Schloss Drachenburg or Drachenburg Castle is a private villa styled as a palace and constructed in the late 19th century. It was completed in only two years (1882–84) on the Drachenfels hill in

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 ...

, a German town on the east bank of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

, south of the city of

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

. Baron (1833–1902), a broker and banker, planned to live there, but never did. The villa is owned by the State Foundation of

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 ...

. It is served by an intermediate station on the

Drachenfels Railway 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 ...

History

Stephan Sarter was born in Bonn and, after leaving school, was apprenticed to the Leopold Seligman bank in

Köln 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 million ...

. He transferred to the Salomon Openheim bank, ending up as a market analyst in their

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

branch. Trading on his own account, he amassed a fortune and applied for a patent of nobility in 1881. He continued to live in Paris for the rest of his life, but commissioned the '' schloss'' as a fitting background for a German baron. The initial plans for the building were drawn up by the

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

architects, Bernhard Tüshaus and Leo von Abbema with construction commencing in 1882. Sarter appears to have had a falling out with the original architects and brought in the Paris-based architect, Wilhelm Hoffman, to complete the work. Sarter died a bachelor in 1902 and his estate, including the , was divided amongst a number of his relatives. One of his nephews, Jacob Hubert Biesenbach, a Bonn lawyer, realised the potential of the building as a tourist attraction and bought out the other legatees for 390,000 Marks. Though moderately successful, income failed to cover costs and in 1910 Biesenbach sold the castle to Egbert von Simon who ran it successfully. Von Simon, a cavalry officer, was killed in battle at

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The castle and estate was acquired piecemeal at various auctions by the businessman and arms dealer, Hermann Flohr, who lived in part of the castle while the rest was used as a women's

convalescent home A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

. In 1930 the castle was sold to the Catholic order of Christian Brothers who established St Michael's boarding school there. In the late 1930s, the school came in increasing conflict with the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

and closed in 1938. In 1940 it was sold to the German Labour Front who established the Adolf Hitler school there. Post-war, the castle became the property of the State of North-Rhine, Westphalia, who rented it out to the Federal Railways as a training facility until they moved to dedicated premises in Wuppertal in 1959. Subsequently, the castle was left empty and began to deteriorate.

Restoration

In 1963, a Syndicate for the Preservation of Drachenburg was founded which succeeded in getting the castle classified as worth preserving. It was purchased, in 1971, by a local textile merchant, Paul Spinat, who carried out major restorations and used it for entertaining and also opened for visitors. He died in debt in 1989 and the State of North-Rhine, Westphalia took over the estate and carried out a further series of restoration works stretching over 20 years. The restoration was greatly helped by the existence of a number of postcards and other illustrations commissioned by Jacob Biesenbach for his original tourism project at the beginning of the 20th century. The building is now administered by the North-Rhine, Westphalia Foundation.

In popular culture

The castle was used in the German TV-series

Babylon Berlin ''Babylon Berlin'' is a German neo-noir television series. Created, written, and directed by Tom Tykwer, Achim von Borries, and Hendrik Handloegten. It is loosely based on novels by German author Volker Kutscher. The series premiered on 13 ...

as the home of Alfred Nyssen. The castle served as the inspiration for Schloss Drache in the James Bond Novel

Never Send Flowers ''Never Send Flowers'', first published in 1993, was the thirteenth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond (including Gardner's novelization of ''Licence to Kill''). Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyrig ...

by John Gardner.

Gallery

Treppenhaus im Nordturm von Schloss Drachenburg.jpg, Staircase in Schloss Drachenburg File:20130816 Schloss Drachenburg 02.jpg, View from below (Bonn-Mehlem) File:Drachenburg mit Park, Senkrechtaufnahme.JPG, Schloss Drachenburg from above Schloss Drachenburg Luftbild 01.jpg File:20130816 Drachenfels.jpg, Schloss Drachenburg (left) and the Drachenfels ruin (right) on the Drachenfels mountain

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Schloss Drachenburg
– official site
Schloss Drachenburg
– official site {{Authority control Houses completed in 1884 Palaces in North Rhine-Westphalia Gothic Revival architecture in Germany Drachenfels (Siebengebirge) Museums in North Rhine-Westphalia Historic house museums in Germany Buildings and structures in Rhein-Sieg-Kreis