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<strong>Schloss</strong><br />

<strong>Drachenburg</strong><br />

Visitors’ Guide


<strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong><br />

R<br />

H<br />

01<br />

02<br />

03<br />

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06<br />

07<br />

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15<br />

16<br />

17<br />

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14<br />

You are here<br />

Entrance to the Castle<br />

Guide Tour Meeting Point<br />

Toilets<br />

West Terrace<br />

Exit<br />

Castle Restoration Exhibition<br />

Castle History Exhibition<br />

Architecture (East)<br />

Architectural Decoration<br />

Coach House<br />

Venus Terrace<br />

View of Cologne Cathedral<br />

View of the Petersberg<br />

<strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong><br />

View of Drachenfels Peak<br />

Landscape Park<br />

Nordic Summer Houses<br />

Volker House (in ruins)<br />

Wotan House (in ruins)<br />

Architecture (West)<br />

Sea of Rocks<br />

Stone Store<br />

View of Roland‘s Arch<br />

Elm Tree Avenue<br />

View of the Dechen Monument<br />

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03 3<br />

055 06 6 R<br />

07 7 08<br />

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17


Intro<br />

Dear Visitor,<br />

It is a great pleasure for us to welcome you to <strong>Schloss</strong><br />

<strong>Drachenburg</strong> today.<br />

To help you fully enjoy all the sights and attractions of this<br />

unique castle complex, we have compiled this information<br />

brochure. In addition to the overview diagrams on the opposite<br />

page, you will fi nd all the texts belonging to the Visitors’<br />

Guide & Information System – in English.<br />

You will see numbers in the upper left- and right-hand<br />

corners of the page. These numbers are also to be found<br />

on all the relevant display panels and steles. We hope this<br />

will make it easy for you to navigate your way around.<br />

A feast not just for the eye<br />

The culinary delights served in the Vorburg Bistro or in the<br />

spacious Terrace Restaurant (with its imposing views of the<br />

Rhine) will round off a visit to a castle you’ll never forget.<br />

Finally, anyone wishing to take home a souvenir of their visit<br />

to <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> or looking for reasonably priced<br />

presents for their loved ones will fi nd a select range of articles<br />

in the Castle Shop. We wish you much enjoyment and many<br />

memorable impressions!<br />

Your <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> management team<br />

When leaving the site, please<br />

return this brochure to the Visitor<br />

Information Desk in the Vorburg.<br />

Thank you.<br />

17<br />

Ulmenallee<br />

Vom Bergtor der Anlage <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong><br />

führt ein gerader Weg neben der Hangstützmauer<br />

zum <strong>Schloss</strong>gebäude. Dieser Weg war und ist nun<br />

wieder mit Ulmenbäumen bepfl bepflanzt. flanzt.<br />

Bei Bei der Ulme handelt es sich um einen Laubbaum<br />

mit feingezackten, oval-spitzen Blättern, der vor<br />

allem in den gemäßigten Zonen der Nordhalbkugel<br />

beheimatet ist. Die beiden bekanntesten<br />

Varianten Varianten sind die Felde-Ulme und die Berg-Ulme.<br />

Vermutlich waren auf der Allee im Park von<br />

Ansicht <strong>Schloss</strong> von Südosten<br />

<strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> ursprünglich Feld-Ulmen<br />

Feld-Ulmen mit gepfl gepflanzter flanzter<br />

Ulmenallee,<br />

Ausschnitt eines Fotos um<br />

gesetzt, da diese schlanker wachsen und geeig-<br />

1883/1884<br />

neter für die Bepfl Bepflanzung flanzung<br />

einer kleinen Allee<br />

sind, als die wuchtigeren Berg-Ulmen, die am<br />

besten als Solitärbäume zur Wirkung kommen. kommen.<br />

Ulmen Ulmen sind stark vom sogenannten „Ulmensterben“<br />

betroffen. betroffen. Ein parasitärer Pilz, „Ophiostoma<br />

ulmi“, der durch eine Splintkäfer übertragen<br />

wird, verursacht Verstopfungen in den Wasser-<br />

<strong>Schloss</strong> mit Ulmenallee im<br />

leitbahnen des Holzes. Es kommt dabei zu einer<br />

dichten Laubkleid oberhalb<br />

der Hangstützmauer,<br />

Unterbrechung Unterbrechung der Versorgung, und Äste sterben Ausschnitt einer Postkarte<br />

ab. Ab 1918 1918 verbreitete sich dieser Pilz aus ostost- um 1902<br />

asiatischen Gebieten über die Niederlande in<br />

ganz Europa. Die Ulmen im Park von <strong>Schloss</strong><br />

<strong>Drachenburg</strong> mussten in den 1930er Jahren, zu<br />

Zeiten der katholischen Heimschule St. Michael,<br />

niedergelegt werden.<br />

Im Rahmen der Restaurierungsarbeiten wurde<br />

die Ulmenallee 2010 wieder angepfl angepflanzt. flanzt.<br />

Für die<br />

Neupfl Neupflanzung flanzung<br />

wurde die gegen die Ulmenkrank-<br />

Fällung der Ulmenallee,<br />

heit resistente Sorte Ulmus Resista-Hybride<br />

vermutlich aufgrund der der<br />

‚Regal‘ gewählt. Diese kommt im Wuchs dem Ulmenkrankheit,<br />

Habitus der Feld-Ulme nahe und zeichnet sich<br />

Foto 1930er Jahre<br />

durch eine schöne gelb-orange Herbstfärbung<br />

aus.<br />

<strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> – ein Haus der<br />

R<br />

H<br />

Eingang <strong>Schloss</strong><br />

Entrance<br />

to the Castle<br />

Toiletten<br />

Toilets<br />

Westterrasse<br />

West Terrace<br />

Ausgang<br />

Exit


01<br />

The Architecture of<br />

<strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> (East)<br />

The <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> comes across initially as a sprawling architectural mix of a building<br />

that has grown over time. It virtually demands that you take a stroll round it. But as you<br />

change position, your impressions will shift. And as you walk up the slope from the Vorburg<br />

to the Hauptburg, what dominate at fi rst are the powerful rectangular <strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong> and the<br />

crenellated walls all so reminiscent of a medieval castle. The annexed Art Gallery with cupola<br />

top and pointed-arch tracery windows creates the appearance of a Gothic church edifi ce.<br />

Similarly, the southside core building – with protruding wall surfaces, octagonal turrets,<br />

double staircase and portico – produces a chateau or manorhouse effect.<br />

<strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong> and crenellated walls<br />

Art Gallery<br />

Core Building<br />

This vibrant confi guration of structural elements is supported by the colourful design of the<br />

various types of stone. The surrounding walls and the lower part of the building are lined with<br />

grey latite and trachyte stone originating from the Siebengebirge. The upper parts of the<br />

building boast an attractive contrast of red sandstone inlays and wall surfaces of ochre-yellow<br />

tuff. Both types of stone were excavated in the Eifel.<br />

As such, the <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> building is a prime example of “historicist“ architecture.<br />

This is a term from art history that defi nes a phenomenon relating to the architecture and<br />

applied arts of the 19th century – an approach that deliberately imitated or drew on older<br />

historical styles ranging from the Middle Ages to the Rococo Era. For its part, <strong>Schloss</strong><br />

<strong>Drachenburg</strong> is remarkable for neo-Gothic elements.


Architectural Decoration<br />

The design of the <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> building with its<br />

diverse architectural elements and different coloured types<br />

of stone is well complemented by the architectural decoration.<br />

In addition to decorative architectural components such as<br />

trefoils, crocket capitals and rosettes, we also fi nd heraldry<br />

motifs and statues.<br />

It was the Cologne-based sculptor Wilhelm Albermann<br />

(1835-1913) who carved the sandstone statues of the pointed<br />

arch niches at the upper end of the <strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong>.<br />

These fi gures represent German artists of the Middle Ages<br />

and early modern times: to the east, you see the artist and<br />

copper-engraver Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528); to the south,<br />

the Nuremberg sculptor Peter Vischer (c. 1460-1529); on the<br />

west wall overlooking the Rhine, the poet Wolfram von<br />

Eschenbach (c. 1160- c. 1220); and in the direction of Cologne<br />

to the north, Cologne Cathedral‘s fi rst master builder architect<br />

Gerhard von Rile (c. 1271 †).<br />

The north-eastern gable of the core building is decorated by<br />

a relief depicting the Loreley. Together with a relief of the Maid<br />

of the Drachenfels on the opposite western side and with the<br />

heroic fi gure of Siegfried on the wall surface on the left next<br />

to the portico, all these portraits refer to the mythology of<br />

the region.<br />

On the southern façade, there are three baldachin statues by<br />

Cologne cathedral sculptor Peter Fuchs (1829-1898), which<br />

recall the statues of saints typical for Gothic churches. Even<br />

so, the fi gures they represent are secular leaders: Julius<br />

Caesar (100-44 BC) in the gable peak; Charlemagne (747-814)<br />

on the left and Kaiser Wilhelm I (1797-1888) on the right<br />

embody the “development of state governance in the<br />

Rhineland“ (Proelss: 1884).<br />

Figure of Peter Vischer on the<br />

south façade of the <strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong>,<br />

Photo: Foto Marburg, 2010<br />

Depiction of Wolfram von<br />

Eschenbach on the west side<br />

of the <strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong><br />

Photo: Foto Marburg, 2010<br />

Depiction of Wolfram von<br />

Eschenbach on the west side<br />

of the <strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong><br />

Photo: Foto Marburg, 2010<br />

02


03<br />

Coach House<br />

The large pointed-arch door in the northern part of the surrounding wall opens into the Coach<br />

House. This multi-winged hall will have originally offered space for the accommodation of<br />

wagons and coaches. The rear section also accommodated the castle heating system, as it<br />

does today.<br />

When <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> was constructed, a heating system was built in a central room<br />

in the castle to warm and circulate air through ducts in the walls and fl oors. Indeed, sliders<br />

to the former combustion chambers are still in place behind the new heating system and, in<br />

some of the display rooms, the former gratings that allowed the warm air to exit are also in<br />

evidence. Investigations, however, have not been able to prove conclusively that this original<br />

heating system was ever operated.<br />

On the contrary, thanks to the rapid engineering develop-ments of the 1880s, the original<br />

warm-air heating unit was replaced by a more modern low-pressure steam heating system<br />

that actually continued in service until a new system was fi tted in 1992. Within the framework<br />

of the general rehabilitation work, though, a state-of-the-art gas-powered heating system<br />

with condensing gas boiler was installed.<br />

Later on – during the tenancy of St Michael‘s Catholic Boys Boarding School in the 1930s –<br />

the Coach House was used as a smithy for metalwork. Today, it houses an exhibition given<br />

over to the history of the castle restoration, a process which took place between 1994 and<br />

2010 under the aegis of the NRW Foundation, the State of <strong>North</strong> Rhine-Westphalia and the<br />

City of Königswinter.


Venus Terrace<br />

The Venus Terrace plays a special role within the terraces<br />

as a whole. It lies deeper and is more narrowly constructed<br />

than the main terrace directly in front of the castle.<br />

The terrace area was laid out to the medieval design of hortus<br />

conclusus, which is the Latin for „closed garden.“ The term<br />

defi nes gardens that are enclosed by walls and shaped to<br />

medieval principles of form. One typical design element<br />

included a grass lawn cut to a perfect square with a fountain<br />

in the centre of the quadrangle. The two-basin lion fountain<br />

here also gave the Venus Terrace its name. Originally, there<br />

had been a Venus fi gure on the fountain pillar as carved by<br />

French sculptor Pierre Rouillard (1820 - 1881). Rouillard also<br />

created the gold-bronze stags on the pedestals of the main<br />

terrace. Against all medieval standards, the wind-shielding<br />

row of square-cut lime trees was planted here in the east.<br />

However, the row does not block your view to the Rhine valley.<br />

When the castle was taken over by the Christian Broters in<br />

1932, the appearance of the Venus Terrace had to be changed.<br />

Since the lifestyle of the mythological goddess of love was not<br />

compatible with the principles of a Catholic Boys‘ Boarding<br />

School, Venus had to go. It was only as the result of the initial<br />

restoration work carried out by owner Paul Spinat in the 1970s<br />

that the fountain was to receive a new statue. The fi gure in<br />

the long dress with a small bouquet of roses possibly depicts<br />

Flora, the Roman goddess of fl owers. Either way, the Venus<br />

Terrace was restored to full historicism glory in 1999.<br />

View of the <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong><br />

and Venus Terrace, photo<br />

1903<br />

Venus Terrace with Venus statue<br />

on the Lion Fountain, photo 1908<br />

Venus Terrace – Lion Fountain<br />

without statue, Christian<br />

Brothers with pupils from the<br />

St. Michael Boarding School,<br />

photo taken between 1931<br />

and 1938<br />

04


05<br />

Select Stones<br />

for Cologne Cathedral<br />

The stones preferred for the building of Cologne Cathedral in the Middle Ages, came from the<br />

Drachenfels – until construction work ceased for several centuries. When building operations<br />

were resumed around 1820, work at the Drachenfels stone quarries also started up again.<br />

However, this began to threaten the ruined on the peak of the mountain while citizens from<br />

both Bonn and Cologne protested against the defacement of the landscape. In 1836, then, this<br />

early manifestation of a “citizens‘ initiative” prompted the Prussian state to place a section of<br />

the countryside – the Drachenfels summit – under protection for the fi rst time.<br />

If you would like to fi nd out more about the relationship between Cologne Cathedral, the<br />

Drachenfels quarries, the fi rst “Save our Drachenfels” Citizens‘ Initiative and the history of<br />

nature conservation in general, please visit the exhibition entitled “Nature Conservation and<br />

Its History” at the museum in the Vorburg.<br />

Lithograph after S. Boisserée, undated:<br />

Cologne Cathedral, uncompleted, at the<br />

beginning of the 19th century<br />

© Siebengebirgsmuseum Königswinter/<br />

Heimatverein Siebengebirge


„Save the Petersberg!“<br />

The Petersberg is known throughout the world, not least because of the international state<br />

guests that were accommodated in the former guesthouse run by the Germany‘s federal<br />

government.<br />

From 1886 onwards, the Prussian provincial administration operated a stone quarry on the<br />

Petersberg. In 1886, the Bonn-based lawyer Joseph Humbroich (1830-1906) founded the Save<br />

the Siebengebirge Association. Its members, many other citizens and Humbroich protested<br />

against the defacement of the landscape. Successfully! Excavation operations on the Petersberg<br />

stopped in 1889. Today, thick deciduous woodland covers up the scars.<br />

If you would like to know more about the Petersberg, the state guests in the hotel and the<br />

campaign conducted by the nature conservationists against the state authorities, then please<br />

visit the exhibition entitled “Nature Conservation and Its History“ at the museum in the Vorburg.<br />

Queen Elizabeth II on a state visit at the<br />

Petersberg, 1965<br />

© Siebengebirgsmuseum Königswinter<br />

06


07<br />

The <strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong><br />

The <strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong> of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> is 30 metres in height. Its rectangular body and<br />

crenellated top recall a keep or a donjon – i.e. the main tower of a medieval castle. The sides<br />

to the tower here are decorated with works carved by sculptor Wilhelm Albermann (1835-1913),<br />

exemplifying well the various genres used by German artists of the Middle Ages and early<br />

modern times: on the north wall, the construction art of Cologne Cathedral architect Gerhard<br />

von Rile (c. 1271 †); to the east, the painting and engraving genius of Albrecht Dürer (1471-<br />

1528); to the south, the sculpturing skills of Peter Vischer (c. 1460-1529); and on the west<br />

wall, the music and poetry of poet Wolfram von Eschenbach (c. 1160- c. 1220). The north side<br />

of the <strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong> boasts the coat of arms of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>‘s owner/builder Stephan<br />

von Sarter with its motto of “Wäge – Wage”, which in English means: “Think – Dare”. An<br />

inaugural dictum for the <strong>Drachenburg</strong> by poet Emil Rittershaus (1834-1897) is attached to<br />

the base.<br />

In the course of the restoration work carried out between 1994 and 2010, the <strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong> and<br />

the Coach House beneath it were completed in 2000, the fi rst phase of rehabilitation work.<br />

And after the tower had been gutted, the upper part was given a winding steel staircase. At<br />

the top, two viewing platforms afford exceptional panoramic views across the Rhine Valley<br />

and the Siebengebirge.<br />

The ascent is made by a historical narrow staircase and steep corridors. Access from the<br />

Castle Terrace to the tower is limited to 25 persons maximum. We would kindly request you<br />

to take care of your children. Please note that you enter the tower at your own risk.


