| Type: | Stadt |
| Bad Honnef | |
| Image Coa: | DEU Bad Honnef COA.svg |
| Coordinates: | 50.645°N 7.2269°W |
| Image Plan: | Bad Honnef in SU.svg |
| State: | Nordrhein-Westfalen |
| Region: | Köln |
| District: | Rhein-Sieg-Kreis |
| Elevation: | 53-455 |
| Area: | 48.3 |
| Postal Code: | 53604 |
| Area Code: | 02224 |
| Licence: | SU |
| Gemeindeschlüssel: | 05 3 82 008 |
| Divisions: | 20 |
| Website: | www.bad-honnef.de |
| Mayor: | Otto Neuhoff[1] |
| Leader Term: | 2020 - 25 |
Bad Honnef (pronounced as /de/) 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.
Bad Honnef is home to a mineral spring called the German: 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.
The villages of Aegidienberg, Selhof and Rhöndorf are considered to be part of Bad Honnef. 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, many federal institutions are located in Bad Honnef.
The head office of the Nationalpark Siebengebirge project was also planned to be in Bad Honnef;[2] however the project was rejected in a referendum on 27 September 2009.[3]
Bad Honnef has the highest purchasing power of all towns in North Rhine-Westphalia; its percentage of millionaires is also one of the highest.[4]
| Term of office | Mayors[5] | |
|---|---|---|
| 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) | |
| since 2014 | Otto Neuhoff |
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany. Bad Honnef is twinned with:[6]
Berck, France
Cadenabbia (Griante), Italy
Ludvika, Sweden