# Bad Honnef

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**Bad Honnef** (baːt ˈhɔnɛf) is a [spa town](/source/Spa_town) in Germany near [Bonn](/source/Bonn) in the [Rhein-Sieg](/source/Rhein-Sieg) district, [North Rhine-Westphalia](/source/North_Rhine-Westphalia). It is located on the border of the neighbouring state [Rhineland-Palatinate](/source/Rhineland-Palatinate). To the north it lies on the slopes of the [Drachenfels](/source/Drachenfels_(Siebengebirge)) (“Dragon's Rock”) mountain, part of the [Siebengebirge](/source/Siebengebirge).

## Overview

Bad Honnef is home to a mineral spring called the *Drachenquelle* ("Dragon Spring") which was discovered in 1897. This discovery led to Honnef, as the town was called at the time, transforming from a [wine](/source/German_wine)-growing town to a spa town, adding the prefix Bad to its name. The mineral spring has been used for both drinking and bathing,[2] and its existence has historically been a big draw for visitors including Queen Sophie of Sweden, who visited from 1892 to 1906.[3]

Bad Honnef includes several districts, such as [Aegidienberg](/source/Aegidienberg), Rhöndorf, and [Lohfelderfähre](/source/Lohfelderf%C3%A4hre), which is located near the Rhine ferry crossing to [Rolandseck](/source/Rolandseck). During his term as first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (then West Germany), [Konrad Adenauer](/source/Konrad_Adenauer) lived (and died) in Bad Honnef, as it was near Bonn, then the capital of the republic. Also, German politician and leader of the [Free Democratic Party](/source/Free_Democratic_Party_(Germany)) [Guido Westerwelle](/source/Guido_Westerwelle) was born in Bad Honnef.

Since the 1980s Bad Honnef has developed into an important place for conferences in Germany. Because of the close proximity to the still internationally important Federal City of Bonn, a number federal institutions used to be located in Bad Honnef. A number of important politicians, such as Willy Brandt and Konrad Adenauer, lived in Bad Honnef while active in politics.[4]

The head office of the Nationalpark Siebengebirge project was also planned to be in Bad Honnef;[5] however the project was rejected in a referendum on 27 September 2009.[6]

Bad Honnef has the highest purchasing power of all towns in North Rhine-Westphalia; its percentage of millionaires is also one of the highest.[7] With 26.5% it has one of the highest percentage populations over 65 years old in North Rhine-Westphalia.[8]

## Politics

### City council

After the [2025 local elections](/source/2025_North_Rhine-Westphalia_local_elections), the Bad Honnef [city council](/source/Stadtrat) is composed as follows:

! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| [Christian Democratic Union](/source/Christian_Democratic_Union_of_Germany) (CDU) | 5,406 | 42.2 | 9.6 | 17 | 7 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| [Alliance 90/The Greens](/source/Alliance_90/The_Greens) (Grüne) | 2,663 | 20.8 | 7.5 | 8 | 1 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| [Social Democratic Party](/source/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Germany) (SPD) | 1,694 | 13.2 | 4.5 | 5 | 1 |- | bgcolor=#0000FF| | align=left| Citizens' Block Bad Honnef [e.V.](/source/Club_(organization)) (BB) | 1,401 | 10.9 | 4.4 | 4 | 1 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| [Volt](/source/Volt_Germany) (Volt) | 565 | 4.4 | New | 2 | New |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| [Alternative for Germany](/source/Alternative_for_Germany) (AfD) | 551 | 4.3 | New | 2 | New |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| [Free Democratic Party](/source/Free_Democratic_Party_(Germany)) (FDP) | 546 | 4.3 | 2.0 | 2 | ±0 |- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 12,826 ! 98.7 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Invalid votes ! 176 ! 1.4 ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Total ! 13,002 ! 100.0 ! ! 40 ! 8 |- ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 20,497 ! 63.4 ! ! ! |- | colspan=7| Source: [City of Bad Honnef](https://wahlen.kdvz.nrw/production/kw2025/05382008/praesentation/ergebnis.html?wahl_id=249&stimmentyp=0&id=ebene_3_id_125) |}

### Mayors

Term of office Mayors[9] 1862–1876 Clemens Joseph Adams (1831–1876) 1877–1889 Aloys Hubert Schumacher 1889–1907 Theodor Waechter 1907–1919 Peter Joseph Brenig 1919–1929 Albert Berns 1929–1933 Alfred von Reumont (1898–1984) 1933–1934 Heinrich Behr 1934–1935 temporary von Wittich 1935–1945 Johannes „Hans“ Schloemer 1945–1946 Heinrich Goertz 1946–1949 Jakob Mölbert 1949–1952 Peter Rustemeyer 1952–1962 Jakob Mölbert 1962–1964 Albert Weidenbach 1964–1972 Jakob Mölbert 1972–1982 Franz Josef Kayser (1928–2015) 1982–1990 Werner Osterbrink 1990–1999 Franz Josef Kayser 1999–2004 Hans-Peter Brassel 2004–2014 Wally Feiden (born 1940) 2014–2025 Otto Neuhoff since 2025 Philipp Herzog

