Merkur Spielbanken NRW has officially started the construction of its new casino in Siegburg with a groundbreaking ceremony attended by key figures from politics, business, and the local community. The upcoming Merkur Casino will span over 1,600 square meters and is set to open in the Siegburg industrial park by autumn 2026. The company is investing approximately €35 million ($37.81 million) into the project, expected to boost the regional economy. “The construction of Merkur Spielbank Siegburg is an important milestone for our company and the opening next year is another chapter in the success story of Merkur Spielbanken,” said David Schnabel, CEO of Merkur Group’s casinos. “With the casino location in Siegburg, we are bringing a new entertainment hotspot with supra-regional appeal to the Rhein-Sieg district.” To mark the occasion, Merkur Spielbanken hosted a special stage program at the groundbreaking event, featuring a mix of popular game show formats and live music. Schnabel highlighted the role of live entertainment in the casino’s concept, announcing the launch of “Bingo with Cassy,” Germany’s largest bingo event series, at the new venue. Presenter and podcaster Amira Aly, who took part in the ceremony, shared her excitement about the project. “Since I am currently closely involved in building my own house, I can understand this exciting moment for the Merkur casinos very well,” she said. “Today we got a first authentic impression of what will be built here, I am really impressed.” Merkur Spielbank Siegburg will be equipped with a modern photovoltaic system to meet a significant portion of its energy needs through renewable sources. Additionally, the building’s exterior will feature extensive greenery and a meadow orchard will be planted on the premises. “Sustainability is a fundamental concern that runs through all phases of the project,” said Schnabel. The casino will also include e-charging stations for both cars and bicycles. City officials anticipate the casino will attract approximately 160,000 visitors annually, including 125,000 day tourists. The increased tourism is expected to generate around €2 million ($2.16 million) per year for the local economy, benefiting retail, hospitality, and service industries.  “The new casino strengthens the city of Siegburg as an attractive excursion destination and contributes to the diversification of local sources of income in the long term,” said Mayor Stefan Rosemann. The casino is also expected to create around 100 new jobs. The recruitment process will begin on December 1, offering opportunities across various sectors, including gaming operations, hospitality, and administration. Volume 11 - 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1169635 This article is part of the Research TopicPatterns and Trends of Time-Space Evolution of Volcanism: From Local to GlobalView all 5 articles Magmatic continental rifts show evidence that discrete rift segments experience episodic intrusive and eruptive events whether multiple rifting episodes across adjacent rift segments are clustered in time is not well understood we conduct new radiocarbon dating that constrains the timing of the most recent rifting episode at the Boset magmatic segment of the northern Ethiopian rift and combine this with historical dating of similar rifting events in the adjacent magmatic segments New radiocarbon dates of multiple charcoal samples from the base of the most recent fissural lava at the Boset Volcanic Complex indicate that it likely occurred between 1812 and 1919 CE These dates are similar to those from historical accounts of fissural eruption from the neighbouring Kone (∼1810 CE) and Fantale (∼1770 to 1808 CE) magmatic segments We conduct new analysis of major and trace element compositions from these historical fissural lavas as well as from a fresh-looking lava flow from Beru cone near to Kone volcano The results of the geochemistry from these flows of all three magmatic segments show compositions that vary in the basalt and trachybasalt fields with sufficient variation to rule out them having erupted from a single dike intrusion episode combined with the scatter in dates from the radiocarbon analysis and historical accounts along with the location of each eruption in a discrete and spatially offset magmatic segment favours an interpretation of each magmatic segment experiencing separate rifting episodes but with these being clustered in time Mechanisms to explain the clustering of rifting episodes are more speculative but could include stress transfer from dike intrusion and deep crustal hydraulic connection in the plumbing system of multiple segments Here, we use new radiometric and geochemical constraints from the Boset, Kone and Fantale segments in the MER (Figure 1; Figure 2), to add detailed age constraints to previous absolute and relative chronological work (Wadge et al., 2016; Siegburg et al., 2018) and provide new evidence for a significant series of segment-scale rifting episodes between the late 18th to early 20th century CE in conjunction with other regional evidence provide new age constraints of the most recent rift-wide episode of volcanism during magma-assisted rifting in the northern MER FIGURE 2. Maps of the spatial extent of the historical lava flows at (A) Fantale, (B) Kone, and (C) Boset magmatic segments. Maps are on top of a background of a shaded SRTM DEM with a resolution of 90 m, with black lines showing faults of the Wonji Fault Belt, dashed lines indicating the caldera outline (Siegburg et al., 2020) red dots showing sample location of this study and grey shaded areas illustrating the historical young flows (A) Photograph of the base of the trachybasaltic lava flow at Boset-Bericha Volcanic Complex (B) The image indicates the base of the flow and shows positions of charcoal fragments 114A and 114B D) show individual charcoal fragments 114A and 114B recovered from a gray tephra layer underlying the lava The historical constraints on eruption ages from the Kone and Fantale volcanoes were derived from