The most famous writer to have come from the city is Heinrich Böll (1917-1985), who won the Nobel Prize for Literature. His frequently sardonic and critical view of the world around him earned him friends as well as enemies in the city. His blunt and savage portrayal of post-war German life accounts for the controversy surrounding the Honorary Citizen Award, which he received in 1983. The square, named after him, was designed in 1986 by an Israeli architect, Dani Karavan, and is located behind the Hauptbahnhof and the Philharmonie.
