Bonn. To carry out 20 construction projects in Bonn by 2027, the city council has commissioned the administration to apply to the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for hopefully a 70 per cent subsidy to fund the Inner-City master plan. The Rhine promenade is to be rebuilt in three sections for 22.5 million euros, 2 million of which are ear-marked for the green space from the Stockentor to the Alter Zoll. The costs for the redesign of the Windeckbunker with its green area are about 700,000 euros and 900,000 euros for Stiftsplatz. Part of Kölnstraße between Wilhelmsplatz and Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz will also be reconstructed, for about 3.4 million euros. Several streets in Bonn city centre will also be upgraded, including Franziskaner- and Stockenstraße around the Viktoriakarree. The total costs are estimated at 4.6 million euros and 8.6 million euros has been applied for to house the city museum. It is planned to upgrade Bornheimer Strasse between Alter Friedhof and Ellerstrasse for 5 million euros, Rheingasse (1.2 million euros) and Brüdergasse (1.7 million euros). The Immenburgstrasse is also to be redeveloped for 5.6 million euros.

Original text: Nicolas Ottersbach

Bonn. The Bonn entrepreneur Horst Burbulla has a vision and wants to build an almost 220-m high tower with an event hall for 1,100 guests and restaurants at a height of around 160 m on the edge of the Rheinaue (the Post Tower is 162.5 m tall). Burbulla, who is 61 years old and runs a mechanical engineering company with 60 employees in Pilsen in the Czech Republic, wants to achieve his goal via a public petition. He has so far collected 800 signatures in the city area in favour of the city council deciding on planning permission for the tower and the city letting the intended plot of land to Burbulla for 50 years on its carpark on Charles-de-Gaulles-Strasse. Burbulla is not upset by the fact that some think that the tower, which resembles an inverted chandelier, seems rather kitschy. The playful ornaments from the architect's design are reminiscent of a forgotten radiant time. Burbulla would assume the costs of 80 million euros. He would finance 40 million himself, and would look for financiers for the remaining half. The city would assume costs of 12.2 million euros and would have to pay the federal government 12 million euros.

Original text: Philipp Königs

Lohmar. On Saturday afternoon, a 61-year-old motorcyclist was seriously injured following a collision with a car driven by a 52-year-old driver from Troisdorf, at the intersection of the L84 and the L288. The driver from Troisdorf was coming from Troisdorf-Altenrath and didn’t see the motorcyclist from Rösrath while turning left. The 61-year-old motorcyclist was seriously injured and was taken to hospital after emergency medical treatment. The L288 had to be fully closed in both directions for about 90 minutes after the accident. The damage to property is estimated to be about 15,000 euros.

Original text: GA Bonn

Bonn. This weekend, the Bonn-Fest in the city centre is in full swing and offers a colourful mix of music, dance and theatre. On Friday, various groups from the University of Bonn and the "Münchener Freiheit" provided entertainment. There is something to see everywhere: in addition to in the Market Square and the Münsterplatz, there are also events on Remigiusplatz, Bottlerplatz and Friedensplatz. There are also be excerpts from the current show by Malentes Theater Palast and scenes from the revue "The wind has not given me a song” by Daniel Breitfelder and Johannes Brüssau, as well as performances by Lepehne-Herbst and Fitness First and by local, regional and national artists. On Saturday, the young Bornheim singer James Smith Jr, who reached the semi-finals of “The Voice of Germany” last year performed ane shared the stage with the soul bros and dance chart-topper Prince Amaho (“Wake Up”). The Bonn-Fest organisers are placing a big emphasis on a programme for young people. Children get their money's worth on Sunday at the market square and for young people, there was a lot of electronic dance music on Saturday at Friedensplatz. Meanwhile, a simple and unusual offer is available in Bottlerplatz: volunteers there take time and simply listen, so if you want to talk instead of dance, you are just as welcome at the Bonn Festival as those who simply want to use the opportunity of Sunday shopping for a stroll through the city. You can find the complete programme under bonn-city.de.

Original text: Thomas Kölsch

Translation: John Chandler