen (St Martin's Fountain)

   This fountain stands on Martinsplatz, right beside the Minster. Square and fountain are named after St Martin, the Roman soldier who according to legend cut his cloak in two to share it with a freezing beggar, a story the Rhineland still celebrates every November with lantern processions.

4. 

   4Beethoven Monument

   The bronze statue on Münsterplatz was unveiled in 1845, 75 years after Beethoven's birth, and was the first public monument to the composer. It was created by Ernst Julius Hähnel, Franz Liszt helped to pay for it, and Queen Victoria attended the celebrations for its unveiling.

5. 

   5Sterntor

   The Sterntor is the last surviving gate of Bonn's medieval town fortifications. It was taken down at the end of the 19th century to make way for traffic and then rebuilt a short distance away using its old stones, so the gateway you walk past today is a reconstruction.

6. 

   6Beethoven House

   Ludwig van Beethoven was born in this house on Bonngasse in December 1770. In 1889 a group of Bonn citizens founded the Beethoven-Haus association to save the building, and today it holds one of the largest Beethoven collections in the world, from manuscripts to his instruments.

7. 

   7Palace Church (Schlosskirche)

   This church inside the former Electoral Palace was the court church of the prince-electors of Cologne, who ruled from Bonn. Today it serves as a Protestant university church, so services and concerts are still held in the palace where the electors once prayed.

8. 

   8Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus)

   The late baroque Old Town Hall on the market square was built in 1737 and 1738 under Elector Clemens August. From its double staircase, state guests such as Charles de Gaulle and John F. Kennedy greeted the crowds while Bonn was the capital of West Germany.

9. 

   9Electoral Palace

   The Electoral Palace was built from 1697 to plans by Enrico Zuccalli for Joseph Clemens, prince-elector and archbishop of Cologne, who made Bonn his residence. Since 1818 it has been the main building of the University of Bonn, and its long front faces the Hofgarten, a wide lawn popular with students.

10. 10Egyptian MuseumFinish

    The Egyptian Museum of the University of Bonn is housed in the Koblenzer Tor, a baroque gate building of the palace complex from the 18th century with a road running through its arch. Its collection of objects from ancient Egypt is used both for teaching and for exhibitions open to visitors.