## Twin towns – sister cities

See also: [List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany](/source/List_of_twin_towns_and_sister_cities_in_Germany)

Bad Honnef is [twinned](/source/Sister_city) with:[10]

- [Berck](/source/Berck), France
- [Cadenabbia (Griante)](/source/Cadenabbia), Italy
- [Ludvika](/source/Ludvika_Municipality), Sweden
- [Wittichenau](/source/Wittichenau), Germany

## Notable people

- [Curt Haase](/source/Curt_Haase) (1881–1943), general in World War II
- [Boris Papandopulo](/source/Boris_Papandopulo) (1906–1991), composer and conductor
- [Franz Brungs](/source/Franz_Brungs) (born 1936), football player and coach
- [Peter Frankenberg](/source/Peter_Frankenberg) (born 1947), professor and politician (CDU), minister in Baden-Württemberg
- [Peter Hintze](/source/Peter_Hintze) (1950–2016), politician (CDU), 2013–2016 Vice-President of the Bundestag
- [Guido Westerwelle](/source/Guido_Westerwelle) (1961–2016), politician (FDP), Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany (2009–2013)
- [Sydney Lohmann](/source/Sydney_Lohmann) (born 2000), football player for the [Germany national team](/source/Germany_women's_national_football_team)
- [Alfred Nourney](/source/Alfred_Nourney) (1892–1972), socialite and *[Titanic](/source/Titanic)* survivor

## References

1. [Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2025](https://www.ksta.de/region/rhein-sieg-bonn/bad-honnef/kommunalwahl-2025-philipp-herzog-in-bad-honnef-gewaehlt-1-1105247), Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 15 November 2021.

1. ["Virtuelles Brückenhofmuseum - Königswinter - Oberdollendorf"](https://virtuellesbrueckenhofmuseum.de/vmuseum/historie/zeige_objekt.php?auswahl=13939&suche=&reihe=-14853-13939-7284-18807-14026-13780-13857-14278-13787-14277-14008-14283-14240-13778-12095-15406-14429-16485-5136-14793-14271-14273-14281-14225-14005-13751-5134-13776-14006-13852-14662-14023-14322-13730-13718). *virtuellesbrueckenhofmuseum.de*. Retrieved 2025-09-14.

1. ["Famous figures"](https://meinbadhonnef.de/tourismus-freizeit/information-tips-for-activities-in-bad-honnef/famous-figures/) (in German). *Bad Honnef*. Retrieved 2025-09-14.

1. [Informationssystem zum geplanten 'Bürgernationalpark Siebengebirge'](http://www.naturschutz-fachinformationssysteme-nrw.de/7-gebirge/content/de/start.html?jid=0o0) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20080304055421/http://www.naturschutz-fachinformationssysteme-nrw.de/7-gebirge/content/de/start.html?jid=0o0) 2008-03-04 at the Wayback Machine

1. ["MeinBadHonnef"](http://www.bad-honnef.de/service/rathaus/wahlen/index.php?status=story&typ=4&id=3600)

1. [Bad Honnefer haben das meiste Geld (16.12.2006) | Wirtschaft | Lokales | News | General-Anzeiger Online - Bonn](http://www.general-anzeiger-bonn.de/index.php?k=news&itemid=10002&detailid=255769)

1. ["Bad Honnef (Rhein-Sieg-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information"](https://www.citypopulation.de/en/germany/nordrheinwestfalen/rhein_sieg_kreis/05382008__bad_honnef/). *www.citypopulation.de*. Retrieved 2025-09-14.

1. ["Die Bürgermeister der Stadt (Bad) Honnef"](https://web.archive.org/web/20141027002843/http://www.diebadhonnefer.de/2013/05/page/5) (in German). *Die Bad Honnefer*. Archived from [the original](http://www.diebadhonnefer.de/2013/05/page/5) on 2014-10-27.

1. ["Städtepartnerschaften"](https://meinbadhonnef.de/a-z-listing/staedtepartnerschaften/) (in German). Bad Honnef. Retrieved 2021-12-08.

## External links

- [Stadt Bad Honnef](http://www.bad-honnef.de/) (in German)
- [International University of Applied Sciences, Bad Honnef](http://www.iubh.de/en/) (in English)
- [Physikzentrum Bad Honnef](http://www.pbh.de/en/index.shtml) (in English)
- [Information about Bad Honnef, from campus-germany.de](http://www.campus-germany.de/english/4.22.3.858.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20070425144729/http://www.campus-germany.de/english/4.22.3.858.html) 2007-04-25 at the Wayback Machine (in English)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bad Honnef](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Honnef) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Honnef?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.