Münsterplatz is the modern Bonn’s central public space, reflecting its historical significance and variety. But it is also a fascinating historic site. Signs of much that is important in the city’s past surround it, making a walk around it a multilayered journey through Bonn’s past.

Today cars are banned from the square, making it easy to explore on foot.

Bonn is a medium-sized capital city known for its enchanting city atmosphere and cultural activities. Münsterplatz is the largest of its small squares. It was where the medieval town developed, but also has links to Bonn’s Roman past. It was named for the church built at its southern end, although that name goes back only to the 18th century.

That church is the Bonner Münster, with tower that reaches almost 100 metres. As well as a central landmark, it is one of Germany’s few churches dating from the 11th century.

The late Romanesque Münster was founded as an abbey church and remained the centre of an abbey until the early 19th century. The twin-level cloister on the south side, with its church yard, is intact. For two centuries it was used as a cathedral. 

Much rebuilding was needed after a 13th century fire and heavy restoration was needed after World War II bombing. Its Gothic and Romanesque architecture blend beautifully, adding to its historical significance.

The Münster is now a Catholic minor basilica consecrated to St Martin, a Roman soldier, a monastic pioneer and early bishop. An intriguing octagonal church, also dedicated to St Martin, was built late in the 8th century and its site is marked today in the paving, extending over Wesselstraße.

Signs of a building, likely an ancient temple, are preserved with mounted reliefs and church windows depicting scenes from the life of St Martin and fragments of architecture found during 20th century excavations. If it was a temple – and further ancient building remains have been found below the Münster – it was probably to a maternal cult called Matronae believed to have centred on Bonn. An altar from the site is now in the LVR-LandesMuseum.

The foundation of the earliest collegiate church on the Münster site is attributed to St Helena, mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, early in the 4th century. This was a period of key events in the church history of the German lands.

But there are other aspects to the Münster’s Roman foundation story. In the legend of the Theban Legion, Roman commanders beheaded the two late 3rd century warriors, Cassius and Florentius, on the site because of their Christian beliefs.

The martyrs were named as patrons of Bonn and the church and their shrine is inside. Sculptures of the severed heads of Cassius and Florentius lie on the east side of the church, facing Martinsplatz. Either way, progressively larger churches, in the 6th and 7th century and the 11th century, were built at today’s Münsterplatz.

The restored interior wall paintings come from the medieval period. The statue of St Helena is early 17th century, at which time the church was the cathedral of the archbishopric of Cologne. Bonn’s favourite son Ludwig van Beethoven played the Münster organ as a young man.

It’s easy to see why the Münster is regarded as the model for Berlin’s Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche, which did not appear until more than 600 years later. The octagonal tower and rounded apse was a feature for both, and despite the difference between the medieval and Romantic-period styles, the impression is much the same. When the designer of the Berlin church wanted to invoke the spirit of the medieval German empire, he turned to Bonn’s Münster.

The Münster lacks a grand portal and west facade because another St Martin church, a parish church, stood next to it until the early 19th century. The site of that St Martin parish church today is marked by the fountain Martinsbrunnen.

Also a medieval feature on Münsterplatz is the Prangersäule, a simple column where accused lawbreakers were bound to become an object of public ridicule, like a pillory.

Beethoven’s legacy is not forgotten on Münsterplatz. On the north-west side is the Beethoven-Denkmal statue, unveiled for the composer's 75th birthday. The statue, by Ernst Hähnel, was fully restored in 2022. It stands before the former Palais Fürstenberg, now used as Bonn’s central post office building.

A cast model of how Bonn must have looked about the time of Beethoven’s departure for Vienna is at the east side of the square. It shows a city still bounded by defensive walls, with two southern gates near the Münster.

Bonn is now a modern cultural and commercial centre. For 40 years, it was the capital of Germany’s federal republic. Münsterplatz’s eastern side is also the site one of the city’s biggest shopping complexes and the focal point of many restaurants.

Because it Bonn was democratic Germany’s capital during turbulent times, Münsterplatz witnessed significant political and social demonstrations, making it a landmark of historical significance. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was frequently a centre of social unrest and students from the nearby university, formerly the electoral palace, still use it today in support of causes and a gathering place after street marches.

The square is also the central place for Bonn’s Christmas markets, which start late in November, and eco-markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Bonn may be a medium-sized city but, on market days, it looks almost like what Germans used to call it in the Cold War years – “the government village”. On its north side, it even preserves some of the city’s characteristic graceful facades.

Münsterplatz lies at the centre of the city’s attractions: the Beethoven-Haus, LVR-LandesMuseum, Haus der Geschichte and Namen-Jesu-Kirche. Ravenguides.com is the place download a Bonn travel guide or other travel guides to German cities.