BONN. The mood among estate agents in Bonn and at the property valuation committee shows that the demand for real estate in Bonn remains still high despite the current crisis. However, estate agents fear a slump in commercial properties after the summer holidays, partly because of coronavirus.

The members of the valuation committee decide on standard ground values applicable to individual areas, for guidance. The independent committee is guided by the provisions of the building code and the valuation committee ordinance. The value is the average location value of the land within an area (standard land value zone), which is largely identical in terms of its development status and use. For example, the standard land value for single-family house plots with a size of 300 square meters in the Südstadt district of Bonn is currently 930 euros per square meter. In Duisdorfer Oberdorf, on the other hand, it is 590 euros per square metre - for plots of 500 square metres each - and in Elsa-Brändström-Strasse in Beuel it is 670 euros. In Bad Godesberg Am Stadtwald, average values of 730 euros per square metre apply to average areas of 800 square metres. The complete property market report 2020 is available for interested parties to download free of charge from the Internet. The website address is www.boris.nrw.de.

The valuation committee is aware of the current slump on the real estate market. The number of sales in March was even slightly above the previous year's level, but by April 20, a strong decline of up to 50 percent was evident. Looking back to 2019, property sales increased by a whopping 17.4 percent to 3,148. However, this concealed the fact that garages and car parking spaces have been counted separately since last year. In fact, the market has been declining continuously since 2016. This can be seen in the sales figures: last year on the Bonn market they fell by a total of 200 million euros to 1.5 billion euros.

In contrast, the prices for individual properties are rising. In 2019, buyers had to pay an average of 620,000 euros for a new semi-detached house with a plot of land of about 320 square metres and a living space of about 150 square metres. Owner-occupied flats have also become significantly more expensive. Buyers are having to pay 10.4 percent more for new apartments up to three years old, and just over 9 percent more for older apartments. The separately listed “Gründerzeit” flats with a high collector's value also became 7.9 percent more expensive on average in 2018 after prices remained unchanged in the period under review. The highest price per square metre was achieved by an apartment in Fasanenstraße in Bad-Godesberg at 7,300 euros.

(Original text: Martin Wein)

BONN. After the fasting month of Ramadan, Muslims all over the world will celebrate Eid, commonly known as the sugar feast, which this year will begin on Sunday 24 May. In recent weeks, mosques have been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Due to the current regulations of the State of NRW, it is now possible to conduct feast-day prayers, taking into account the necessary hygiene measures. For this purpose, the city of Bonn is providing four sports facilities, where the prayers can be performed while observing hygiene measures. The mosque communities involved have presented specially designed hygiene concepts, which were examined and approved by the city administration. Muslims will gather for open-air prayers early on Sunday morning and the hygiene measures include, for example, limiting the number of participants, the bringing of own prayer rugs, as well as the allocation of places by authority personnel.

(Original text: Joshua Bung)

BORNHEIM. On Saturday evening, security from of the company asparagus company Spargel Ritter started to clear the accommodation of the harvest workers in Bornheim. According to the press spokesman for FAU Bonn, seven people were asked to leave, because they had left the accommodation “for one or two days”. According to FAU Bonn, the action was not legal, as there was no written notice of termination, which according to the rental contract, must be present in order to remove the Romanian harvest workers from the accommodation. The insolvency administrator of Spargel Ritter is reported to have said that it was “generous” of him to let the people stay in the accommodation until Monday.

As the FAU tweeted, the harvest workers, who had to leave the shelter first, can now stay until Monday. With the help of a lawyer, FAU had fought against the eviction. The consulate and city administration have been informed and the police have also been to the site in the meantime.

Recently, the harvest workers began to resist the insolvent company because they considered their human rights had been violated and they did not receive their full wages.

(Original text: ga.de)

BONN. In the middle of the city you can experience a great deal of biological diversity if you look closely between bricks and cobblestones, in hidden pools or gnarled tree hollows. The Bonn nature conservation authority has designed a nature trail that will guide you through natural habitats and their inhabitants in the city centre. Ten stations will guide walkers through the city centre, Beuel and Poppelsdorf. At each station there is a label with a QR code and a link, from which you can obtain interesting details about the biotopes and tips on how to reproduce them at home, and species portraits.

The 90-minute walk starts near the main building of the University of Bonn, where participants are introduced to so-called cobblestone-crevice vegetation. Special plants such as bellflowers and dandelions thrive here in minimal space. Although constant walking and driving clearly limit their habitat, nevertheless, up to 500 species have already been recorded in this biological niche.

The walk then continues to the Sterntor, where mosses and ferns grow inconspicuously between cracks in the wall. Cornflowers, daisies and poppies are more likely to be found outside the city, but these wild plants can be found on traffic islands, where the plants bind dust from exhaust fumes and provide a habitat for insects such as bees, bumblebees and butterflies.

The banks of the Rhine are an important habitat for many species of flora and fauna. Besides typical bank trees such as willows and poplars, various herbs have colonised the river gravel.

The trail ends at the botanical garden. A horse chestnut tree with bird nesting places draws the attention of walkers to the limited habitat of animals. Birds and bats in particular need breeding places in the form of nesting boxes.

The ten stations are easy to reach on foot or by bike and a folding map shows the proposed route to the various biotopes.

Printed copies to take away are available in the Stadthausfoyer. The stations are also available on the Internet: www.bonn.de/lehrpfad-artenvielfalt.

(Original text: Niklas Schröder)

Astronomy on Tap Bonn, a monthly event of public astronomy talks at Fiddlers pub in Bonn-Endenich is going virtual due to #covid-19 restrictions on public life.

Join us on Tuesday May 26 at 19:00 on YouTube live for another virtual event of Astronomy on Tap Bonn! This month we have with us 1) Prof Dr Uli Klein with “Galaxies across the electro-magnetic spectrum” (in English), 2) David Ohse & Jana Bürgers with the Physics Show Musical (in German), and 3) Dr Alan Roy with “Measuring spacecraft speeds with such high accuracy it could detect the speed your fingernails grow!”. Of course we will have our awesome live quiz and one lucky winner will receive a super astro price via mail! So mark the date and see you then! For more information, you can follow us on facebook & youtube (Astronomy on Tap Bonn) and Instagram & Twitter (@aotbonn), or drop us an email at AoTBonn@gmail.com.

Astronomy on Tap Bonn

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(Translations, John Chandler)