Bad Honnef
Stadt
Coordinates50°38′42″N 7°13′37″E
StateNordrhein-Westfalen
RegionKöln
DistrictRhein-Sieg-Kreis
Elevation53-455
Area48.17
Postal code53604
Area code02224
LicenceSU
Gemeindeschlüssel05 3 82 008
Divisions20
Websitewww.bad-honnef.de
MayorPhilipp Herzog[1]
Leader term2025–30

Bad Honnef (baːt ˈhɔnɛf) is a spa town in Germany near Bonn in the Rhein-Sieg district, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the border of the neighbouring state Rhineland-Palatinate. To the north it lies on the slopes of the Drachenfels (“Dragon's Rock”) mountain, part of the 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-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, Rhöndorf, and Lohfelderfähre, which is located near the Rhine ferry crossing to Rolandseck. During his term as first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (then West Germany), 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 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, the Bad Honnef city council is composed as follows:

! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 5,406 | 42.2 | 9.6 | 17 | 7 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 2,663 | 20.8 | 7.5 | 8 | 1 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 1,694 | 13.2 | 4.5 | 5 | 1 |- | bgcolor=#0000FF| | align=left| Citizens' Block Bad Honnef e.V. (BB) | 1,401 | 10.9 | 4.4 | 4 | 1 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Volt (Volt) | 565 | 4.4 | New | 2 | New |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 551 | 4.3 | New | 2 | New |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Free Democratic Party (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 |}

Mayors

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

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Bad Honnef is twinned with:[10]

Notable people

References

  1. ^ Wahlergebnisse in NRW Kommunalwahlen 2025, Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, accessed 15 November 2021.
  2. ^
  3. ^ "Virtuelles Brückenhofmuseum - Königswinter - Oberdollendorf". virtuellesbrueckenhofmuseum.de. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
  4. ^ "Famous figures" (in German). Bad Honnef. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
  5. ^ Informationssystem zum geplanten 'Bürgernationalpark Siebengebirge' Archived 2008-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "MeinBadHonnef"
  7. ^ Bad Honnefer haben das meiste Geld (16.12.2006) | Wirtschaft | Lokales | News | General-Anzeiger Online - Bonn
  8. ^ "Bad Honnef (Rhein-Sieg-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2025-09-14.
  9. ^ "Die Bürgermeister der Stadt (Bad) Honnef" (in German). Die Bad Honnefer. Archived from the original on 2014-10-27.
  10. ^ "Städtepartnerschaften" (in German). Bad Honnef. Retrieved 2021-12-08.