The tower house, our publisher’s emblem, through the ages: around 1870, around 1935, 1948 and today. Simplified animation based on historical photographs and drawings.

Newly founded · Bonn-Friesdorf

Friesdorf-Verlag
is online.

A young publisher for the history of an old village.

The new volumes Get notified

The span of our subjects — tap an era.

Roman era

A villa, hypocausts and the first traces on the hillside.

To the full timeline: 100 milestones from Roman times to today →

About the publisher

History, carefully published

Friesdorf-Verlag was founded in 2026 to preserve the history of a place that deserves it.

Behind Friesdorf-Verlag stand many years of research and collecting by the local historian and author Andreas Heinrich Giersberg. The publisher combines scholarly thoroughness with careful book design.

Its aim is to open up the past of Friesdorf and its surroundings on the basis of the sources and to make it accessible to a wide readership in well-designed books, booklets and publications — for the people of Friesdorf as much as for anyone interested in the regional history of the Rhineland. Our books are published in German.

Available soon

The new major work

A two-volume, research-based comprehensive history of Friesdorf, a district of Bonn — a chronological narrative in Volume I and seven studies of places and themes in Volume II (in German).

Book cover: Geschichte von Friesdorf, Band I — Von den Römern bis heute (History of Friesdorf, Volume I — From the Romans to the Present)

Geschichte von Friesdorf
Band I — Von den Römern bis heute
History of Friesdorf, Vol. I: From the Romans to the Present

Friesdorf — today a district in the south of Bonn — looks back on almost two thousand years of history. This first volume tells it from the very beginning: from the Roman villa rustica at the Arndtruhe, through the first mentions in Carolingian times, the knights of Friesdorf and their tower house, wars, fires and reconstruction, to the incorporation into Godesberg in 1904 — and on through the Nazi era and the bombing war, the post-war years and the Bonn Republic to the present day.

  • Hardcover, 17 × 24 cm, 372 pages, illustrated in colour
  • Some 700 notes, 70 illustrations, index of persons and places
  • Available soon from Friesdorf-Verlag

Look inside

Book cover: Geschichte von Friesdorf, Band II — Höfe, Kirchen, Wege, Sieben Friesdorfer Studien (Farms, Churches, Paths — Seven Friesdorf Studies)

Höfe, Kirchen, Wege
Band II — Sieben Friesdorfer Studien
Farms, Churches, Paths — Vol. II: Seven Friesdorf Studies

Seven places and themes in which Friesdorf's history can be traced in particular detail: the Klufterhof, for centuries a farm of Heisterbach Abbey, and the tower house with its Romanesque core; the Gothic Hochkreuz (High Cross), painted by William Turner in 1817; rock cellars, brewery and Arndtruhe along the Klufterbach stream; the Pützberg with its alum works and the Annaberg estate, where in 1874 phylloxera was officially confirmed for the first time in the German Empire; the churches of Friesdorf and viticulture, attested since Carolingian times. Each study can be read on its own.

  • Hardcover, 17 × 24 cm, 366 pages, illustrated in colour
  • Some 800 notes, 73 illustrations, index of persons and places
  • Available soon from Friesdorf-Verlag

Look inside

Both volumes are typeset and will be available soon. We will gladly let you know as soon as you can order them.

Reserve both volumes

Our books

Available & forthcoming

Book cover: Historisches Friesdorf — Alte Ansichten eines Bonner Ortsteils (Historic Friesdorf — Old Views of a Bonn District)
Available soon

Historisches Friesdorf

Alte Ansichten eines Bonner Ortsteils (Old Views of a Bonn District)

Andreas Giersberg's first book shows, in more than 120 colour and black-and-white illustrations, what Friesdorf used to look like — from the rural village character of the 19th century to the new housing estates of the post-war period. All pictures come from the author's private collection and are accompanied by explanatory texts.

The book was published in 2025 by BonnBuchVerlag (hardcover, 128 pages) and is currently out of print. The second edition from Friesdorf-Verlag will be available soon.

Hardcover 128 pages more than 120 illustrations
Notify me on publication Look inside & reading sample
Calendar page September 2027: bell bazaar in Friesdorf, 1921 Calendar page May 2027: interior of the parish church of St. Servatius, c. 1921 Calendar page January 2027: the tower house in the snow, c. 1910 Cover of the calendar Friesdorf 2027 — Twelve views of the old village New · 2027 While stocks last

Historical picture calendar

Friesdorf 2027

Twelve views of the old village

A year of Friesdorf as it used to be: twelve historical photographs from the archive of Andreas H. Giersberg lead through the old village — from the tower house in the snow around 1910 and the interior of St. Servatius to the bell bazaar of 1921. Each view comes with an explanatory text (in German); the pictures are taken from the book Historisches Friesdorf.

  • Format DIN A4 (210 × 297 mm), 14 sheets, wire-o binding
  • Calendar with public holidays and school holidays in North Rhine-Westphalia, local customs and carnival days
  • Pictures original photographs from the archive of Andreas H. Giersberg
  • Edition 1st edition 2026, small print run, Friesdorf-Verlag
  • Where to buy via this website (sent by post) and at the restaurant „Im Setzkasten“, Joseph-Roth-Straße 90, Bonn-Friesdorf

Available from 1 November 2026: The calendar is published in a small print run and can be ordered via this website of Friesdorf-Verlag — we send it by post. Locally you can buy it at the restaurant „Im Setzkasten“, Joseph-Roth-Straße 90, Bonn-Friesdorf. While stocks last. We take orders via the contact form: please state the quantity and delivery address; you will receive the invoice including postage by e-mail.

€15.00 While stocks last

€15.00 per calendar (final price; no VAT is charged under the German small-business rule, § 19 UStG). Orders via the website plus postage: 1 calendar €2.50, 2–3 calendars €3.50 (sent by Deutsche Post within Germany); larger quantities on request. At the restaurant „Im Setzkasten“, Joseph-Roth-Straße 90, Bonn-Friesdorf, the calendar costs €15.00 without postage.

Order the calendar Look inside the calendar More Friesdorf history

From the publisher

Friesdorf as a sticker

A sticker for your rear window, bicycle or letterbox — Friesdorf as a watercolour, weatherproof and on a card to give as a present.

Sticker „Friesdorf“: watercolour with the tower house and gateway, church spire and Godesburg castle, white border
Available now

The watercolour shows the tower house with its gateway, Friesdorf’s landmark, with the church spire and Godesburg castle behind. The sticker measures 12 × 9 cm, is made of weatherproof vinyl with a protective laminate and comes on a backing card — a small gift for anyone fond of Friesdorf.

€3.00 per sticker, plus €1.50 postage (1–5 stickers, within Germany). Ordered together with a 2027 calendar, stickers travel at no extra postage. Final prices; no VAT charged under § 19 of the German VAT Act (small business).

Order a sticker

New: the films

Friesdorf im Wandel der Zeit

The three slide lectures by Andreas Giersberg (1933–1985) — newly restored, with his pictures and his own voice (in German). In full length on YouTube, with English subtitles; here are the trailers.

All films & trailers YouTube channel
Trailer

From the history of Friesdorf

Friesdorf history

The publisher regularly shares reports and episodes from the history of Friesdorf — researched from the sources and vividly told. The first report leads into the darkest hours of the village: Kriminalität in Friesdorf 1816 — 2026 (Crime in Friesdorf).

To the reports
Title page of the first report: Kriminalität in Friesdorf (Crime in Friesdorf)

Our programme

What you will soon find here

Books

Works on the history of Friesdorf and the region — thoroughly researched, attractively designed, published by us.

Available soon

Booklets

Compact booklets on individual subjects, places and episodes of Friesdorf's history.

In preparation

Friesdorf merchandise

Stationery, stickers, postcards, calendars and other keepsakes about Friesdorf and its history.

Calendar & sticker available to order

The online shop is on its way

Soon you will be able to order books, booklets and Friesdorf merchandise directly from the publisher here.

Opening planned for 2026

The publisher

About the author

Andreas Heinrich Giersberg, born in 1970, is a native of Friesdorf. His family has been rooted in the village for centuries: the first Giersberg in Friesdorf is documented as early as 1666 — the family history thus goes back more than twelve generations.

He inherited his interest in local history from his father, Andreas Giersberg senior, who devoted his life to researching the history of Friesdorf, collected historical pictures and documents and published several writings. Today his son continues and expands this work.

Over many years he has evaluated archives, charters, historical newspapers and pictorial sources. His first book, Historisches Friesdorf, appeared in 2025. With Friesdorf-Verlag he now gives his research a publishing house of its own.

Andreas Heinrich Giersberg

Publisher & author

Frequently asked questions

Good to know

When will the new volumes be available?
The two volumes of the „Geschichte von Friesdorf“ (History of Friesdorf) — Volume I „Von den Römern bis heute“ and Volume II „Höfe, Kirchen, Wege“ — are typeset and will be available soon. You can reserve both volumes via the contact form. The books are in German.
Where can I get the calendar Friesdorf 2027?
The historical picture calendar „Friesdorf 2027“ (€15.00) is available from 1 November 2026, in a small print run and while stocks last — not in bookshops. You can order it via the contact form; we send it by post, plus postage (1 calendar €2.50, 2–3 calendars €3.50). Locally it is available at the restaurant „Im Setzkasten“, Joseph-Roth-Straße 90, Bonn-Friesdorf.
Can I still buy „Historisches Friesdorf“?
The first edition of 2025 (BonnBuchVerlag) is out of print. The second edition from Friesdorf-Verlag will be available soon — you can reserve a copy via the contact section.
When will the online shop open?
The shop for books, booklets and Friesdorf items is being set up and is due to open in 2026. The 2027 calendar and the „Friesdorf“ sticker can already be ordered via the order form (in German); otherwise you can reach the publisher by e-mail at any time.
Is the publisher interested in topics or material?
Yes. Anyone who would like to contribute historical photographs, documents or memories of Friesdorf is warmly invited to get in touch.

Contact

Stay informed

Would you like to know when the new volumes are available, reserve the second edition of Historisches Friesdorf or ask the publisher a question? Do write to us — we are happy to reply in English.

To the contact form (in German)

or by e-mail to info@friesdorf-verlag.de