The Haus der Natur in Bonn has been around since the end of the 1980s. In 1988, the City Council of Bonn decided to set up an information center on the Waldau. The House of Nature was to be housed in the half-timbered house on the Venusberg, which had been relocated from the Hunsrück.
A year later, a 20-year usage agreement was concluded between the City of Bonn and the community of heirs. Together with the various offers on the Waldau, such as the wildlife enclosure, the biodiversity trail and the large Waldau playground, the Haus der Natur developed into a popular excursion destination for Bonn families in the years that followed. Back then, some of today's exhibition elements, such as the mighty 200-year-old elm tree, were already inspiring visitors in a smaller space.
In 2008, the city council decided to draw up a concept for the further development of the House of Nature. As a UN City of Biodiversity and Sustainability, innovative environmental education work was to be carried out locally in Bonn. To this end, the content of the former Forest Information Center was to be realigned and developed into a regional environmental education facility. The Haus der Natur was also to be expanded and modernized. In 2016, the federal government approved funding for the project as part of its future investment program "Strengthening Bonn as a UN location". The building application was submitted in the same year.
Renovation work since 2017
Haus der Natur closed its doors to visitors in 2017 for the construction work. With the renovation, the Haus der Natur was extended to include the first floor area, which previously belonged to the adjacent Waldau Restaurant. A foyer with offices and the previously missing sanitary facilities were built here. An elevator was installed so that the upper floor is now also barrier-free. A new multifunctional seminar room forms the heart of the converted building. In keeping with the surrounding city forest, the Haus der Natur has a wooden façade following the conversion. The energy and building physics of the building were improved by cladding the old timber frame. Parallel to the renovation, the new team at the Haus der Natur completely redesigned the environmental education program and the permanent exhibition together with numerous partners.
After being closed for two years, the new Haus der Natur celebrated its reopening as a modern environmental education center for education for sustainable development on 30 June 2019.