the original historical document (Harris, 1844). The majority of more recent literature (e.g., Williams et al., 2004; Nicotra et al., 2021) commonly misconstrues the written records and in particular place a far more precise date to the historical eruptions than are actually referred to in the original text we quote in the results section key information from which a date range to these eruptions is assigned and Beru were analysed at University of Leicester Department of Geology using PANalytical Axios Advanced XRF spectrometer and the one sample from Boset-Bericha was measured using an Panalytical Magix-Pro WD-XRF fitted with a 4 kW Rh X-ray tube) at the University of Southampton The trace element composition for all five samples were measured by ThermoScientific XSeries2 quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) at the University of Southampton The retrieved radiocarbon dates from the two charcoal samples range from the 17th to the 20th century (Figure 4). Considering both samples individually at a 95% probability level, the peaks in likelihood for the formation of sample 114A is 1812 to 1919 calCE (73.6%) and 1694 to 1728 calCE (21.8%) (Figure 4) The 14C dating for the sample 114B shows peaks in likelihood during 1727 to 1813 calCE (52.7%) Since the highest likelihoods are 1812 to 1919 calCE for sample 114A and 1727 to 1813 calCE for 114B we further consider these individual ages The dates of the most recent fissural eruptions from Fantale and Kone are constrained from historical records. The following account from Harris (1844) on page 301 refers to the crater of Saboo (i.e. Sabober) and Sahela Selassie’s grandsire (grandfather) that is Asfaw Wossen (ruler of Shewa) “In an easterly direction the course was bounded by the great isolated crater of Saboo yawning in the very centre of a well populated plain and said to have been in full activity in the time of Sahela Selassie’s grandsire who reigned only 30 years ago; an assertion which was fully borne out by the recent appearance of the lava streams grazed around every pool—the latter little disturbed by the presence of those who tended the flocks of sheep and goats and whose groups of circular wigwams peeped forth in every sequestered corner.” Fantale is commonly referred in literature to have erupted between 1810 and 1820 CE (Williams et al., 2004; Nicotra et al., 2021). However, Harris (1844) cites local reports that the eruption occurred during the reign of Asfaw Wossen Harris (1844) page 302 also refers to the crater of Winzegoor, currently known as Kone crater (Williams, 2016), or previously known as Gariboldi (Cole, 1969) In this text an approximate eruption age of 1810 CE for the Kone crater is made: “The next object was to visit the far-famed volcanic well of Boorchutta which was to limit the wanderings of the party Shortly after gaining the summit of the Kozi mountain the road wound along the very brink of the gaping crater of Winzegoor from whose monstrous chasm the entire adjacent country has been recently overflowed Extending two miles in length by one and a half in breadth it is environed by perpendicular walls towering from six to eight hundred feet two gorges to the east and southeast having afforded an outlet to the boiling deluge The area of the whole basin affords occasional glimpses of jet black through belts of the most brilliant verdure; and two bare truncated cones thrown up during an eruption some 30 years previously having poured a serpentine stream high over the surrounding jungles remain dark and cindery as on the day when they were vomited by the pillared flame from the bowels of the great abyss” The selected lavas are phaneritic to porphyritic in texture 1–20 vol% opaque phenocrysts and 10–30 vol% vesicles the rocks are distinct from each other with a larger proportion of olivine and clinopyroxene (up to 15 vol%) within the two Kone samples and Fantale and Beru lavas typically exhibiting a smaller crystal size The groundmass of the Boset lava flow sample have mingling textures Whole-rock composition of major (in wt%) and trace elements (in ppm) and mineral assemblage (in vol%) of young lava flows at Boset-Bericha Volcanic Complex (BBVC) Beru and Fantale volcanoes in the northern Main Ethiopian Rift If the samples are from neighbouring trees the lava flow age would more likely represent the youngest of the two samples and therefore 1812 to 1919 CE We therefore favour the interpretation of the Boset lava flow age as 1812 to 1919 CE Cartoon showing the inferred structure and magmatic systems of three segments of the Ethiopian rift Magmas episodically rise from the mantle melt region to a deep lithospheric melt reservoir These juvenile mafic melts are then supplied to sub-volcanic plumbing systems in discrete segments where they are modified through interaction with crust and sediments SCML = sub-continental mantle lithosphere BBVC = Boset-Bericha Volcanic Complex we conduct new radiocarbon dating from a recent lava flow at the Boset magmatic segment of the Ethiopian rift and combine this with historical dating of similarly historical lava flows in the adjacent magmatic segments New radiocarbon dates of multiple charcoal samples from the base of the most recent fissural lava at Boset indicate that it likely occurred between 1812 and 1919 CE a date range that is similar to those from historical accounts of fissural eruptions from the neighbouring Kone (∼1810 CE) and Fantale (∼1770 to 1808 CE) magmatic segments New analysis of major elements compositions from these historical fissural lavas from all three magmatic segments show compositions that vary in the basalt and trachybasalt fields with sufficient variation to rule out them having erupted from a single dike intrusion favours an interpretation that each magmatic segment ruptured during a discrete rifting episode but that these were clustered in time across multiple segments of the rift Mechanisms to explain the clustering are more speculative but could include stress transfer from dike intrusion and deep crustal hydraulic connection in the plumbing system of multiple segments The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author DK and JMB contributed to the conception and design of the study and performed the fieldwork TG helped collecting the lava flow samples EFG contributed to the fieldwork in Ethiopia RNT and EJW helped with analyses and discussion of the geochemical results Gernon is supported by the Natural Environment Research Council Greenfield and MS were supported by the NERC RiftVolc project (grant NE/L013509/1) EJW is supported by NERC Spitfire studentship grant NE/L002531/1 We used LiDAR data collected by the NERC Airborne Research and Survey Facility (ARSF) We thank the RiftVolc community for thoughtful interactions over many meetings We thank staff of the Institute of Geophysics Space Science and Astronomy and Department of Earth Science at Addis Ababa University Radiocarbon dating was performed by the Beta Analytic Laboratory (Florida We acknowledge skillful analytical assistance from Andy Milton Matthew Cooper and Agnes Michalik (University of Southampton) and Tom Knott (University of Leicester) We would like to thank the reviewers Francesco Mazzarini and Gabriel Ureta and the editor Karoly Nemeth for their constructive comments that improve the manuscript The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher Routine processing and automatic detection of volcanic ground deformation using sentinel-1 InSAR data: Insights from african volcanoes CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Petrogenesis and origin of modern Ethiopian rift basalts: Constraints from isotope and trace element geochemistry CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar The volcano–seismic crisis in Afar CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar A multidisciplinary study of the final episode of the Manda Hararo dyke 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This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Melanie Siegburg, bWVsYW5pZUBzaWVnYnVyZy1zaHMuZGU= Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish SIEGBURG/HAMBURG, Germany; Oct. 18, 2023 – Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has acquired ON Service GROUP a leading provider of business process services Terms of the transaction were not disclosed Acquiring ON Service GROUP enhances Accenture’s capabilities in insurance operations expanding the range of services available to clients in Germany for insurance business processes such as sales and policy administration The acquisition strengthens Accenture’s ability to manage the entire process chain while helping clients optimize operations be more agile and drive growth through digital services Contacts:Samuela MartiAccenture+39 329 159 5781samuela.marti@accenture.comThomas WittekAccenture+49 152 52507486thomas.wittek@accenture.comCopyright ©2023 Accenture Accenture and its logo are registered trademarks of Accenture Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Neo-Nazis threw stones at a mosque in the western city of Siegburg on Friday night the latest in a string of attacks targeting Germany’s Muslim community The assailants entered the masque complex at around 11:10 p.m and called for stronger protection for the places of worship Germany is facing a rise in anti-Muslim racism and violence in recent years fueled by the propaganda of far-right political parties and movements Germany has the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France Julia Reich from Siegburg had to witness how her little dog Reich was on her way back from her usual morning walk when it happened At a gate in the immediate vicinity of the bus station in Siegburg "It was not on a leash and immediately pounced on my dog Jack," reports Reich the Rottweiler grabbed her tiny dog and shook him letting go briefly in between to bite him again in a different place Julia Reich threw herself at the big dog and tried to get it away from hers The Siegburg resident heard shouting from bystanders as a construction worker tried to come to her rescue with a shovel "But the owner of the Rottweiler did nothing at all," Julia Reich says a police patrol car passed by on Wilhelmstrasse while the incident was happening The officers not only took down all the information of those involved they also took Julia Reich and her dog to a veterinary clinic But the vet said that they could not help the little dog “Jack” had bled to death and his cervical spine was broken Julia Reich finds it incomprehensible that the owner is allowed to keep the Rottweiler the woman had shown that she was not a responsible dog owner And she adds that during her morning rounds she regularly passed by the front gate where the owner stood with her Rottweiler and another large dog "The dogs seemed very aggressive," she says But they were always behind the closed gate Police are now investigating the owner for bodily harm damage to property and violation of animal welfare laws The question of whether the owner is allowed to keep the Rottweiler - and possibly also the other dog - is being clarified by the Public Order Office of the City of Siegburg Rottweilers are listed in the NRW state canine laws as "dogs of certain breeds" The city did not want to give out any information on whether the owner had this permit Dogs on this list are not only required to be kept on a leash the owners are obligated to take an exam at a veterinary practice and prove that the dogs are not only housed appropriately for their species Dog owners who have these breeds must also prove that they have appropriate liability insurance and meet other requirements Igor Blazevic is the owner of Pommesliebe am Markt Behind gastronomy and retail lie hard months there have been some new openings in downtown Siegburg - an overview of recent developments there are fries in many variations and with various sauces Blazevic is satisfied with the number of customers in the first week - and he is glad that it has finally started after the long planning and renovation period He chose the location at the market because of the high customer frequency who also runs the Be Real burger restaurant on Zeithstraße and products from a local butcher's shop are used for meat dishes such as pulled pork and currywurst A lot has happened in the immediate neighborhood along Kaiserstrasse According to the Siegburg Economic Development Agency six stores have recently opened on the stretch between Heinrichstrasse and Markt "We've been very well received," says store manager Maike Oswald The 280-square-meter location at Kaiserstraße 9 which was previously home to the Daniels fashion store offers young fashion in all price segments Sign belongs to the TK Fashion Group and is the first store of its kind Vom Fass has been home to the store since February Owners Mariyke and Oliver Weiß have moved their store for oils vinegars and spirits from Kaiserstraße 77 closer to the center Mariyke Weiß reports a 30 percent increase in sales since the move they noticed about five years ago that customer frequency was dropping the new location is half the size of the old one but they have not had to restrict the range of products They took advantage of the move to make the restaurant more modern and clearly laid out Also new on Kaiserstraße is Din-A Siegburg a snack bar for vegan dishes such as cigköfte and falafel The women's boutique Charbell Mode (Kaiserstrasse 60) and the café Mayla Coffee & Sweets (Kaiserstrasse 63) are also among the new openings which is to be built on the former Goldberg site at the corner of Cecilienstrasse The start of construction work for the project has been slightly delayed project manager Stefan Krause of Pareto says construction will now start in the fourth quarter The reason for the later start is a longer development plan procedure and delays due to the pandemic a mixture of commercial and residential units is to be built on the 2350-square-meter site Tenants that have been confirmed so far include Aldi and AOK Rheinland/Hamburg the project is on the home stretch: After the Siegburg building committee passed the resolution for the development plan at the beginning of the month Queues like those at the opening of Brando Coffee can also be seen at Hami Tea The bubble tea provider is especially popular with a young crowd The store opened at Holzgasse 4 at the end of May specializing in the Taiwanese drink based on sweetened green or black tea Part of the plans for Kaiser-Carré is a so-called technology building The technology on the roof will be lowered and or placed on the main building in order to make these elements less disruptive Greens and FDP had communicated the changes which are set out in an implementation agreement with project development company Pareto Something has also changed at another location in the city center opened in February under new ownership on Bahnhofstrasse Owner Franziska Fiebig is still excited when she talks about how many customers bought coffee to go back then smoothies and pastries in the atmosphere of an international coffee shop visitors can take a seat on a large terrace in good weather There is a new opening directly opposite Brando Coffee: Blickfang Daniel Weißhoff with his safety freediver Verena Fleißner at the world record attempt in Siegburg Daniel Weißhoff set a world record in freedive everesting last week in Siegburg Everesting is known from the sports of running and cycling Freedive Everesting is about collecting the metres in altitude of Mount Everest (8848 m) through individual dives The apnoea diver from Berlin dived 222 times without oxygen equipment to a depth of 20 metres only one diver has attempted this before him says Weißhoff to the GA: off the coast of Los Angelos in the USA an apnoea diver needed 148 dives at a depth of 33 metres The 40-year-old deliberately chose the diving centre in Siegburg for his record attempt: "I already knew it because we normally travel here once or twice in winter to train," says Weißhoff he has already been to the Siegburg diving tower four times since September which he says is unique in Germany with a depth of 20 metres I have gradually increased the number of dives," he reports also appreciated the constant temperature and the well-coordinated rescue chain at the Siegburg diving centre during his record attempt "It's good to know that if something happens you can be in the ambulance in a few minutes," says Weißhoff He was accompanied on his dives by "safety divers" and examined by a doctor during the breaks who primarily monitored the nitrogen saturation of his blood He advises people who want to start freediving: "The most important thing is to get competent support from an instructor a diving school or a diving club so that you can be safely introduced to the sport.“ (Original text: Ines Bresler; Translation: Mareike Graepel) Six pupils from Bonn injured in bus accident in Siegburg A white double-decker bus crashed at Siegburg bus station at around 9.45 am on Wednesday Six pupils aged 16 to 18 were injured and taken to hospital This was reported by Elisabeth Uhlmann of the Siegburg police The 60-year-old driver was in shock after the accident The students from a vocational school in Bonn were supposed to go on a fact-finding tour of training companies this Wednesday They had boarded the double-decker bus only a few minutes before the accident The maximum height for buses on site is 3.70 metres the double-decker bus had a height of about four metres an employee of the building authority had already inspected the accident site there is no danger of collapse at the Siegburg railway station after the accident The metal parts of the ceiling cladding are now to be secured The accident site has been cordoned off and the recovery of the bus is continuing The Rhein-Sieg-Verkehrsgesellschaft (RSVG) which operates several lines at the bus station "Due to an accident at Siegburg bus station there are currently delays on all lines serving Siegburg station." The company asked for understanding and the damage amounts to around 40,000 euros according to an initial estimate by the police RSVG