Bonn

American  

[bon, bawn] / bɒn, bɔn /

noun

1. a city in W Germany, on the Rhine: seat of the government; former capital of West Germany.

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Bonn British  

/ bɒn, bɔn /

noun

1. a city in W Germany, in North Rhine-Westphalia on the Rhine: the former capital (1949–90) of West Germany; university (1786). Pop: 311 052 (2003 est)

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Bonn Cultural  

1. Former capital of the Federal Republic of Germany and still home to most of the German government's bureaucracy, located in the western part of Germany, on the Rhine River.

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Discover More

The Constitution for West Germany was drafted in Bonn after World War II. Bonn became West Germany's capital in 1949 and reunified Germany's capital in 1990, but it has since lost that distinction to Berlin.

Example Sentences

Bonn is where government negotiators meet every June to hammer out technical details and narrow differences over global climate action before leaders tackle the bigger decisions at COP31.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

The troops’ departure was an economic and social shock for local communities, said Marc von Boemcken, head of research at the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies, a think tank.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

It also has two other bases – in Bologna in Italy and in Bonn, Germany.

From BBC • May 13, 2026

More than 70,000 Germans lost their jobs in the early to mid-1990s as a result, according to a 1995 report by the Bonn International Center for Conversion.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

And Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube, respectively of University College London and the University of Bonn, first put the history of the great Mutal-Kaan war together in 1996.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann