The Beethoven Monument on Münsterplatz was unveiled on August 12, 1845 to commemorate Beethoven's 75th birthday and on the occasion of the first Beethoven Festival. The celebrations were preceded by years of commitment on the part of Bonn citizens - in particular Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt.

The design of a monument to Ludwig van Beethoven was undertaken by Ernst Julius Hähnel, a sculptor and professor at the Dresden Art Academy who was already successful in Dresden and Munich at the time. His concept was considered modern and at the same time sublime. The statue was executed by the sculptor and ore caster Jacob Daniel Burgschmiet.

On August 12, 1845, the monument was unveiled in the presence of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, King Frederick William IV, Archduke Frederick of Austria and Alexander von Humboldt. Since their highnesses were given a place of honor on a balcony behind the statue (today's post office), it stood with its back to them. Alexander von Humboldt then said, "Yes, he has always been a rough fellow in his life, too." The amusement played down the faux pas somewhat.

The statue had already been restored once between 1963 and 1965. For this purpose, the statue and its pedestal were loaded with the help of a truck-mounted crane and stood for about 20 months in the Karl König art forge in Bonn before the monument was ceremoniously reinstalled on April 28, 1965. A few weeks later, in May 1965, the freshly restored monument was also a stopover for Queen Elizabeth II of England during her visit to Germany.

On November 6, 1987, the Beethoven sculpture was entered as a monument in the list of monuments of the city of Bonn.