The Icon of<br />

Rhine Romanticism:<br />

the Drachenfels<br />

From around 1800, the Drachenfels mountain with its ruined castle at the top was considered<br />

the epitome of Rhine Romanticism. So when, from 1820 onwards, quarrying operations<br />

started up there with the aim of building Cologne Cathedral again, citizens from Bonn and<br />

Cologne protested at once. Soon the protection of the mountain (“Dragon‘s Rock”) became a<br />

national issue.<br />

Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III intervened. In 1836, Prussia placed the mountain peak<br />

under protection, which is why the Drachenfels now rates as the birthplace of the nature<br />

conservation movement in Germany. People in the vicinity and from elsewhere have committed<br />

themselves to the protection of nature and landscape for nearly two hundred years now.<br />

If you would like to fi nd out more about nature conservation in the Siebengebirge area as a<br />

whole and about the Drachenfels in particular, then please visit the exhibition entitled “Nature<br />

Conservation and Its History” at the museum in the Vorburg.<br />

Christian Georg Schütz:<br />

Drachenfels und Rolandseck, 1822<br />

© Siebengebirgsmuseum Königswinter/<br />

Heimatverein Siebengebirge<br />

08


09<br />

Landscape Park<br />

After Stephan von Sarter had purchased the Drachenfels property for the construction of the<br />

castle, he had the approximately ten acres of land zoned into landscaped gardens. This work<br />

was completed by 1884 but the name of the landscape architect remains unknown to this day.<br />

<strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> Park is subdivided into “zones” – i.e. terraces, pleasure ground, cliffside<br />

meadows and forest park – and thus exemplifi es later landscape gardening style. Yet<br />

the regular and symmetrical elements typical for historicism circa 1880 are missing almost<br />

completely.<br />

Terraces<br />

The terraces in <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> Park can be seen as a garden zone per se. In the<br />

southern and western part, a terrace that encircles the building has been planted with<br />

decorative fl owerbeds, including a circular one. To the south, somewhat lower and connected<br />

by a staircase, is the Venus Terrace with its design reminiscent of a medieval garden.<br />

Pleasure ground<br />

To the east, a pleasure-ground area leads up to the castle. Inspired by English garden landscaping,<br />

this element makes up that part of the park adjacent to the building and so emphasises<br />

the artistic aspects of the estate as opposed to the more natural aspects. Characteristic here<br />

are a modelled lawn surface and ornamental trees. Corresponding to the horticultural style<br />

of the castle‘s actual time of construction, the trees and scrubs near to the building are exotic,<br />

mainly conifers from the Pacifi c coast. These trees had been discovered in the fi rst half of<br />

the 19th before becoming popular in Middle Europe. Deciduous trees were also planted in<br />

the <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> Park, trees which impress for the blazing colours of their foliage<br />

worthy of natural-landmark status. The stock of trees was supplemented by a decorative<br />

cone-shaped fl owerbed in front of the portico and a trail network inviting you to go for a<br />

stroll.<br />

Cliffside meadows<br />

In the south-east, the pleasure-ground zone is separated from the cliffside meadows behind<br />

it by means of a low wall. This part of the park is predominately planted with native trees,<br />

either individually or in groups, which thus frame the views to the Rhine. Swathes of meadow<br />

lead from south to the west.<br />

At the turn of the 20th century, the nephew of Stephan von Sarter and second owner of the<br />

castle, Jacob Hubert Biesenbach Jnr, redeveloped the cliffside meadows by planting fi r and<br />

spruce trees, building block houses in a Nordic style and laying a network of trails to connect<br />

the buildings. He also created a deer park with fallow deer.<br />

Forest park<br />

A forest park with beech, oak and lime trees adjoins the cliffside meadows in the west. Plus<br />

which, the steep lay of the woodland has another special feature: a sea of rocks whose trachyte<br />

formations range up between the trees.Thanks to the history of the property both in terms of<br />

construction and use, there have been numerous redevelopments set against the times of<br />

decay and/or uncontrolled natural growth in the parkland areas. In the course of restoration,<br />

it was found possible to reconstruct the original parkland layout, following comprehensive<br />

analysis. On that basis, lines of sight have been recreated, old trails re-opened and stretches<br />

of land remodelled.


Nordic Summer Houses<br />

The second owner of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> and nephew of its builder, Jacob Hubert Biesenbach<br />

Jnr, developed the estate as a tourist attraction. In addition to tours of the castle, he also<br />

offered lodgings to summer visitors. From 1907/1908, he remodelled the cliffside meadows<br />

of the castle park by planting fi r and spruce trees, creating a deer park and building a series<br />

of Nordic-style summer houses on the southern slope. Further buildings were added on the<br />

western slope at the border to the forest park. Of the 18 block houses then planned, we can<br />

identify twelve of these thanks to the buildings and foundations still intact. Biesenbach‘s<br />

wife named the twelve after fi gures from the world of Germanic mythology and the Song of<br />

the Nibelungs: Brunhilde, Siegfried, Chriemhilde, Walküre, Tristan, Parsival, Isolde, Volker,<br />

Wotan, Siegmund, Sieglinde and Gieselherr.<br />

In the 1920s, the block houses were placed at the disposal of the local Women‘s Association<br />

of the German Red Cross for use as a women‘s convalescence home. When St Michael‘s Boys<br />

Boarding School occupied the premises in the 1930s, the pupils lived in the block houses.<br />

Connecting structures between the blocks served as dormitories. Some time later, the houses<br />

were let out privately. Over the years, however, most of them fell into decay. Today, only the<br />

buildings of Walküre, Tristan and Parsival have survived (as a new construction from the 1930s)<br />

to the east; and Isolde to the south.<br />

Postcard, circa 1908/1910<br />

10


11<br />

Volker Summer House<br />

Jacob Hubert Biesenbach Jnr, the second owner of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> and nephew of<br />

its builder, had a series of Nordic Summer Houses built in the castle deer park in the years<br />

spanning 1907 to 1910. Some of these block houses were photographed at the time for advertising<br />

purposes. In other words, views of the summer house which would otherwise have<br />

remained unknown have been handed down to posterity.<br />

The “Volker” originally stood beneath the Venus Terrace and formed the north-western<br />

closure in a ring of block houses on the southern cliffside meadow of the castle park. Parts<br />

of the surrounding natural-stone walls have survived to this day and still point to the original<br />

location.<br />

Volker Summer House<br />

beneath the Venus Terrace,<br />

photo circa 1908/1909


Wotan Summer House<br />

After Jacob Hubert Biesenbach, the second owner of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>, had completed<br />

building work on the Nordic Summer Houses in the <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> park, a few of<br />

them were photographed for purposes of postcard manufacture and advertising material.<br />

Thus it is that we still have photodocumentation of block houses that have now disappeared.<br />

“Wotan” formed the south-western closure of the group consisting of nine block houses on<br />

the southern cliffside. Only a few remains of the original natural-stone masonry have survived.<br />

Wotan Summer House in the deer park<br />

of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>,<br />

photo circa 1908/1909<br />

12


13<br />

The Architecture of<br />

<strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> (West)<br />

If you view <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> from the western side of the Rhine, it comes across as an<br />

elongated building with the individual elements of its architecture clearly visible. The large<br />

rectangular <strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong> and the crenellated wall encircling the entire building look like<br />

components of a medieval castle. The Art Gallery with its tracery windows and reconstructed<br />

cupola reminds you of a Gothic church edifi ce. The core building to the south – notable for the<br />

high tower, protruding wall surfaces and octagonal corner towers – gives the impression of<br />

a renaissance-style castle. But you can also see medieval elements such as pointed arches<br />

and rosettes there.<br />

<strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong> and<br />

d crenellated walls<br />

Art Art Gallery<br />

Core Building<br />

The polymorphism of the building is underlined by the different kinds of stone used in the<br />

construction. Grey latite and trachyte for the perimeter wall contrast neatly with the ochreyellow<br />

tuff walls and red sandstone inlays.<br />

Architects<br />

Responsible for the draft of the main structure of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> and for carrying out<br />

the work until the end of 1882 were two Düsseldorf architects: Bernhard Tüshaus (1846-1909)<br />

and Leo von Abbema (1852-1929). Their plans for <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> were revised by<br />

Cologne-born master builder Wilhelm Hoffmann (c. 1890 †) who also added plans for the<br />

<strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong> and Art Gallery. A resident of Paris, Hoffmann had previously worked under<br />

Ernst-Friedrich Zwirner (1802-1861) on Cologne Cathedral maintenance. Franz Langenberg<br />

(1842-1895), an architect active in the Cologne-Bonn area, was in charge of building operations.


Sea of Rocks<br />

Geologically speaking, the <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> forest park<br />

is remarkable for its stone formations – a sea of rocks that<br />

came into being about 26 million years ago during the<br />

Tertiary Period. As the result of volcanic eruptions at the<br />

Drachenfels, enormous quantities of ash were discharged.<br />

The ensuing viscous magma pressed from below against<br />

the layer of ash solidifi ed as tuff – but without being able to<br />

break through. A cryptodome thus swelled up. Next to this<br />

main crypto-dome, to the north west, a rock mass pressed<br />

into the tuff. The body of lava solidifi ed into stone known<br />

as trachyte. Cracks then formed into which surface water<br />

was able to penetrate. Subsequently, as the result of frost<br />

shattering, various blocks broke free of the rock. Along with<br />

the tuff layer, these large trachyte blocks moved down the<br />

mountainside in two fl ows, one of which runs through today‘s<br />

park at <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>.<br />

Trachyte<br />

The volcanic rock trachyte was fi rst identifi ed at the start of<br />

the 19th century by the French geologist Alexandre Brongniart<br />

(1770-1847) studying rock formations in the Auvergne. The<br />

name comes from the Greek word trachyt which means “raw”,<br />

this due to the fact that the cavities in the stone lend any new<br />

fracture a raw jagged exterior.<br />

Typical for trachyte are the grey colouring and the sanidines<br />

encased in the stone – i.e. the fl at-shaped crystals.<br />

The trachyte found at the Drachenfels was excavated as long<br />

ago as Roman times. Quarries, identifi able by tooling marks<br />

visible on the stones, were located in the western area of the<br />

summit and in the Sea of Rocks here at <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>.<br />