assumes that the damage is considerably higher (Original text: Dominik Knur/Translation: Mareike Graepel) Police in large-scale operation after amok alarm in Siegburg Large-scale alarm in Siegburg: After an amok alarm and possible shots were fired in front of a building the police went to the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Realschule with a large contingent on Wednesday morning No suspicious persons or objects were discovered in the school there was a second scene at the vocational college two kilometres away and the adjacent railway station which turned out to be harmless after a four-hour operation in the city centre due to the ongoing large-scale operations At the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Realschule and the adjacent comprehensive school at the Neuenhof school centre in Siegburg the police had been on large-scale deployment since Wednesday morning The school administration had triggered an amok alert As the police confirmed to our editorial staff The police initially also spoke of "found ammunition" but retracted this information in the course of the operation The police were deployed with special forces and two helicopters circled over the school centre and the neighbouring area in the meantime A second youth is said to have fled in the direction of Kaufland The police said on Wednesday evening that they had apprehended a 14-year-old who matched the description of the perpetrator The officers took the youth to the police station checked him and also searched the flat with the parents' consent A police spokesperson had previously said: "Several persons matching the description of the perpetrator were encountered we cannot speak of an arrest." Later it was said that "two young men" had been checked and questioned The police did not give further details at first As the headmistress of the secondary school a person dressed in dark clothing had been seen at the school's bicycle racks from a neighbouring factory site in the morning The person was said to have been holding a dark object in his hand The school administration was informed and triggered the amok alarm at around 10.20 am two shots were allegedly fired at the building A witness reported to the police that a masked person had fired a long gun into the air the police also spoke of shots being fired but then corrected the statement to "banging noises" remains of fireworks were found on the searched premises no suspicious persons or objects were found Special forces from Cologne and Düsseldorf were deployed as well as more than 40 patrol officers from the region Pupils from classes located on the ground floor are said to have escaped to safety via the windows The pupils on the upper floors locked themselves in the classrooms and waited to be led outside by the police officers The school was searched by special forces and the manhunt for the fugitive is ongoing police have no information that the person seen by witnesses has entered the school." After the school was searched special forces took the students to the adjacent gym Parents of the children have also been able to go there since 1.15pm Police and emergency chaplains are on standby to assist the police finally announced that the searches in the school had been completed and that the children would now be handed over to their parents there were fewer pupils than usual in the building today as a counselling day is taking place there today Siegburg's mayor Stefan Rosemann (SPD) interrupted an out-of-town appointment in Cologne and made his way to Siegburg the police are still investigating the violation of the Weapons Act Original text: Sebastian Fink and Andreas Dyck As forecasted by the German Weather Service a major storm rolled through Bonn and the region on Friday heavy precipitation and thunderstorms hit many areas causing major flooding and considerable traffic disruptions Emergency services were busy throughout the night police and emergency services responded to several hundred calls The fire department set up a temporary control center in the parking lot of the Müllerland furniture store in Hennef bringing all emergency vehicles there for deployment to areas hit hard by the storm emergency units were deployed around 220 times in the surrounding area before 10 p.m. emergency services responded to around 500 calls altogether until the morning hours A crisis team was set up and the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) supported the fire departments from the Rhein-Sieg district several manhole covers blew out on Heinrichstrasse because of groundwater pressure Only buses could still get through the areas with standing water because of their higher clearance residents wearing safety reflective-vests signaled approaching cars not to continue driving along the flooded Heinrichstrasse streets were filled with torrential waters All road users are advised to avoid these locations right now as a precaution the Hennef fire department coordinated about 500 deployments in the region until Saturday morning Cellars filled up with water and had to be pumped empty a lightning strike led to a fire in a garage but the local fire department was able to prevent the fire from spreading heavy rainfall caused massive flooding on the roads several commercial enterprises and a hardware store were flooded A creek overflowed its banks and became a raging torrent The low lying areas along the Pleisbach creek were especially affected including the business park and industrial warehouses Public warning sirens had to be sounded in Königswinter because there was dangerous flooding on many streets floodwaters accumulated at the level of Buchholzer Strasse The streets had to be cleared of mud and debris Uthweiler road which runs through the town was no longer passable Gully covers blown out by the rush of water posed an additional danger due to open manholes The fire department was assisted by the construction department of the city of Königswinter The north of Cologne was also hit by severe thunderstorms with heavy rains