# What's Bonn (Germany) Like -Ghost Town? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 2, 2013, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-bonn-germany-like-ghost-town/672914 "2013-11-02T11:44:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-bonn-germany-like-ghost-town/672914/1 "2013-11-02T11:44:13Z")
From 1945 to about 2000? Bonn was the capital of Germany. Now that the capital is now berlin, there must be a lot of empty buildings in Bonn-so is real estate cheap there? Or has the government expanded to absorb the buildings there? Incidentally, has anyone calculated how much the new Berlin has cost? ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-bonn-germany-like-ghost-town/672914/2 "2013-11-02T11:52:11Z")
Read the first few paragraphs of the Wikipedia page. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-bonn-germany-like-ghost-town/672914/3 "2013-11-02T20:52:33Z")
Much like how Philadelphia has been completely empty since 1800. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-bonn-germany-like-ghost-town/672914/4 "2013-11-02T21:38:36Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Much like how Philadelphia has been completely empty since 1800. I hear they have a Wa-Wa now. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-bonn-germany-like-ghost-town/672914/5 "2013-11-02T23:40:18Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I hear they have a Wa-Wa now. Also, I think there has been a proposal to introduce NYC’s first traffic light. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-bonn-germany-like-ghost-town/672914/6 "2013-11-03T00:03:31Z")
I’m pretty sure Bonn existed long before it had a government industry grafted onto it … ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2013, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-bonn-germany-like-ghost-town/672914/7 "2013-11-04T12:07:55Z")
I went to Bonn a couple of times in 2000-2001, after it had lost its status as the capital of (West-)Germany. I liked it. It was not a busy place but it was definitely not a ghost town either. I went to various bars and nightclubs and they were… well, the standard fare, I guess. The centre was pleasant and laid-back with quaint provincial feel. The suburbs were relatively boring. I’d say you could spend 3 or 4 great days, perhaps a week there, especially if you had friends like I did but you’d need a good reason to stay longer (job, romantic relationship, need to get away from your routine, whatever). I think I saw the buildings that used to house the federal government. They didn’t look derelict. The Bonners (sorry) must have found other uses for them. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2013, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-bonn-germany-like-ghost-town/672914/8 "2013-11-04T12:38:19Z")
The population is about 12 percent higher than it was in 1990. See this [Wikipedia page on Bonn’s historical population (in German)](http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einwohnerentwicklung_von_Bonn#Einwohnerentwicklung). There are graphs and tables there. _Einwohner_ means inhabitant(s).