Haus der Geschichte in Bonn

Ad­e­nauer’s Mer­cedes, a cinema from the 1950s and a rail­way car – the Bonn mu­seum makes Ger­man his­tory an ex­per­i­ence. The in­sti­tute ad­dresses con­tem­por­ary top­ics in one area of the per­man­ent ex­hib­i­tion. Vis­it­ors can learn more about glob­al­isa­tion, mi­gra­tion and di­git­al­isa­tion.

Haus der Geschichte in Bonn is one of the most beloved and popular museums in Germany. Every year, around 850,000 visitors come to Bonn and are amazed by German history from the post-war era to the present day on 4,000 square metres of exhibition space.

Background and links are explained at interactive media stations through historical film and audio documents: The permanent exhibition presents around 7,000 artefacts from German political, economic, cultural and everyday history since 1945 in chronological order.

These include the Federal Chancellor’s saloon railway car, Konrad Adenauer’s official Mercedes, members’ benches from the old parliament in Bonn and a cinema from the 1950s. The colourful artefacts also include original pieces of the Berlin Wall and a Volkswagen camper van. Historical events, developments and movements such as the Cold War, the division of Germany into East and West and the reconstruction of Germany all have a place here.

And what about modern times? The museum draws modern connections to topics in a new area. Visitors can learn more about globalisation, the migration debate, digitalisation and terrorism. Positive and negative aspects of German history are both addressed and presented in a comprehensible manner. 

In addition to the popular permanent exhibition, the establishment also offers numerous changing and touring exhibitions. In addition to this, the museum has a caricature galley on the other side of the museum mile with one of the biggest collections of political caricatures. A Roman cellar with excavated treasures in the basement of the main building is a reminder of an entirely different epoch for the country.

Haus der Geschichte also organises guided tours of the former government district, Palais Schaumburg and the Chancellor’s bungalow. On a planned day of museum visits, travellers should also take in the Alexander König Museum, Kunstmuseum Bonn and the Bundeskunsthalle.