Emergency services were on the scene with large numbers of personnel pumping out cellars and cleaning up streets a roof structure caught fire after being struck by lightning the fire department was able to quickly bring the fire under control There were also considerable disruptions to tram services In the outer northern districts of Cologne; Esch emergency services were called out more than 500 times mainly to pump out flooded cellars and ground-floor apartments The heavy rain caused considerable disruption to rail services for the KVB A twelve-year-old girl was injured in Düsseldorf After being struck by lightning near her bicycle she was hit by a car and seriously injured The traditional medieval Christmas market of Siegburg opens its gates from November 19 to December 22 Visitors to the medieval Christmas market in Siegburg can embark on a journey through time: Here bailiffs and craftsmen shape everyday life on the marketplace in the middle of the city visitors to Siegburg can feel transported back centuries in the run-up to Christmas the market is open only from 6 to 8 pm because of the religious holiday The last day of the Siegburg Medieval Market is December 22 flatbread bakers and many more stallholders will spoil visitors with hearty dishes A variety of old world craftsmen display their skills and sell their products The blacksmith's hammer's blow echoes far and wide over the square the rope-maker makes nets for hammocks and fishing and the stonecutter makes figurines for pagans basket weavers and many representatives of other guilds put their skills on display day in and day out Highlights of the market include the opening singing of Christmas carols and the call of the night watchman The Siegburg market has plenty of attractions for kids. Besides the carousel, which parents have to operate by using a hand crank, there will be a Christmas play, the good spirit of Christmas and guided tours for schoolchildren through the market. The exact program and times are available on the homepage of the medieval market: https://mittelalterlicher-markt-siegburg.de/ There are many carnival parades and parties in and around Bonn The carnival season is already in full swing and the first carnival parades will soon be making their way through Bonn and the surrounding towns After the storming of the town hall on Weiberfastnacht the so-called fifth season finally reaches its climax and there will be plenty of parties on the carnival days There are more than 30 parties from Weiberfastnacht to Rosenmontag in Bonn alone Some of them include fancy dress competitions >>> You can find an overview of the parties in Bonn in this article (in German) the street carnival started with the Geisterzug ("Ghost Parade") in Graurheindorf on Friday The carnival hustle and bustle reaches its climax ten days later with the big Rosenmontag parade in Bonn city centre >>> You can find all 2024 carnival parades in Bonn in this article <<< The first carnival parade on the Rhine and Sieg will take place in Siegburg-Brückberg on Sunday The street carnival ends with the parades on Rosenmontag >>> All carnival parades in Siegburg, Sankt Augustin, Niederkassel, Troisdorf and Hennef can be found in this article <<< Six carnival parades are on the programme in Wachtberg in 2024 >>> You can find all carnival processions in Wachtberg in this article <<< Meckenheim and Swisttal are scheduled between Saturday >>> All carnival processions in Rheinbach, Meckenheim and Swisttal can be found in this article <<< From the children's carnival parade in Bornheim-Sechtem to the Veilchendienstag parade in Alfter-Ort: There are numerous parades in Bornheim and Alfter >>> You can find all carnival parades in Alfter and Bornheim in this article <<< Carnival revellers will also be parading through the streets in the Siebengebirge region this session https://www.kamelle.de/narren-news/koenigswinter/bad-honnef-und-koenigswinter-alle-karnevalszuege-2024_aid-42724287 Remagen or Sinzig: there are plenty of parades along the Ahr this year >>> You can find all carnival processions in the Ahrweiler district in this article <<< the ICE has been passing the Michaelsberg in Siegburg on the Cologne-Frankfurt route and cost around six billion euros: 20 years ago the ICE line between Cologne and Frankfurt was inaugurated the Intercity Express glided past Siegburg Central Station for the first time at 40 kilometers per hour A previously long-discussed stop in Siegburg had ultimately failed to materialize was that with the start of the ICE in Frankfurt the destination in Cologne and the stop in Montabaur the new train would already reach all three German states Even the fact that the then German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) is said to have lobbied for a stop in Siegburg ultimately did not change the decision who was busy with a swearing-in ceremony in Berlin and only appeared later in Cologne for the congratulatory ceremony Other celebrities included the two state premiers Roland Koch (CDU) and Wolfgang Clement (SPD) Bonn Mayor Bärbel Dieckmann (SPD) and Deutsche Bahn CEO Hartmut Mehdorn Correspondent Kohrs describes his impressions of the maiden voyage on the ICE 3 from Frankfurt to Cologne as follows: "The new flagship of the Bundesbahn is a train There is no speedometer in the compartment A BGS helicopter escorts the speeding wonder the Siebengebirge - everything passes by in a flash." with its top speed of 300 kilometers per hour the route is still one of the most modern high-speed lines in Europe Cologne and Frankfurt would have to get used to the idea of being called each other's suburbs the Siegburg surrounding area has now also become a preferred place to live for people who work in Frankfurt But this speed also comes at a price: Originally a project manager at Deutsche Bahn estimated the cost of the ICE route at 2.7 billion euros But by the time the shuttle service between Cologne and Bonn opened on August 1 Bahn AG had already invested six billion euros in the line There were plenty of reasons for the