BONN. After 24 years of business, the Mcdonald’s branch on the market square has closed. The rent was too high for the chain and the tiny shop floor made it impossible to introduce some of the company’s new concepts such as the computer terminals for customers to place their orders. A sign on the door reads “we have ketchup in our blood and tears in our eyes as we have to say goodbye at Markt 9”.

H&M on Remigiusstraße is also closing down, although it is not known whether this is due to rental costs. A spokeswoman stated that the revenue performance at the store has been decreasing for several years. The building used to be the home of the oldest public house in Bonn called “Im Bären” which closed in 2003 after over 300 years.

However, there are also some new stores opening in the city. In April, the "mey" company based in Albstadt will open a store on Bonngasse near the Sternstrasse for women's and men's underwear. The Wunderhaus fashion boutique at Remigiusplatz - right next to Samen Schmitz - has changed almost seamlessly into the "American Vintage" store.

Signa, a real estate company owned by the Austrian Karstadt and Kaufhof owner René Benko, planned to build a shopping centre and a library for the university in the Viktoriakarree. Following protests by the citizens' initiative Viva Viktoria who campaigned to stop the sale of the municipal areas of the Viktoriakarree, new plans have been drawn up. According to the city council, these plans are currently being coordinated together with Signa and other owners of properties in the Karree. On Friday, Signa was unable to comment on the current state of affairs.

(Original text: GA/Lisa Inhoffen)

BAD GODESBERG. It remains to be seen whether the Kleine Theater in Bad Godesberg still has a future, after the withdrawal of part of the group of buyers following disagreements about salary claims. In December, after a long period of to-ing and fro-ing, the council had awarded the purchase of the house - a former mayor's villa - to the group of buyers for 410,000 euros. However, Bonn's former General Director Klaus Weise is maintaining his offer to initially rent the Kleine Theater with a purchase option in the near future so that operations can continue after the summer.

Together with another buyer, he hopes to save the Kleine Theater and start the season with a premiere on 5th September, followed by seven more premieres and many other performances. Networking with the Bonn culture scene is also important to them, for example with theatres such as the Euro Theater Central for foreign-language productions, with the music scene, the museums, private galleries and Beethoven 2020. "We want to give this traditional Bad Godesberg institution a future by positioning it unmistakably in Bonn's cultural life", he says. But time is short: The repertoire, which will take more than six months to prepare, must be announced in February and contracts must be signed in order to generate income.

(Original text: Lisa Inhoffen)

BONN. More and more fans of Pokémon Go, the game in which virtual Poké monsters are captured and collected by smartphone, are on the move in Bonn’s city centre. As early as 2016, Pokémon Go became a worldwide phenomenon but the hype surrounding the game had since died down. Now the game has been revived thanks to so-called 'Community Days', which are taking place at least once a month in Bonn, on Saturdays or Sundays from 11 am to 2 pm. On other weekends, several groups of players can also be regularly seen in the city centre, competing in so-called arenas. A Facebook group also exists for Pokémon Go players from Bonn and the surrounding area.

Pokémon Go events have also been organised for the summer so that many more can experience the virtual game. From 30 June to 1 July last year, about 37,000 players went on a monster hunt in the Westfalenpark in Dortmund on Saturdays alone, according to a spokesman for the organiser Niantic.

(Original text: Nathalie Dreschke)

KÖNIGSWINTER: This luxury hotel is a familiar landmark in Königswinter, a magnificent neo-baroque listed building dating from 1893, with its façade made of volcanic rock from the Drachenfels. The house, currently in its fourth generation, is now sold and the hotel will close at the end of March. There are already plans for the listed building, although the buyer has not yet been announced. It will not remain a hotel – the rooms on the upper floors are to be converted into apartments and there are plans to turn the basement into a restaurant.

(Original text: Hansjürgen Melzer)

BONN. On Tuesday 29th January at 7pm, Dr. Victor Manuel Patino Alvarez and MSc. Felix Poetzl, who work at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, will hold a discussion about the brightest objects in the universe (in English) and Ultra-Zoom ins Universum (in German) at the Fiddlers Pub (Frongasse 9, Bonn-Endenich). This event is part of the worldwide initiative called Astronomy on Tap, where professional astronomers explain diverse topics about the universe in a friendly atmosphere. The event is free and open to the public. All are invited to join local astronomers for talks, quizzes and prizes. For more information follow Astronomy on Tap on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.

(Translations: Caroline Kusch)