The Drachenfels ("Dragon's Rock", ) is a

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

() in the

Siebengebirge The (), occasionally Sieben Mountains or Seven Mountains, are a hill range of the German Central Uplands on the east bank of the Middle Rhine, southeast of Bonn. Description The area, located in the municipalities of Bad Honnef and König ...

uplands Upland or Uplands may refer to: Geography *Hill, an area of higher land, generally *Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points *Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level *I ...

between

Königswinter Königswinter ( ksh, Köningkswinte; Low Franconian: ) is a town and summer resort in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Königswinter is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, opposite Bad Godesberg, at t ...

and

Bad Honnef Bad Honnef () is a spa town in Germany near Bonn in the Rhein-Sieg district, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located on the border of the neighbouring state Rhineland-Palatinate. To the north it lies on the slopes of the Drachenfels (“Dragon' ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. The hill was formed by rising

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natura ...

that could not break through to the surface, and then cooled and became solid underneath. It is the subject of much tourism and romanticism in the

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

area.

History

The ruined castle Burg Drachenfels, on the summit of the hill, was built between 1138 and 1167 by

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

Arnold I of Cologne Arnold I (c. 1100 – 3 April 1151) was Archbishop of Cologne from 1137 to 1151. Life Arnold's origins are not definitively known. It is assumed he came from the lower Rhenish nobility. He became Provost of St. Andreas in Cologne in about 1124 ...

and bears the same name. It was originally intended for the protection of the

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

region from any assault from the south. Originally it consisted of a ''

bergfried ''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under Germ ...

'' with court,

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

and living quarters for servants. The castle was

slighted Slighting is the deliberate damage of high-status buildings to reduce their value as military, administrative or social structures. This destruction of property sometimes extended to the contents of buildings and the surrounding landscape. It is ...

in 1634, during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

, by the Protestant

Swedes Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...

and never rebuilt. As a strategic asset it had outlived its usefulness.

Erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

due to the continued quarrying undermined much of the remains and only a small part is left today. The rock, like the rest of the Siebengebirge, is formed by the remnants of a volcano and has been the site of a

trachyte Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava enriched with silica and al ...

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

since Roman times, which, amongst others, delivered the building material for the

Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese ...

. Of all the hills in the Siebengebirge, it is closest to the river Rhine, which facilitates easy transport by

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels. ...

s, thus making it an excellent place for a quarry. Quarrying ended in 1836, when the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

n government bought the quarry. In 1922 the first protection measures were put in place and in 1956 the site was declared a national park.

Tourism

The rock and the ruins gained popularity in the

romantic era Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

, after the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

had ended. The visit of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

to and its appearance in

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage ''Childe Harold's Pilgrimage'' is a long narrative poem in four parts written by Lord Byron. The poem was published between 1812 and 1818. Dedicated to " Ianthe", it describes the travels and reflections of a world-weary young man, who is disi ...

provided the rock with international attention. It soon became a highlight of the so-called Rhine romanticism. Poems were composed by people like

Edward Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, PC (25 May 180318 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secre ...

and locally by

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...

. Thus popularized, and, since 1883, accessible by

rail Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters *Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ( ...

it evolved into a tourist attraction, which it still is. A neogothic castle, lower on the hill, is named Schloss Drachenburg and was built in 1882 by Baron . Both the top and Schloss Drachenburg can be reached by the ''

Drachenfelsbahn The Drachenfels Railway (german: Drachenfelsbahn) is a rack railway line in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany. The line runs from Königswinter, on the east bank of the Rhine, to the summit of the Drachenfels mountain at an altitude of ...

'', a

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with t ...

built in the 19th century to satisfy demand from growing tourism. The Drachenfels is sometimes irreverently called ''Schwiegermutterfelsen'' (mother-in-law rock) or jokingly referred to as "the highest hill in Holland" because of its popularity among

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

tourists. It is the first substantial elevation one encounters when traveling upstream on the Rhine from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

In the 1970s a new restaurant (with view) was built on top of the hill in the then popular brutalistic style. In January 2011 work began to demolish it, renovate the buildings from the 1930s and replace the restaurant with a glass cube. The new restaurant was opened November 30, 2012, the outside facilities were finished June 2, 2013.

Legends

Several legends surround the Drachenfels, most famously that Siegfried – the hero of the

Nibelungenlied The ( gmh, Der Nibelunge liet or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germani ...

– killed the

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted a ...

Fafnir, who lived in a cave in the hill, then bathed in its blood to become invulnerable. Hence, the hill is named the "Dragon's Rock", ''Drachenfels''. About a third of the way up is the Nibelungenhalle, built in 1913, a gallery of paintings by the symbolist painter

Hermann Hendrich Hermann Hendrich (31 October 1854 in Heringen, Thuringia – 18 July 1931 in Schreiberhau in Niederschlesien) was a German painter. Life Hermann Hendrich was born in the vicinity of the storied Kyffhäuser, his parents were Auguste Friederi ...

depicting scenes from

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's operas. Another legend tells of prisoners being sacrificed to a dragon. One of these was a Christian virgin, who, in her fear, held up a little cross. In fear of this holy symbol, the dragon jumped into the Rhine and was never heard from again. A third, less pious, story has it the dragon one day attacked a boat laden with gunpowder, causing an explosion which destroyed the ship and killed the dragon.

Viticulture

Next to

Oberdollendorf Oberdollendorf is a municipal district of Königswinter, a city in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The vineyards which dominate the town are part of the Mittelrhein wine region. Geography The town is situated bet ...

, some 10 km downstream the Drachenfels is the most northerly slope used for

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for '' vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of '' Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, r ...

along the Rhine.

Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...

dominates, but in smaller quantities also

Gewürztraminer Gewürztraminer () is an aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and performs best in cooler climates. In English, it is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz (; although this is never the case in German, because "Gewürz" me ...

Scheurebe Scheurebe or Sämling 88 is a white wine grape variety. It is primarily grown in Germany and Austria, where it often is called Sämling 88 (''English'': Seedling 88), and some parts of the New World. Scheurebe wines are highly aromatic, and the ...

Dornfelder Dornfelder is a dark-skinned variety of grape of German origin used for red wine.

, Kerner, '' Grau-'', '' Weiss-'' and ''

Spätburgunder Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for ''pine'' and ''black.'' The word ''pine ...

'' are cultivated. The slopes are maintained and harvested by hand, since they are too steep for machinery.

References

Sources

* This article is a condensed version of the German article.

External links

Official page
(in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

)
Information about the Drachenfels
(in

)
Apiary Honighäuschen at the Drachenfels
(in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

) {{Authority control Mountains and hills of North Rhine-Westphalia Hills of the Siebengebirge