cost increases and also construction delays In the sections between Königswinter and Dierdorf the railroad had to wait an average of 46.5 months for the authority to build The section in the Siebengebirge region took 29 months to build citizens and initiatives also helped drive up the costs," reported Udo Kampschulte the region wanted to be connected to the international high-speed rail network the encroachment on the landscape was nevertheless considerable," said Franz Möller Some tunnel projects also became expensive Individual tubes were built longer than originally planned the railroad representatives agreed to extend the Pleisbach tunnel from 500 meters to two kilometers," District Administrator Möller rejoiced at the time "We also got the lowering of the track on Königswinter and Bad Honnef through at the last minute." According to Kampschulte the fact that some of the mountains were more rocky than expected also drove up costs The discussion about building a new high-speed rail line started back in the early 1970’s the Cologne-Rhine/Main line had reached its load limit finally marked the start of the six-year construction period for the 177-kilometer line with 30 tunnels The beginnings at the Siegburg ICE stop in July 2003 were initially still associated with a number of obstacles and in the first few months there was only a provisional timetable Just three ICE trains to Frankfurt and three to Cologne stopped in Siegburg every day at the beginning Siegburg is firmly integrated into the plans of the ICE network; more than 70 ICE trains stop there every day and several tens of thousands of rail passengers use the high-speed connection between Cologne and Frankfurt every day Regular service with a stop in Siegburg began on December 15 of the same year But it did not run smoothly: Time and again ICE passengers simply got left behind at Siegburg station because the ICE passed them without stopping some train conductors had not yet internalized the new stop Intermediate stops to Frankfurt main station: Montabaur; Limburg South Scheduled travel time to Frankfurt main station: 69 minutes text: Scarlet Schmitz / Translation: Carol Kloeppel) Beuel station is becoming a hotspot for night travelers on their way to Berlin or Salzburg from the ICE stop Siegburg/Bonn there's a direct connection to the North Sea on Saturdays and there will be one more train from the Rhine-Sieg district to Stuttgart on Saturdays there is no ICE train on the route between Cologne and Frankfurt with a stop in Siegburg These are the most important changes to the Deutsche Bahn AG timetable from 10 December for long-distance services in and around Bonn ■ Night-time connections: According to Deutsche Bahn Cologne and Aachen will benefit from the new Nightjet night trains between Berlin and Salzburg on the one hand and Brussels on the other a train departs from Beuel at 10.26 pm via Erfurt and Halle to Berlin (arriving at 9.16 a.m.) and via Rosenheim to Salzburg (arriving at 7.26 a.m.) In the opposite direction things look like this: Three times a week there will be trains departing Berlin at 8.18 p.m Deutsche Bahn plans to offer these connections every night there is now a direct ICE service from Siegburg via Münster and Emden to Norddeich Mole to ferry terminal for Norderney ■ Additional train to Stuttgart: Departure for the new connection is in Siegburg at 7.24 p.m. arrival in the Baden-Württemberg state capital at 10.22 p.m The train also stops at Frankfurt Airport and Mannheim ■ Train cancellation from Frankfurt: According to Deutsche Bahn the Sunday connection ICE 814 from Frankfurt main station (5.16 p.m.) via Siegburg (6.17 p.m.) to Cologne-Deutz (6:40 p.m.) will no longer be offered there will still be around 60 stops for long-distance trains at Siegburg ICE station each day this also means that the worsening of services implemented by Deutsche Bahn This is pointed out by CDU transport politician Oliver Krauß ■ Long-distance trains via Bonn: According to Deutsche Bahn there are still 60 long-distance stops in Bonn The company is paying particular attention to a new through ICE service running six times a day in each direction between Bonn and Berlin It replaces the route that was previously split into two trains or made up of two trains in Hamm the journey time is around ten minutes shorter as there is no more splitting or coupling The ICE Sprinters (which take just under four and a half hours) remain in service three times a day in each direction ■ Flixtrain: The DB competitor FlixTrain is broadening its long-distance services with the timetable change in December additional smaller stations such as Mühlheim (Ruhr) Elsterwerda in Brandenburg and Müllheim in Baden-Württemberg will be served FlixTrain is also making a return to some cities that Deutsche Bahn stopped serving which will be available again from spring 2024 The company is also planning to increase frequency on selected routes from summer 2024 ■ Punctuality: Deutsche Bahn does not believe that the new timetable will make it more punctual The main reason cited is the overburdened and outdated rail network and the resulting numerous construction sites required the so-called Riedbahn between Frankfurt and Mannheim one of the consequences of the closure is that there will be no through trains from Siegburg to Stuttgart and Basel Travellers will have to change trains at Frankfurt Central Station Depending on the destination and connection the journey will take around an hour longer ■ Comfort: New trains should make traveling more comfortable more ICE 3neo trains will run between North Rhine-Westphalia This means there will also be more space for bicycles on the ICE Eight bicycles can be transported per train Progress has also been made in terms of seating capacity 20 percent more seats will be offered on the route between Berlin and the Rhine/Ruhr region the ICE will run every half hour between Hanover and Berlin Passengers will be able to travel from Berlin to Munich almost every hour There will be twice as many trains as before 14 