Meckenheim is situated approximately 15 km south-west of Bonn and separated from the German former capital (1949–1990) and seat of government (1949–1999) by the Kottenforst forest in the southernmost part of the Cologne Lowland.

At the time of the Roman occupation of the Rhine region, an aqueduct from the Eifel to Cologne ran through the district of today's Lüftelberg.

The area around Meckenheim was probably settled by the Franks in the 5th century AD, which is still reflected today in the syllables -heim and -dorf in the names of the city and its neighbouring villages.

[4] During the Second World War, Meckenheim was spared destruction for a long time; it was not until March 1945 that there was fighting and shelling in the town and the surrounding area.

To this end, Meckenheim, the previously independent Merl and the city of Bonn joined forces and founded a development company that was tasked with planning new residential areas.

This also led to the previously vacant site between Meckenheim and Merl now being built on with apartments and a shopping area known as the "Neuer Markt".

[5] Meckenheim has two Sister cities, Le Mée-sur-Seine, Île-de-France, France and Bernau bei Berlin, Brandenburg, Germany.

[3] Politics in Meckenheim is shaped by a mayor and the town council, both of whom are in accordance with the laws of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia elected for five years.

The town council consists of 46 seats and is made up of parliamentary groups from the CDU, Social Democratic Party of Germany, Alliance 90/The Greens, Free Democratic Party (Germany), Independent Voters' Association (Unabhängige Wählergemeinschaft, UWG) and Citizens for Meckenheim (Bürger für Meckenheim, BfM).

In 2007, an unusual event took place when the incumbent mayor Yvonne Kempen (1960–2011, CDU) was voted out of office by the town council.

Bonn Hauptbahnhof is a stop for long-distance trains heading north (Cologne, Ruhr) and south (Koblenz, Frankfurt Rhine-Main).

The fact that Meckenheim has served and continues to serve as a dormitory town for Bonn has also meant that many high-ranking civil servants and soldiers (the official first headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Defence is still in Bonn and the command centres of the armed forces branches [German: Führungsstäbe] were stationed here until 2012) have taken up residence in the surrounding area and thus also in Meckenheim.