BONN. 11am in Meschede, 3pm in Gummersbach and finally 7pm Bonn: The organisers of the so-called ‘Corona-Info-Tour’ travelled in their tour bus to three cities in NRW on Saturday, and were able to gather several hundred supporters from the Lateral Thinkers' movement to demonstrate against the government’s corona measures. The demonstration in Bonn had already been banned on Friday by the city of Bonn as part of an ordinance referring to the Infection Protection Act. The administrative court confirmed the ban in expedited proceedings after the organisers filed a complaint during the night for their right to demonstrate. The court also rejected the attempt to register several smaller gatherings as an alternative.

Despite the ban, around 450 people gathered on the Marktplatz in Bonn at around 7 pm. Many were not wearing masks or only pulled stockings over their mouths as pseudo-masks, offering no protection. Samuel Eckert, one of the organisers, had talked on site and on social media about ‘our event’, which he said they did not want to be deprived of. According to police spokesman Robert Scholten, Eckert and the other organisers were welcomed and hailed like stars when they arrived at the Marktplatz.

The black ‘tour bus’ in which Eckert, the ear, nose and throat doctor Bodo Schiffmann, Ralf Ludwig and others are currently travelling through Germany, had been taken out of service by the police shortly before in order to carry out checks on the occupants. By this time, however, they had already left the bus and were moving towards the Marktplatz.

The police's dog team was able to prevent those participating in the illegal assembly from occupying the staircase of the town hall. The officers also managed to stop a spontaneous procession through Bonn city centre. "We wanted to at least prevent the protesters from wandering through the city without wearing masks and not keeping their distance and thus endangering others," Scholten told GA. According to the police, almost 50 counter-demonstrators had confronted the Lateral Thinkers at the Marktplatz. To prevent a clash, several officials and employees of the public order office had taken up positions between the two camps. According to Scholten, however, it remained peaceful.

(Original text: Michael Wrobel)

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BONN. Following renovation work, Bonn City Parkraum opened the underground car park on Münsterstrasse on Saturday under the new name ‘Alte Bahnhofgarage’ (Old station garage). “We are pleased to be able to return the former railway station car park to operation and thus extend the range of parking services around the main station and the city centre”, says Tamara Conradi, Managing Director of Bonn City Parkraum.

The Alte Bahnhofgarage offers 94 parking spaces which can also be used without cash. Parking spaces for people with disabilities and for women have also been installed. The garage is monitored by video and has a lift. There is direct access to Motel One. Customers can refuel their electric cars at several SWB Energie und Wasser charging points. The car park is open from Monday to Saturday from 7am to 1am and on Sundays from 9am to 1am. Entry and exit is also possible outside the regular opening hours.

(Original text: ga)

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BONN. Homeowners are responsible for keeping the roads and pavements next to their properties clear. But many do not seem to take this obligation seriously - something which is particularly noticeable in autumn because so many leaves are left lying around. “On more than half of the pavements, the desired level of cleanliness is not achieved,” reports Jérôme Lefèvre, spokesperson for the municipal cleaning company Bonnorange.

The company regularly checks the quality of cleaning in individual streets. Since the beginning of the year, Bonnorange has been publishing the results on its website www.sauberes-bonn.de. It also includes results from the autumn foliage period. “We have 30,000 trees along Bonn's streets that make our city such a nice place to live,” says Lefèvre. “When they lose their leaves, we take action, but local residents also have to sweep up and dispose of the leaves where they are obliged to clean the roads and pavements in front of their properties”.

On peak days, Bonnorange takes up to 70 tonnes of leaves for composting. Last year this totalled 770 tonnes. The company uses sweepers and leaf vacuum trucks as well as staff with rakes and brooms. They often have to work overtime in autumn. “Rapid removal of the leaves before frost sets in has the highest priority,” explains the Bonnorange spokesman. It is all about ensuring road safety and therefore it is not a trivial offence when property owners do not clear away the leaves – rather it constitutes an administrative offence which is subject to a fine. Every year, Bonnorange and the municipal authorities point out the obligation to keep the pathways clean. Bonnorange appeals to residents not to sweep the leaves onto the street or into gutters and ditches or to blow them there using a machine.

Bonnorange offers advice on composting or disposing leaves. They can be thrown into the mobile and stationary green containers or handed in at the green collection point in Ückesdorf. The locations of the containers can be found at www.bonnorange.de/gruencontainer. Leaves can also be disposed of free of charge at the Am Dickobskreuz and Südstraße recycling centres. Small quantities are allowed to be put in the organic waste bin (Biotonne).

(Original text: Andreas Baumann)

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BONN. In April, the Stadtmuseum (city museum) launched an appeal and asked the people of Bonn for photos of their “Corona-Alltag” (everyday Corona life). The pictures have been published in a book which is now available to buy. With around 150 pages, the book entitled “Fotos aus dem Corona-Alltag in Bonn und Umgebung” (Photos from everyday Corona life in Bonn and the surrounding area) contains pictures that capture the time during the lockdown in the spring, such as self-sewn protective masks, jewellery looking like toilet paper, and the empty motorways. Contemporary testimonies have also been provided by 102 local residents.

The museum used the entries to compile an exhibition which was on show over the summer. An online gallery is still available at www.bonn.de/corona-fotos.

The book can be ordered in shops and from the Stadtmuseum (plus postage), either by calling 02 28/77 28 77 or by sending an e-mail to stadtmuseum@bonn.de. It costs six euros.

(Original text: Joshua Bung)

(Translations: Caroline Kusch)