Bad Honnef

Bad Honnef
Town
Bad Honnef seen from the Drachenfels
Coat of arms
Location of Bad Honnef within Rhein-Sieg-Kreis district
Location of Bad Honnef
Bad Honnef Show map of Germany Bad Honnef Show map of North Rhine-Westphalia
Coordinates: 50°38′42″N 7°13′37″E / 50.64500°N 7.22694°E / 50.64500; 7.22694
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Admin. region	Köln
District	Rhein-Sieg-Kreis
Subdivisions	20
Government
• Mayor (2025–30)	Philipp Herzog1
Area
• Total	48.17 km2 (18.60 sq mi)
Highest elevation	455 m (1,493 ft)
Lowest elevation	53 m (174 ft)
Population  (2024-12-31)2
• Total	25,061
• Density	520.3/km2 (1,347/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	53604
Dialling codes	02224
Vehicle registration	SU
Website	www.bad-honnef.de

Bad Honnef (German pronunciation: [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.

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,³ and its existence has historically been a big draw for visitors including Queen Sophie of Sweden, who visited from 1892 to 1906.⁴

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.⁵

The head office of the Nationalpark Siebengebirge project was also planned to be in Bad Honnef;⁶ however the project was rejected in a referendum on 27 September 2009.⁷

Bad Honnef has the highest purchasing power of all towns in North Rhine-Westphalia; its percentage of millionaires is also one of the highest.⁸ With 26.5% it has one of the highest percentage populations over 65 years old in North Rhine-Westphalia.⁹

After the 2025 local elections, the Bad Honnef city council is composed as follows:

Party		Votes	%	+/-	Seats	+/-
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	5,406	42.2	9.6	17	7
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	2,663	20.8	7.5	8	1
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	1,694	13.2	4.5	5	1
	Citizens' Block Bad Honnef e.V. (BB)	1,401	10.9	4.4	4	1
	Volt (Volt)	565	4.4	New	2	New
	Alternative for Germany (AfD)	551	4.3	New	2	New
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	546	4.3	2.0	2	±0
Valid votes		12,826	98.7
Invalid votes		176	1.4
Total		13,002	100.0		40	8
Electorate/voter turnout		20,497	63.4
Source: City of Bad Honnef

Bad Honnef is twinned with:¹¹

• Berck, France
• Cadenabbia (Griante), Italy
• Ludvika, Sweden
• Wittichenau, Germany

• Curt Haase (1881–1943), general in World War II
• Boris Papandopulo (1906–1991), composer and conductor
• Franz Brungs (born 1936), football player and coach
• Peter Frankenberg (born 1947), professor and politician (CDU), minister in Baden-Württemberg
• Peter Hintze (1950–2016), politician (CDU), 2013–2016 Vice-President of the Bundestag
• Guido Westerwelle (1961–2016), politician (FDP), Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor of Germany (2009–2013)
• Sydney Lohmann (born 2000), football player for the Germany national team
• Alfred Nourney (1892–1972), socialite and Titanic survivor