Sprinters will complete the journey in less than four hours every day It will also be faster to get from Berlin to Amsterdam The journey time will be reduced by half an hour thanks to the use of new locomotives Regional connections will also be improved There will soon be more trains between Nuremberg and Leipzig Magdeburg will have a new direct connection to Hamburg Original text: By Bernd Eyermann and Wolfgang Mulke We give an overview of other Christmas markets you will find in Bonn handicrafts and much more: The Christmas markets in Bonn and the region offer a wide variety of products Which Christmas markets will you find in Bonn Here is an overview of the markets and when they are open Bonn's Christmas market is again scheduled to last longer than usual food and other typical Christmas market items the Christmas market in Bonn offers a diverse range of products throughout Advent refreshments are available until 10:30 p.m. on the other five days of the week until 9:30 p.m. On the religious holiday of the Day of the Dead Where: The Christmas market stalls are spread throughout Bonn's city center: on Münsterplatz Friedensplatz and between the squares in Windeckstrasse and Vivatsgasse Poststrasse is also part of the Bonn Christmas Market event area the “Nikolausmarkt” in Bad Godesberg welcomes visitors for a pre-Christmas stroll through the city jewelry and Christmas decorations has something for everyone There will also be a varied stage program: from children's songs to evergreens and Christmas hits members of a theater ensemble read stories in the theater (Schauspielhaus) on Theaterplatz Nicholas visits the Christmas market on December 6 and meets young visitors at the Fronhofer Galeria The popular Bad Godesberg nativity scene will also be back in its old familiar location on Theaterplatz Opening Hours: Market: Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m Mulled wine stalls: Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m the medieval market in Siegburg took place for the first time this year it will open on the second to last weekend in November the marketplace in Siegburg will then be dominated by jugglers and jesters The medieval market in Siegburg will open on Saturday the Medieval Market in Siegburg is open one hour longer and runs from 11 am to 9 pm the Medieval Market in Siegburg is only open from 6 p.m due to the religious holiday and does not offer entertainment or music Visitors who come to the Siegburg market will be able to experience musical instruction carol singing and the call of the night watchman Opening Hours: Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m A beautiful moated castle with an impressively illuminated castle courtyard awaits visitors at the Troisdorf Christmas market at Wissem Castle the Christmas market opens here and runs until Sunday Planned is again a multi-faceted program full of Christmas sounds No Covid restrictions are currently planned Opening hours: probably Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m At the Linz Christmas Magic (Linzer Weihnachtszauber) the old town is illuminated in colorful hues on all four Advent weekends A Christmas village on the market square offers Rhenish delicacies Handmade wooden decorations transform the small mostly owner-operated stalls into a veritable Christmas village There will also be a children's theater performance “The Sams celebrate Christmas” (“Das Sams feiert Weihnachten,”) Opening hours: Fridays to Sundays from 12 to 8 p.m Arenfels Castle also opens its doors on all Advent weekends experience the art of woodturning and blacksmithing This year there will be a living nativity scene Feedings of the animals there will be held at 2 p.m. The traditional Christmas market in Brühl opens on November 21 visitors can stroll around here to their heart's content delicacies and a Christmas program await visitors at the Brühl Christmas market visitors can ring in the festivities here with Rhenish coziness until noon Brühl's stores will be open from 1 to 6 p.m on the fourth Sunday of Advent (December 18) a stage program will also take place again The Neuwied Knuspermarkt offers handmade unique items Christmas decorations and Christmas concerts on stage The charming little houses in cookie look offer a varied assortment handicrafts and warm woolen items on offer Kindergartens and various associations will also offer handicrafts Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m Cologne's festive Christmas markets with their different thematic focuses once again invite visitors to stroll through and see what’s on offer the stalls are set up around a giant fir tree from November 17 to December 23 the rustic Heinzels Wintermärchen with a spectacular ice skating rink stretches across Alter Markt to Heumarkt It is Cologne's largest Christmas market with about 140 stalls the Hafen-Weihnachtsmarkt exudes maritime flair In the center of the larger shopping areas the Market of Angels on Cologne's Neumarkt appears under a magnificently radiant starry sky The 800 illuminated wooden stars in the trees above the market provide a special atmosphere visitors will find a children's program with handicrafts and painting in the St people meet in Cologne's oldest park at the cozy Christmas market in the Stadtgarten In Siegburg sind am Samstagabend zwei kleine Kinder von einem Auto erfasst und schwer verletzt worden Siegburg - An einer Bushaltestelle in Siegburg hat am Samstagabend ein 31-Jähriger einen regelrechten Albtraum erlebt Der Mann war gegen 21.40 Uhr mit seinem Nissan Richtung Stallberg unterwegs als auf Höhe einer Bushaltestelle plötzlich zwei neunjährige Kinder vor einem Bus auf die Straße traten Innerhalb weniger Sekundenbruchteile ging der Fahrer zwar in die Eisen Beide wurden daraufhin durch die Luft und schließlich auf den Asphalt geschleudert Aufgrund der Schwere des Crashs kamen sie mit schweren Verletzungen in ein örtliches Krankenhaus Die Polizei schätzt den entstandenen Sachschaden auf circa 500 Euro und hat die Ermittlungen aufgenommen Mehr zum Thema Unfall: