Forward to the past: Aachen to Königswinter

This week I’m travelling to Königswinter. This area is rich in legend. Königswinter lies at the foot of the Siebengebirge, or “Seven Hills,” mountain range. There are actually a lot more than 7 hills, but most people consider only 7 of them to be “major” hills.

There is an interesting legend surrounding the origin of the Siebengebirge. Long ago, the river Rhine did not flow through the town of Königswinter. Instead, the mountains acted like a dam and held back the water. So, the townspeople hired 7 giants to dig through the mountains to form a path for the river to flow through the town. As the giants dug through the mountains with their shovels, they created 7 huge piles of dirt. These “dirtpiles” are now referred to as the “7 hills” or “Siebengebirge.”

In reality, the mountains were formed by volcanic activity in the area millions of years ago. In more recent times, rock was quarried from the hill closest to the river Rhine and transported to Cologne, where it was used in the building of the famous Cologne Cathedral. Here is a 17th century engraving which shows that the miners used a giant slide to transport the rock down the hill to the river.

One of the most famous hills is called Drachenfels, or “Dragon Rock.” According to legend, this is the place where Siegfried slew the dragon, as told in the German Medieval poem Nibelungenlied. German composer Richard Wagner was inspired by this story and his famous work Der Ring des Nibelungen is based on it.

Drachenfels

There is a railway called the Drachenfelsbahn that takes visitors to the top for 10,00 Euro.

The view from the top is breathtaking. It was chilly at 15° Celsius, and although it rained most of the day, there was a break in the cloud cover and I was able to take this picture.

ooooh.....aaaah

There are 3 main attractions atop Drachenfels, and I took advantage of the 3-for-1 price of 16,00 Euro.

The first attraction is the Nibelungenhalle, or "Hall of the Nibelungen." This is a museum honoring Richard Wagner and Der Ring des Nibelungen. It was built in 1913, the year of Wagner’s 100^th birthday.

The museum showcases the paintings of Berlin painter Hermann Hendrich (1854-1931). He painted several scenes from the Nibelungen legend. Here is one of Siegfried fighting the dragon.

Adjacent to the Nibelungenhalle is the Drachenhöhle, or "Dragon Cave." It has a 13m long stone sculpture of a dragon.

Ooooh, scary!

There is also a Reptile Zoo with real snakes and lizards and crocodiles. However, I’m creeped out by real reptiles, so I didn’t go there.

The second attraction is the Stiftung Naturschutzgeschichte, or "Foundation for the History of Nature Conservation." This is a forum, archive, and museum about nature conservation in Germany. I enjoyed the bird exhibit.

The third attraction is Schloss Drachenburg. This is a fantastic storybook castle that was built in 1882 by Baron Stephan von Sarter. It has been undergoing restoration for the past 20 years, and it looks amazing.