Drachenfels cryptodome and<br />

<strong>Drachenburg</strong> rock mass with<br />

tuff substratum<br />

Trachyte stone with tooling<br />

marks from quarry work in<br />

Roman times, found in the<br />

<strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> forest<br />

park.<br />

14


15<br />

Stone Store<br />

When restoration work began in 1995, the entire park was<br />

searched systematically for stone witnesses to the building<br />

history of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>. Ashlars and other parts of<br />

the original masonry were found scattered all over the site<br />

where they had been dumped as rubble after the destruction<br />

or the dismantling of the castle. Parts recovered included the<br />

remains of the original main staircase and Art Gallery. The<br />

main staircase and portico had been removed in the 1940s<br />

and the Art Gallery had suffered heavy damage during the<br />

Second World War.<br />

Although no fewer than 800 natural quarry stones were rediscovered,<br />

they then had to be transported back on diffi cult<br />

terrain. In fact, the more remote areas of the park could only<br />

be reached with the assistance of logging horses.<br />

The stones were placed in provisory stores, numbered and<br />

measured. In nearly all cases, it was found possible to ascertain<br />

the original building purpose.<br />

Depending on their condition, the stones – many hewn with<br />

great artistic skill – were either re-instated or used by the<br />

stonemasons as a model for faithful copies. Some of the<br />

stones even allowed the reconstruction of complete sections<br />

of building. Those belonging to the original cupola vault above<br />

the Art Gallery, for example, acted as a template from which<br />

the vault as a whole could be reconstructed.<br />

Finally, on completion of the restoration work, a high-rack<br />

store was erected to the west of the park to house the unused<br />

ashlars.<br />

Ashlars on park territory before<br />

retrieval, photo 1994<br />

Logging horse carrying stones,<br />

photo 1995<br />

Reconstructed portico at the<br />

main entrance with original<br />

ashlars at the pillar bases,<br />

photo 2010


Roland‘s Arch,<br />

Rhine Romanticism<br />

and Nature Conservation<br />

Romantic painters frequently used the legend-steeped Roland‘s Arch, which stands on the<br />

“other” side of the River Rhine, as a subject. In fact, Romantic landscape painting was very<br />

infl uential. With painters of the Romantic period and the early conservationists all drawing<br />

on the same sources of inspiration, Romantic landscape paintings were able to shape the<br />

thinking of many early conservationists in terms of nature and the landscape. Paintings that<br />

still have an effect today – whether consciously or unconsciously.<br />

Romantic art thus continues to infl uence our sensibility as to the beauties of nature and landscape.<br />

If you would like to fi nd out more about this relationship between Rhine Romanticism<br />

and nature conservation, please see the exhibition entitled “Nature Conservation and Its<br />

History” at the museum in the Vorburg or visit the Siebengebirge Museum in Königswinter.<br />

Andreas Achenbach<br />

View from the Roland‘s to the Siebengebirge, 1834<br />

© Sammlung Rheinromantik<br />

16


17<br />

Ulmenallee/Elm Tree Avenue<br />

A straight thoroughfare leads from the Bergtor to the <strong>Schloss</strong><br />

<strong>Drachenburg</strong> complex along the retaining wall. This thoroughfare<br />

was formerly fl anked with elm trees ... and now it is again.<br />

A deciduous tree with serrated oval-shaped leaves, the<br />

elm is mostly native to the moderate zones of the northern<br />

hemisphere. The two best-known varieties are the fi eld elm<br />

and the mountain elm. It is a fair assumption that the fi rst<br />

elms planted along the avenue in the <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong><br />

Park were fi eld elms since these tend to grow more slender<br />

in shape and are thus more suited for setting out in a small<br />

avenue than the sturdy mountain elms which fl ourish better<br />

as solitary trees.<br />

Elms everywhere have been badly affected by the “Dutch elm<br />

disease”. A parasitical fungus known as ophiostoma ulmi<br />

and spread by the elm bark beetle causes blockages in the<br />

wood tissue. In that process, the supply of water and nutrition<br />

is disrupted and the branches die off.<br />

From about 1918 onward, this fungus came from East Asia<br />

via the Netherlands and spread throughout Europe. The elms<br />

in the <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> Park had to be felled in the 1930s,<br />

when the St Michael‘s Catholic Boarding School had its<br />

premises here.<br />

As part of the overall restoration process, our Elm Tree Avenue<br />

was replanted in 2010. This time round a variety resistant to<br />

Dutch elm disease was used – the Ulmus Regal hybrid elm<br />

cultivar which resembles the fi eld elm in habitus and is remarkable<br />

for its rich yellow-orange colouring in autumn.<br />

View of the castle from the<br />

south east, Elm Tree Avenue<br />

planted with elms, extract from<br />

a photo taken circa 1883/1884<br />

Castle with Elm Tree Avenue in<br />

full foliage above the retaining<br />

wall, extract from a postcard<br />

dating from circa 1902.<br />

Trees in Elm Tree Avenue being<br />

felled, presumably due to Dutch<br />

elm disease<br />

Photo from the 1930s


Nature Conversationists<br />

and the Drachenfels<br />

The fact that today we can still enjoy the beauty of the Siebengebirge<br />

goes back to the people who have campaigned for<br />

the protection of the Drachenfels and the other mountains<br />

since the 19th century.<br />

Heinrich von Dechen (1800-1889)<br />

If you go past the orchard, you will see a memorial which<br />

was erected in 1892 and dedicated to nature conservationist<br />

Heinrich von Dechen. He served as the fi rst president of the<br />

Siebengebirge Preservation Society (VVS), which was set up<br />

in 1870. Dechen and the VVS went on to develop the Siebengebirge<br />

as a recreation area, having to fi ght against the<br />

disfi gurement of the Siebengebirge countryside due to the<br />

increasing number of quarries. The VVS, therefore, over the<br />

decades, repeatedly bought up plots of land and so helped<br />

rescue the natural beauty of this unique landscape.<br />

Ernst Rudorff (1840-1916)<br />

As a student at the University of Bonn, this Berlin-born<br />

musician frequently went on long hikes in the Siebengebirge.<br />

When in 1880 he fi rst heard of proposal to construct a rack<br />

railway, he was concerned that the mountain and the summit<br />

would lose their beauty. The proposals thus inspired him to<br />

write an essay called On the Relationship Between Modern<br />

Life and Nature. This essay, in which Rudorff cast light on the<br />

way we relate to nature and deal with it, is now acknowledged<br />

as the founding manifesto of the German Nature Conservation<br />

Movement.<br />

If you would like to fi nd out more about Heinrich von Dechen<br />

and the Siebengebirge Preservation Society (VVS) and about<br />

Ernst Rudorff and the beginnings of tourism in the Drachenfels<br />

area, then please visit the exhibition entitled “Nature<br />

Conservation and Its History“ at the museum in the Vorburg.<br />

Heinrich von Dechen,<br />

co-founder and fi rst president<br />

of the VVS<br />

Drachenfels Railway Under<br />

Steam<br />

© Siebengebirgsmuseum<br />

Königswinter/Heimatverein<br />

Siebengebirge<br />

Ernst Rudorff, musician, nature<br />

and heritage campaigner<br />

18


Main Staircase<br />

“... Above the majestic stairs incorporating white, red and green marble come the spacious<br />

podiums that permit a highly amenable, unimpeded view of the splendid ceilings and wall<br />

murals …“.<br />

Drachenfels and <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> near Königswinter on the Rhein, undated, c.1904<br />

In the fi eld of manor-house and castle architecture, the main staircase is seen as the<br />

“representative showpiece” per se. It forms the glittering start to the interior of the building<br />

and should thus be as magnifi cent as possible.<br />

The staircase in a baroque castle was the centre of the building, creating a link within the<br />

rigidly hierarchical sequence of rooms. It was the place where greetings were exchanged, a<br />

backdrop to the ceremonials of reception and escorting. As such, it was always aligned to<br />

the ballroom.<br />

As in the baroque era, the staircases built in the manor houses and castles of the 19th century<br />

served primarily to reinforce the dynastic prestige and personal fame of the owner, an aim<br />

manifest most clearly in the choice of paintings and murals – the whole iconographic programme.<br />

When ascending the stairs, the beholder would experience an accumulative effect,<br />

Indeed, to appreciate the iconographic programme in full, it would be right and proper to walk<br />

the entire staircase. On occasion, you were positively expected to take your time!<br />

The Main Staircase at <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> was once adorned with 24 monumental paintings,<br />

of which 13 have survived the castle‘s troubled past. They include portraits of eight German<br />

emperors as well as episodes from German history: The Handing Over of the Foundation<br />

Stone at Cologne Cathedral and The Meeting of Heinrich the Fowler with Charles the Simple<br />

both painted by Friedrich von Keller; The Contest of Song in Nonnenwerth and The Wedding<br />

of a Cologne Patrician and an English Princess in 1201, both by Heinrich Heim; and Scene<br />

from a Tournament at the New Market in Cologne 1486, by Carl Rickelt.<br />

The Main Staircase was (and still is) lit by stained-glass windows in the wall to the east. It<br />

is here that the only original stained-glass windows anywhere in the castle have been completely<br />

preserved. You see a fi ve-part window with a wickerwork ornament under a tracery<br />

rose and an imperial eagle.<br />

The openness of the staircase in a house serving accommodation and society purposes<br />

demanded that there be a clear separation between the lords and ladies of the manor and<br />

the servants, meaning that the latter could only set foot on the stairs to clean them. This<br />

meant in turn that extra sets of stairs for the staff and tradespeople were essential. One of<br />

these side staircases is still in place north of the Main Staircase, with another winding staircase<br />

to the south.


