Bonn, Germany

Bonn sits on the Rhine with roughly 336,000 residents and traces its origins to a Roman settlement founded around 11 BC as Bonna. The city served as the capital of West Germany from 1949 until 1990, a history documented at the 1986 Haus der Geschichte with free admission. Ludwig van Beethoven was born here in 1770 at Bonngasse 20, now the 1845 Beethoven House museum, while the 1978 Beethovenhalle concert hall hosts the 1897 Beethoven Orchestra. The 1150 Münster Basilica stands as the oldest surviving church, and the 1979 Bundeskunsthalle anchors the Museum Mile.