German preposition question

Today I came across on the web (and there are many examples) "Beethoven war 1770 zu Bonn geboren". ("Beethoven ...........................in Bonn geboren" is there too.)

Mmm .... . Is this use of "zu" common? Semantically, I can make sense of it if it s taken to mean that "The day he came into the world, Beethoven was to Bonn presented", sort of thing. No doubt this use of "zu" is just one more of the many big gaps in my knowledge of basic German.

Please comment.

this may be the ekwivalent to when a sports moderator says 'athlete X of ethiopia' or 'athlete y of kenya'.

Hi,
it is theoretically correct, but very, very old-fashioned. Beethoven himself would probably said it like that. 'Zu' is just a very old-fashioned word for 'at' or 'in'. People don't really talk like that anymore, sadly. It sounds very noble! ;-)

Maybe it was meant to sound poetic?

OK, thanks.
gildedlil, I m having a slow evening so am not getting your point.
fernweh87, that s the answer, then. Thanks.

Is one unlikely, then, to come across this use of "zu" in modern, educated German usage?

It still shows up in titles and names. Von und zu Stein; vvon und zu Guttenberg; Von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen.

And to add to #5, those names usually belong to those with (or claim to have) noble ancestry in Germany, though without special status legally.