A view from the east into the Main Staircase,<br />

postcard 1905<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Visible at the top: Carl Rickelt‘s Scene from a<br />

Tournament at the New Market in Cologne 1486.<br />

Underneath that, you see depictions of two paintings<br />

by Joseph Flüggen that have disappeared:<br />

The Meeting of Charlemagne with Leo III and,<br />

on the right, The Baptism of the German Crown<br />

Prince.<br />

Main Staircase, photo c. 1971<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

The photo taken in 1971 shows the paintings with<br />

canvas parts cut out.<br />

These lacunae in the Patrician Wedding painting<br />

and, opposite, the Foundation Stone at Cologne<br />

Cathedral painting were reconstructed in the<br />

1970s by a group of young artists at the behest of<br />

the last private owner here: Paul Spinat. Paintings<br />

now lost completely – such as The Meeting of<br />

Charlemagne with Pope Leo III (in the photo the<br />

empty space behind the chandelier) – were not<br />

reconstructed.<br />

19


The Iconographic Programme<br />

at <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong><br />

Due to the turbulent history of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>, the original iconographic programme<br />

(or series of paintings) has not survived completely. After the Second World War and during<br />

the time the castle stood vacant in the 1960s, souvenir hunters and vandals left their mark in<br />

more ways than one. Nevertheless, historical photos and document sources at our disposal,<br />

not to mention the canvases still in existence, give a good indication today of what Stephan<br />

von Sarter, the owner/builder and a “man of artistic sensibility”, had in mind for <strong>Schloss</strong><br />

<strong>Drachenburg</strong> as a “bastion of German art […] in whose splendid rooms the poetry and beauty<br />

of the Rhine, its history and its myths would be given a unique memorial”.<br />

(Johannes Proelss in Frankfurter Zeitung, 24.9.1884)<br />

In the days of old, a visitor to the castle would be welcomed in the vestibule by two fairytale<br />

pictures now long lost: Schneewittchen (Snow White) and Dornröschen (Sleeping Beauty) as<br />

painted by the Munich artist Joseph Flüggen (1842-1906).<br />

The re-awakening symbolism of the fairytales, a direct reference to the revival of the German<br />

Empire in 1870/71, was a generally known and frequently used image. The prince rouses<br />

Sleeping Beauty from a hundred years of slumber and Germany, liberated by Kaiser Wilhelm I,<br />

becomes a new imperial power.<br />

Seen here as a photo-reproduction on the wall, the depiction of Snow White – whose blond<br />

hair harks back to the early Grimm Brothers‘ version of 1808 – shows her sitting somewhat<br />

elevated in a hollow gnarled (German) oak-tree whilst her six (!) dwarves bear gifts of homage<br />

such as crystals and minerals etc.<br />

The two fairytale-themed paintings were superimposed by two river allegories, also by Joseph<br />

Flüggen, in the pointed-arch sections under the vault. These paintings have disappeared too.<br />

A river allegory of Father Rhine with the Mosel was depicted in the middle section above the<br />

corridor towards the Reception Room. His daughters, the rivers Neckar and Lahn were on<br />

the left and the rivers Ahr and Main on the right, next to the Rhine. The paintings originally<br />

alluded to territorial annexation and local landscapes.<br />

In the higher section of the Main Staircase, above the landing, there used to be depictions (no<br />

longer extant) of the Loreley and the Maid of Drachenfels by Eduard Unger(1853-1894) which<br />

also created a link to the fairytale pictures of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White.


Joseph Flüggen: Sleeping Beauty<br />

Postcard, 1905<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Joseph Flüggen: Neckar<br />

Postcard, 1903 (extract)<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Joseph Flüggen: Father Rhine<br />

Postcard, 1903 (extract)<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Joseph Flüggen: Ahr<br />

Postcard, 1903 (extract)<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

20


Hunting Trophy<br />

and Breakfast Room<br />

The Hunting Trophy and Breakfast Room, as it is called, once served as a dining room on a<br />

daily basis. But outside meal times, it was also used as an ante-chamber and waiting room.<br />

An inventory taken in 1912 for the “Hunt Room” listed the following items of furnishing.<br />

3 oak sideboards<br />

1 bench sofa<br />

1 table<br />

3 armchairs<br />

4 chairs<br />

1 chandelier<br />

The engravings here, reproductions of the paintings at <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>, have been<br />

adapted from various publications of the later 19th century. Even in those days, the large-scale<br />

wall and ceiling paintings of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> were coming in for much praise. Published<br />

and documented in daily newspapers, trade journals and works of art history, they achieved<br />

a great deal of recognition in their time. Reproduction prints in the form of magazine supplements<br />

found their way into many households.<br />

Moreover, it was also possible to order prints from the catalogues of the then major publishing<br />

houses. In this way, in keeping with the idea of “art for all”, remote objêts d‘art could be<br />

brought into private households to be noticed, admired and, not least, to provide a piece of<br />

cosy interior decoration at an affordable price, you might say.


Looking into the Hunting Trophy and Breakfast<br />

Room, postcard 1905<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

21


Wood Engravings<br />

Based on Wall Paintings at<br />

<strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong><br />

(1) The Handing Over of the Foundation Stone at Cologne Cathedral<br />

Wood engraving based on Friedrich von Keller’s mural in the Main Staircase at <strong>Schloss</strong><br />

<strong>Drachenburg</strong>, c. 1900.<br />

The visitor arriving in the Main Staircase is greeted by The Handing Over of the Foundation<br />

Stone at Cologne Cathedral under Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden, from the Drachenfels<br />

Quarry in 1248, which hangs on the north wall. Friedrich von Keller (1840-1914) was the artist<br />

who painted the blessing of the foundation stone. Certain stones for the building of the<br />

cathedral came from the Drachenfels. Apart from the emphasis on local history, the pictorial<br />

topic also pays tribute to the signifi cance of Cologne Cathedral as a symbol of 19th century<br />

German unity. After all, only a few years prior to the construction of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>, the<br />

Cathedral was completed following a construction period of 632 years! However, the depiction<br />

of the group of fi gures on the left-hand side of the painting no longer refl ects the original<br />

condition you see on the engraving. We can only assume that, when the building stood empty<br />

during the 1960s, a piece of canvas was cut out. After 1971, the new castle owner Paul Spinat<br />

commissioned a young artist, working from original documents, to re-imagine the missing part.<br />

(2) The Meeting of German King Heinrich I with Charles III of France near Bonn<br />

Wood engraving based on Friedrich von Keller’s sketches for the wall painting, 1897<br />

At the historic meeting held on 7 November 921 near Bonn, the two kings conducted<br />

negotiations as to the annexation of Lorraine to East Francia. The contemporary allusion<br />

was the renewed annexation of Lorraine by Germany following the Franco-German War of<br />

1870/1871. Friedrich von Keller’s painting, located in the Main Staircase next to the Handing<br />

Over of the Foundation Stone, is the complete original.<br />

(3) The Contest of Song<br />

Wood engraving based on a wall painting by Heinrich Heim, c. 1890.<br />

The Contest of Song on the Island of Nonnenwerth before the English King Edward III anno<br />

1339 – to give the picture its full title – hangs on the south wall of the Main Staircase in its<br />

complete original condition. It was painted by Heinrich Heim (1850- 1921). The contest of<br />

songs here symbolises the furtherance of music and poetry in general.<br />

(4) Riding out to the Hunt<br />

Wood engraving based on Ferdinand Wagner’s wall painting, c.1890.<br />

Hunting themes were the chief source of inspiration for the ornate decoration in the Dining<br />

Room. The Munich artist Ferdinand Wagner (1847-1927) portrayed in fi ve paintings the course<br />

of a hunt carried out by the Knight of Drachenfels Castle in the 14th century, the scenery<br />

being that of the Rhine embankment. Only the right-hand part of the east wall with its main<br />

painting of a stag hunt has been preserved. The Riding out to the Hunt originally acted as the<br />

introduction to the series of paintings.<br />

(5) The Quarrel between Kriemhild and Brunhild outside Worms Cathedral<br />

Wood engraving based on a wall painting by Frank Kirchbach<br />

The fi ctional link of the Siegfried legend with the Drachenfels was probably the reason why<br />

a room at <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>, the Nibelung Room, was dedicated to the saga. Its artwork,<br />

consisting of ten key scenes from the Song of the Nibelungs was created by the Munich<br />

painter Frank Kirchbach (1859-1912). The best-known and most publicised scene features<br />

the quarrel between the two queens outside Worms Cathedral.


