Nibelungenhalle

More information about the history

Image: “Rheinsagen” by Karl Simrock (1857 edition)

People have always associated outstanding landscapes, impressive natural monuments and popular tourist destinations with legends and myths whose historical origins remain unclear. Although the speculative nature of flights of fancy such as this is self-evident, they gradually became an important part of popular folklore and the marketing of tourism.

Image: Dragon and virgin, illustration for Nicolaus Vogt: Rheinische Bilder [Scenes of the Rhine]. Frankfurt am Main 1821

In a landscape rich in rugged crags and dark caves, a legend such as “The dragon on the Drachenfels” is a must. As the story goes, a valiant but god-fearing virgin sent the bloodthirsty dragon to its death with a crucifix.

NIBELUNGENHALLE

The construction of the hall is the result of an initiative by the painter Hermann Hendrich, who was the driving force behind similar halls which contained his own works - this includes the “Halle Deutscher Sagenring” [Hall of the German Ring Saga] in Burg an der Wupper. For his Königswinter project, he obtained the support of the Richard-Wagner-Gesellschaft society, as he scheduled the opening in 1913 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Wagner’s birth. The “populist” nature of its décor meant that the hall almost slipped into obscurity in the years after Nazi rule. Thanks to a private initiative, it nevertheless survived and was finally saved from dereliction from 2013 onwards by public grants and funding from the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz – a foundation for the protection of listed buildings in Germany. Six pillars in the hexagonal central building of the hall support a dome made of reinforced concrete. Surrounding this are six niches containing a total of 12 large-scale paintings by Hermann Hendrich, which form an interpretation of Richard Wagner’s ring cycle “Der Ring des Nibelungen”. They include “The Rhinegold” and “Ride of the Valkyries”.

Image: “The Rhinegold”, Hermann Hendrich, 1913Image: “Ride of the Valkyries”, Hermann Hendrich, 1913

Practical information

Drachenwelt Königswinter Nibelungenhalle, dragon’s cave and reptile zoo From spring to autumn (15th March to 1st November), open daily from 10 am – 6 pm. Off-season – open daily from 2nd November to 14th March at weekends, on Sundays, on public holidays and in the Christmas holidays from 11 am – 4 pm.
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