Burg Drachenfels I

More information about the history

Image: Drachenfels with stone chute (copperplate engraving), Matthäus Merian, 17th century (detail)

The keep was constructed before 1149 – and the great hall, the chapel and the servants quarters were to follow later on in the same century. The grounds and the outer bailey originate from the 15th century. The fact that the impressive castle is now a ruin is not only the result of its slighting during the Thirty Years’ War. The destruction of the west side was above all due to the trachyte quarries which got closer and closer to the summit. On the engraving from the 17th century, we can see the central core of the castle which still remains – and the chute for the stones.

Image: Drawing of the layout of the Drachenfels castle ruins, Jochen Cremer, 1977

Visitors enter the bailey through the former gate which is flanked by the remains of a round tower. It marked the boundary between the castle and the hill on the northern and eastern sides. On the southern and western sides, the steep cliff provided protection. The rectangular residential tower – also known as the “palas” – sits proud at the highest point. In the inner bailey and surrounded by a wall, remains of the former residential quarters, which stand tall like battlements, can be seen on the northern side. Here, a window opening looking out towards Cologne (often called the “Cologne window”) still remains.

Image: Postcard, ruins on the Drachenfels, around 1900

The keep rises out from the centre. A part of it probably collapsed at the end of the 18th century, which gives it its slender appearance. Since then, its characteristic silhouette can be seen in countless drawings, paintings and photos. The lower floor of the three-storey keep did not have an entrance, just sparse slits to let in the light – some of which still survive. The entrance was on the middle floor. The upper floor has three windows, one of which can be seen on the eastern side. Remains of the walls indicate that there used to be a stairway leading to the top of the tower.

Image: Tomb slab, Count Heinrich von Drachenfels, 1530, St. Mariä Heimsuchung, Rhöndorf

One of the last members of the Drachenfels burgrave dynasty was Count Heinrich, who died in 1530 and was buried in the minster at Heisterbach. His gravestone was saved when the monastery was destroyed. Today, it can be seen on the external wall of the St. Mariä Heimsuchung church [Church of the Visitation of Our Lady] in Rhöndorf. Incidentally, the name “Drachenfels” is said to have originally denoted a steep slope. However, the name’s similarity with the German name for the mythical dragon evidently fired the imagination of the burgraves as early as the Middle Ages. They elevated the dragon to their heraldic animal – which can also be seen on the gravestone of Burgrave Heinrich. It is still a popular subject for the souvenir industry today.

Practical information

Find out more about the history of Drachenfels castle at the Siebengebirgsmuseum Köngiswinter, Kellerstrasse 16:
> Website