Lacunae in the Main Staircase painting entitled<br />

The Handing Over of the Foundation Stone at<br />

Cologne Cathedral, photo c. 1971<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Schematic drawing of the prints on the walls in<br />

the Hunting Trophy & Breakfast Room<br />

22


Reception Room<br />

“The manorhouse would often have a room given over to receiving people on a short visit<br />

and for use as an entrance to the suite of assembly rooms during festive occasions – the<br />

Reception Room”:<br />

(Josef Durm: Handbook of Architecture, 1902)<br />

In compliance with the architectural how-to manuals of the time, the Reception Room at<br />

<strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> was a point of entrance to the suite of assembly rooms on the representative<br />

level. As customary at the time, it was located between the Dining Room and the<br />

Salon (the Nibelung Room). The spacious size of the Reception Room is a good indication<br />

that it was used for social purposes and this is why its amenities resemble those of a salon –<br />

i.e. seats were the most important items of furniture.<br />

In keeping with its function, the Reception Room was imposingly furnished. Castle brochures<br />

of the late 19th century and early 20th century describe vividly “the large Reception Room<br />

in which […] the wonderfully carved wooden ceiling, highlighted by two elegant chandeliers,<br />

initially captures the eye”.<br />

The designs for the magnifi cent ornamentation of the carving on the doors, wall panels and<br />

ceilings came from Franz Langenberg, the building supervisor of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>.<br />

Due to the damage infl icted during the Second World War, one of the most important décor<br />

elements within the Reception Room is no longer extant today – the stained glass that<br />

decorated nearly all the rooms of the castle with ornamental and fi gurative depictions. In<br />

the pointed-arch skylights of the balcony doors, for example, there used to be fi gures of<br />

night and day. And, on the skylights of the fi ve-part window wall to the west, there used to<br />

be female fi gures personifying the fi ve senses of smell, taste, sight, hearing and touch. One<br />

of these, the personifi cation of taste survived the war: it was rescued from the rubble by a<br />

private individual. The designs for the stained glass of the Reception Room were provided by<br />

Fritz Birkmeyer while the actual glass-work was produced by the Munich-based Royal Court<br />

Stained Glass Manufactory of Franz Xavier Zettler in 1884.<br />

As a result of the subdued daylight, the dark wood and the coloured walls, the Reception<br />

Room came over as considerably darker than today. In those days, the Gründerzeit of the<br />

decades after 1871, it was considered very sophisticated to reside in dark rooms.<br />

Also echoing the taste of the late 19th century was the bust in the Reception Room – a copy<br />

of the head of Apollo of Belvedere. This marble bust was returned to the <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong><br />

inventory in 1995. Its original central position in front of the west window wall was of<br />

course not without reason. Castle-owner Stephan von Sarter clearly wanted the attributes<br />

of Apollo – the god of youth, of the arts (especially music and poetry), of knowledge and of<br />

thought – to refl ect on him. Nearly every visitor would pass this room and register the implicit<br />

symbolism of the bust.


Reception Room, postcard 1905<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

A view of the west window wall with stained-glass<br />

skylights. The bust of Apollo, in front of the<br />

windows, is discernible.<br />

Design sketches Day and Night for the pointedarch<br />

skylights<br />

(Archiv Mayer‘sche Hofkunstanstalt München,<br />

ehem. Zettler)<br />

The Sense of Taste, the one surviving stained-glass<br />

item from the series of the Allegories of the Five<br />

Senses in the skylights to the west window wall<br />

of the Reception Room, photo 2009<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

23


Four Paintings from<br />

the Rhine Romanticism Collection<br />

The four large-format paintings on the walls of the Reception Room are on loan from the<br />

Bonn Rhine Romanticism Collection which, with its approx. 500 paintings and drawings, is<br />

the most comprehensive private collection in Germany dedicated to the Rhine and its history.<br />

The pictures by Eduard Boettcher displayed here were completed at the time <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong><br />

was built and thus refl ect authentically the spirit of the times. Christian Eduard Boettcher<br />

(born 1811 in Imgenbroich, died 1889 in Düsseldorf) belonged to the later generation of<br />

Düsseldorf painters. He was appointed professor at the Academy of Art there in 1872. For his<br />

pictures, he favoured a traditional approach to landscape art still indebted to Romanticism,<br />

the composition and colourfulness of which coincided with the taste of the bourgeois public.<br />

The Rhine at Rolandseck with a View of Nonnenwerth and the Siebengebirge, 1882<br />

In this painting, Christian Eduard Boettcher chose a typically traditional view of Rolandseck<br />

across to the Siebengebirge foothills on the other side of the river. Any reference to a specifi c<br />

timeframe is avoided so that, even in 1882, a typical English tourist with peaked cap and<br />

botanist’s specimen container can sit there on a small canal wall and watch the fi shermen<br />

landing their boats in the light of the late afternoon sun.<br />

Crossing the River at the Loreley, 1886<br />

In this perfectly balanced composition, set against the backdrop of the Loreley, Boettcher<br />

draws on the old theme of crossing the Rhine. The mountain scenery on both sides ranges<br />

high while the virtually central opening to the river middle guides the beholder’s eyes via<br />

the main motif of the boats into the depths. The painter succeeds in lending his portrayal a<br />

statutory tranquillity – the subdued evening mood, the river fl ow almost at a standstill and<br />

indeed the very passivity of the people in the boats. Elements which combine to convey an<br />

impression of timelessness.<br />

View of Oberwesel, 1888<br />

This painting shows the Rhine side of Oberwesel from the north with the Werner Chapel in<br />

the centre and, to the right, the northern City <strong>Tower</strong> (the Ox <strong>Tower</strong>). On the right-hand side<br />

of the picture, you can still see the Church of St Martin whereas on the left-hand side the<br />

south view of the Rhine Valley opens up to Pfalzgrafenstein Castle. However, the artist has<br />

compressed Oberwesel’s characteristic buildings in such a way that an idealised picture of<br />

a Rhenish town with all the important set pieces – castle, city wall, church, half-timbered<br />

houses, vineyards and genre life – emerges while the place as such still remains tangible.<br />

View of Friesdorf and the Rhine Valley, 1877<br />

Set out as a broad panorama, this painting shows an unusual outlook to the south of Bonn,<br />

namely, a view of Friesdorf and of the Siebengebirge on the opposite side. The wide plain, in<br />

the middle of which you can just discern Friesdorf Station, is limited on the right by the hill<br />

to the north of Godesberg that almost reaches the Rhine. The foreground is enlivened by its<br />

genre-typical family scene. It would appear that they are admiring the extensive view over<br />

to the Siebengebirge and the prominent Drachenfels. In the centre of the picture, this being<br />

1877, the site of today’s <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> has not yet been built on.


For further information about the Collection,<br />

please visit the website (in German) at …<br />

www.sammlung-rheinromantik.de<br />

A book entitled Sehnsucht Rhein (or “Rhine<br />

Yearning”) featuring the main works of the<br />

Collection is available from the Castle Shop<br />

C. E. Boettcher<br />

Der Rhein bei Rolandseck mit Blick auf Nonnenwerth<br />

und das Siebengebirge, 1882<br />

Oil on canvas, 75 x 126 cm,<br />

Signed and dated, lower right:<br />

C. E. Boettcher pxt. 1882,<br />

Slg. Nr 28<br />

C. E. Boettcher<br />

Überfahrt an der Loreley, 1886<br />

Oil on canvas, 75 x 125 cm,<br />

Signed and dated, lower left:<br />

C. E. Boettcher pxt. 1886,<br />

Slg. Nr 151<br />

C. E. Boettcher<br />

Ansicht von Oberwesel, 1888<br />

Oil on canvas, 92 x 156 cm,<br />

Signed and dated, lower left:<br />

C. E. Boettcher pxt. 1888,<br />

Slg. Nr 421<br />

C. E. Boettcher<br />

Blick auf Friesdorf und das Rheintal, 1877<br />

Oil on canvas, 87 x 160 cm,<br />

Slg. Nr 334<br />

24


Dining Room<br />

“… in addition to the paintings in the Dining Room, we are also captivated by the<br />

immaculately fashioned wood carvings on the ceilings and walls”.<br />

(Drachenfels and <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> near Königswinter on the Rhine, undated, c.1904)<br />

Hunting themes were the chief source of inspiration for the ornate decoration in the Dining<br />

Room, which is at once imposing and domestic. In fi ve paintings, the Munich artist Ferdinand<br />

Wagner (1847-1927) illustrated the course of a hunt carried out by the Knight of Drachenfels<br />

Castle in the 14th century, the scenery that of the Rhine embankment.<br />

A picture entitled Riding out to the Hunt to the north east of the room acted as the introduction<br />

to the cycle of paintings. To the east, you see The Climax of the Hunt in which the distressed<br />

stag – harried by the hounds – fl ees into the Rhine whilst the knight riding on the riverbank<br />

is poised to throw his spear. The Boar Hunt to the south east also captures the decisive<br />

moment as the boar, cornered by the hounds, is fi nished off by the thrust of the huntsman’s<br />

spear. To the south west, you can see Taking a Rest near Godesberg. For its part, the Return<br />

from the Hunt was originally placed on the north-west side.<br />

The only mural to have survived is the south half of the east wall with its main painting of a<br />

stag hunt. The others have been missing since the end the Second World War. Lacunae in the<br />

east wall were reconstructed after 1947 and during the 1970s and the lacunae on the south<br />

and north walls were augmented in the 1970s – at times with great imagination due to the<br />

lack of original templates.<br />

In 2009, in the wake of the general restoration, the overpaintings (which in parts meshed<br />

with the original artwork) were removed, the actual paintings were cleaned up and the overlaps<br />

between original and augmentation lightly retouched so that the wonderful artwork as<br />

created by Ferdinand Wagner can be displayed in all its former splendour. The paintings of<br />

the 1970s in the south and in the north of the room have also been cleaned up and re-instated.<br />

Similarly, the original windows to the Dining Room were embellished by glass paintings with<br />

hunting themes. These glazings were made to measure in 1883/1884 by the Royal Court<br />

Stained Glass Manufactory of Franz Xavier Zettler, based in Munich, to sketches by Ferdinand<br />

Wagner and drawings by Alois Brunner. But they too have been missing since the Second<br />

World War.<br />

Most of the original woodwork preserved – such as ceiling, panelling and buffet, with all their<br />

intricate carvings – was carried out by the Hanover-based fi rm of Rümann. It was restored<br />

and partly reconstructed in 2009.


Dining Room, postcard 1905<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH.)<br />

A view of the east wall with buffet and south wall<br />

with fi replace<br />

Dining Room, photo 1948<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH.)<br />

A view of the preserved east wall painting and of<br />

the south wall with lacunae<br />

Condition of the east wall painting during restoration,<br />

photo 2009<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH.)<br />

The overpaintings of the 1970s vis à vis the original<br />

paintwork were removed. Between the original<br />

paintwork (above) and the augmentations of the<br />

1940s and 1950s (below), the fi llings are exposed<br />

and visible.<br />

A Riding out to the Hunt (missing, re-imagined<br />

in the 1970s)<br />

B Stag Hunt (partly missing, augmented in the<br />

1940s, 1950s and 1970s)<br />

C Boar Hunt (missing, reconstructed in the 1970s<br />

on the basis of a original template)<br />

D Taking a Rest near Bad Godesberg (missing,<br />

reconstructed in the 1970s on the basis of an<br />

original template)<br />

E Still Life: weapon belt(s), missing<br />

F Return from the Hunt (missing, mounted<br />

following misattributed reconstruction in the<br />

1970s as Riding out to the Hunt)<br />

25


Nibelung Room<br />

“Heroes and heroines, everything in splendid harmony with<br />

the rest of the artistic designs in this room which no visitor<br />

will ever forget”.<br />

(Drachenfels and <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> at Königswinter on<br />

the Rhine, undated, c. 1904).)<br />

The “Nibelung Room” gets its name from the subject matter<br />

of the large-scale wall paintings by Frank Kirchbach (1859-<br />

1912) depicting ten key scenes from the Song of the Nibelungs.<br />

The glass paintings for the windows once showed protagonists<br />

and motifs from the Germanic saga. Indirectly conveying<br />

the intentions of the castle owner – by refl ecting the notions<br />

of (state) loyalty, political conviction, manhood and martial<br />

virtues – the mural also points to the function of the room as<br />

a kind of gentlemen’s lounge. It was the conversation room<br />

or smoking room to which the men withdrew after dinner for<br />

political discussion or a simple chat. At the same time, the<br />

medieval ambience of the room served the lord of the manor<br />

as a kind of haven – the place for a fantasy journey into the<br />

past.<br />

Over the course of the castle’s changing history, the Nibelung<br />

Room served a number of purposes and was redesigned<br />

accordingly. Until 1930, the room could be viewed in its<br />

pristine condition. From 1931 to 1938, it served as a school<br />

staffroom for the Christian Brothers. During the Second<br />

World War, the glass paintings and parts of the interior<br />

decoration were destroyed. After the war, in 1948, the college<br />

accommodated at the castle by the German Railways Board<br />

used the room as the Principal’s Offi ce and, when the castle<br />

stood empty during the 1960s, the wall paintings suffered<br />

severe damage whether in the form of water or theft by<br />

degrees. However, with the coming of the Spinat era from<br />

1971 onwards, the fi ttings and furnishings saw some return<br />

to former Gründerzeit splendour. Parts missing from the<br />

canvas were replaced.<br />

Fluctuations in temperature, damp and unprofessional<br />

handling also beset the woodwork and the paintings. And so,<br />

in 2006, to preserve these unique witnesses to the 19th century,<br />

the entire Nibelung Room was meticulously restored with<br />

close reference to the way it looked at the time of building –<br />

i.e. lovingly restored and historically refurnished.<br />

Designs for the glass paintings<br />

in the Nibelung Room: middle<br />

window wing with skylight and<br />

right-hand window wing<br />

(Archiv Mayer’sche Hofkunstanstalt<br />

München)


Nibelung Room with a view through the<br />

Reception Room and Dining Room<br />

Postcard 1905<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Main Picture: The Quarrel of the Queens<br />

from the Nibelung Room<br />

Coloured lithograph, c. 1904.<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Layout of the Nibelung Room<br />

Frank Kirchbach’s cycle of pictures contains ten<br />

scenes from the Song of the Nibelungs (oil on<br />

canvas …<br />

1. King Gunther presents Brunhilde as his<br />

queen to the people<br />

2. The quarrel of the queens outside Worms<br />

Cathedral<br />

3. Siegfried’s leave of Kriemhild after the<br />

plotting by Gunther and Hagen<br />

4. Siegfried’s death: murdered by Hagen at<br />

the spring<br />

5. Siegfried’s body outside Kriemhild’s chamber<br />

6. The revenge: the ride of the Burgundians to<br />

Rüdiger’s castle at Bechelaren<br />

7. The betrothal of Giselher to Dietlind, Rüdiger’s<br />

daughter<br />

8. In Etzelburg: Volker the Fiddle and Hagen on<br />

night watch against the Huns<br />

9. Kriemhild beseeches Rüdiger to take his<br />

men to battle and destroy the Burgundians.<br />

The Burgundians on the stairs.<br />

10. Kriemhild cuts off Hagen’s head over<br />

Gunther’s body.<br />

A: Glass painting with the dragon slain and the<br />

fi nal verse of the Song of the Nibelungs<br />

26


Art Gallery<br />

“… a fairytale hall apparently built solely of glass … writers and musicians, striking<br />

personalities by way of great thinkers and artists, statesmen and inventors from all<br />

countries and all epochs through to current times … how wonderful ... that he could<br />

erect such as memorial to them in his magnifi cent castle”:<br />

(Elise Polko. In: A Short Note about the <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> on the Rhine, undated, c. 1900)<br />

Although the name of the room may suggest the idea of an aristocratic picture gallery, the<br />

Art Gallery here was never intended to be a place for the viewing of paintings. Its distinctiveness<br />

lay more in the presentation of glass art for which the serially arranged high windows<br />

provided more than enough surface area.<br />

As such, the iconographic programme embodied by the windows offers an array of famous<br />

personalities from all aspects of world history, art and science – discoverers, composers,<br />

painters, writers, politicians, sculptors, architects, kings, queens, emperors, empresses, and<br />

inventors.<br />

The person responsible for the overall design of the glass paintings in the Art Gallery was<br />

Wilhelm Hoffmann, one of the <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> architects and formerly an apprentice at<br />

Cologne Cathedral where he worked on ornamental windows. Responsible for the production<br />

of the costly glass panes was the Royal Court Stained Glass Manufactory of Franz Xavier Zettler,<br />

based in Munich, which was taken over in 1930 by the Mayer’sche Hofkunstanstalt, an institute<br />

for the promotion of arts and crafts.<br />

As you might expect of a picture gallery in a palatial building, the “Glass Art Gallery” at<br />

<strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> acted to demonstrate the culture, good taste and affl uence of its<br />

haute-bourgeois owner: Stephan von Sarter. This impressive cupola hall would confi rm the<br />

social signifi cance and cosmological worldview of the host to visitors and to guests attending<br />

a festive occasion or prestigious reception.<br />

From 1931 to 1938, the Art Gallery served the Christian School Brothers as a chapel. During<br />

the Second World War, the cupola was destroyed and all the glass windows either smashed<br />

or “disappeared”. After the war, the college accommodated in the castle by the German Railways<br />

Board used the large hall, now rebuilt on a makeshift basis, to stage a signal box. The<br />

Art Gallery was to regain some of its representative, if modifi ed, character in the 1970s when<br />

the now castle owner Paul Spinat had a sumptuous Gründerzeit staircase installed there.<br />

However, the most recent renovation work carried out on the Art Gallery and completed in<br />

2004 went back to the original appearance of the 19th century. Today, the design, the use of<br />

colour and the opulent stencilling – all modelled on the original – go to underline the splendid<br />

impression the room makes.


West side of the Art Gallery with bronze statue of Venus by<br />

Francheschi (19th century) in the foreground of the central<br />

tracery window.<br />

In the lancets, full-fi gure portraits of Rubens, Dürer and<br />

Rembrandt between ornamental windows with quotations from<br />

In the Magic Garden of the Hesperides.<br />

In the rosette: An Allegory of Poetry, postcard 1905<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Art Gallery with a view of the Nibelung Room to the south.<br />

In the foreground: Venus by H. C. Allegrain (1767),<br />

postcard 1905.<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

East side of the Art Gallery with bronze statue of Venus by<br />

Francheschi (front) and a copy of the Venus di Milo. The central<br />

tracery window shows full-fi gure portraits of Raffael, Murillo<br />

and Michelangelo between ornamental windows with quotations<br />

from In the Magic Garden of the Hesperides.<br />

In the rosette: An Allegory of Music, postcard 1905<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

The Art Gallery as a chapel (view to the north), photo from the<br />

album of the Christian School Brother, 1930s.<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

The Art Gallery during the Spinat era with main staircase<br />

installed, photo 1980s<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

27


The Uhland-Heine Lancet Window<br />

In 2003, an Uhland glass window turned up on the Drachenfels somewhat unexpectedly. Due<br />

to its shape, colour design and inscription, it was possible to assign the origin of the glazing<br />

to the Art Gallery at <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>. The foundling also had lacunae which must have<br />

been fi lled with simple glass at an earlier stage. The irregular lead strips in the blue surface<br />

of the medallions and in the face area were the result of repairs made to damage incurred<br />

during the Second World War.<br />

With the “homecoming” of the Uhland window, the idea of reconstructing a lancet window<br />

was born. Staff at the Mayer´sche Hofkunstanstalt Munich, an institute for the promotion<br />

of arts and crafts, greeted the project with great enthusiasm. The main glass fragment and<br />

other cullets helped researchers make a number of deductions as to glass colouring and<br />

painting technique. And the photo of the Uhland portrait in the institute archives was a good<br />

indication of how the complete medallion must have once looked.<br />

A castle brochure dating from 1904 also indicated that Heine and Uhland had been placed<br />

together in the one window. Likewise, a study of the template books in the Munich company<br />

archives unearthed a “Heine” pencil sketch as well as sketches of the coats-of-arms of<br />

Düsseldorf and Tübingen which could be assigned to the respective birthplaces of the two<br />

German poets. Furthermore, various historical postcards divulged information as to the<br />

overall composition and confi guration of the portrait medallions in the window. The historical<br />

brochure quoted characteristic texts from the oeuvre of the two poets, quotations which<br />

could also be read on the windows, as well as their biographical data (with Heinrich Heine’s<br />

birth stated erroneously as 1799 instead of 1797). Either way, all preconditions for a full<br />

reconstruction were now in place.<br />

Königlich Bayerische Hofglasmalerei F. X. Zettler / Mayer’sche Hofkunstanstalt<br />

Wilhelm Hoffmann was originally responsible for the designs of the glass paintings while the<br />

Royal Court Stained Glass Manufactory of Franz Xavier Zettler in Munich was responsible<br />

for the actual production of the costly windows. Founded by Josef Gabriel Mayer in 1847,<br />

the Mayer’sche Institute of Court Art ranked in the 19th century as one of the most famous<br />

glass-painting fi rms and today it still enjoys great renown as a glass-painting workshop. F. X.<br />

Zettler, Joseph Gabriel Mayer’s son-in-law, was the commercial manager of the Mayer’sche<br />

Institute from 1863 to 1870. He then started up his own manufactory which similarly went on<br />

to achieve national fame.


Uhland window with lacunae<br />

Found 2003<br />

Foto Uhland medallion<br />

(Archiv Mayer´sche Hofkunstanstalt, München)<br />

Pencil sketch “Heine“<br />

(Archiv Mayer´sche Hofkunstanstalt München)<br />

28


Tavern Room<br />

“A withdrawing room designed and furnished to exquisite and sophisticated artistic taste”.<br />

Drachenfels and <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> near Königswinter on the Rhine, undated, c. 1904<br />

Although the Tavern Room served as a salon in general, “Gentlemen’s Lounge” would be a<br />

better description. It was here in an intimate atmosphere that the men would meet after the<br />

offi cial business of the day for confi dential chats and a few drinks.<br />

The artist Hermann Schneider (1847-1918), a pupil of the Munich-born history painter Carl<br />

Theodor von Piloty, created the large and vivid paintings. To the north, the wall arches depict<br />

The Childhood of Bacchus; east and west The Love of Bacchus for Ariadne on Naxos; and<br />

south The Triumph of Bacchus.<br />

These scenes are augmented by allegorical depictions on the ceilings: south, Dreams of Love;<br />

west, Dreams of Honour and Fame; east, Dreams of Riches; and north, Dreams of Blessed<br />

Enjoyment.<br />

Around 1931, the colourful canvases were banished under wallpaper once the Christian<br />

School Brothers had deemed the mythological depictions as too libertine and inappropriate<br />

for a Catholic boarding school. During the Second World War, the artillery shells destroyed<br />

the “delightful glass paintings” of the oriel windows. In the 1970s, however, the Bacchus<br />

artwork on the ceilings was uncovered and re-instated while the wall areas were re-imagined<br />

in line with historical postcard templates.<br />

Finally, in the course of the restoration work carried out in 2003, the paintings were gradually<br />

cleaned up, later overpaintings were removed and lacunae retouched. Similarly, the wall<br />

panelling that had been coated white-gold was returned to its former wood-like appearance.<br />

The original movable furnishings have not survived. Today’s historical furniture is inspired<br />

by images of the 19th century and thus, along with the paintings, exhorts you to “enjoy life’s<br />

pleasures” and “take a rest from work and woes”.


Looking into the Tavern Room with the paintings<br />

on the west wall: Bacchus and Ariadne on Naxos,<br />

postcard 1903.<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Design sketches for the windows to the Tavern<br />

Room – from the archives of the Mayer’sche<br />

Hofkunstanstalt in Munich.<br />

Four amoretti representing French champagne,<br />

German sparkling wine, Bordeaux wine and<br />

Rhine wine (from left to right) with a garland of<br />

fruit in the centre. The designs for these windows<br />

were the creation of Hermann Schneider.<br />

Looking into the Tavern Room – with the south<br />

wall painting: Triumph of Bacchus – and into the<br />

adjoining Art Gallery.<br />

The fl anking pictures show the ceiling paintings<br />

(reversed) on the west side: Dreams of Honour<br />

and Fame.Lithography 1904<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

29


Hunt & Billiard Room<br />

“No château, no bourgeois dwelling of the 19th century [was] without a Billiard Room.”<br />

L’architecture privée au XIXe siècle, 1872. In: Ariès 1999.<br />

If formerly reserved for the nobility, the game of billiards and the sport of hunting made<br />

great inroads into the bourgeois lifestyle of the 19th century. Which meant that the interior<br />

decorator of any haute-bourgeois residence – and of a country house in particular – would<br />

have been duty-bound to take these latest leisure pursuits into account. <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong><br />

was no exception and received its own Hunt & Billiard Room to serve as a games room and<br />

as a place to keep the hunting guns and trophies. Yet it also offered space for more informal<br />

social events.<br />

As with the adjoining library, the interior decoration plans were drawn up by the Bonn-based<br />

architect Franz Langenberg and a building supervisor at <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>. The wood<br />

furnishings were made in 1884 and 1885 by Pallenberg, a Cologne fi rm. The billiard cues &<br />

guns cabinet was conceived especially for this room.<br />

Even the glass paintings from the Mayer’sche Institute of Court Art originally incorporated<br />

motifs from the world of hunting and, in the process, depicted a “graceful fi gure of a Diana,<br />

resplendent in bright colours, created by Professor Schraudolph” as well as hunting outcomes.<br />

As such, the Hunt & Billiard Room remained open to viewers and users until 1930. How the<br />

room was then furnished during the occupancy of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> by the Christian<br />

School Brothers can only be the subject of speculation.<br />

We are also pretty much in the dark as to the interior furnishings of the 1941 to 1945 period<br />

when the castle was used to accommodate the Adolf-Hitler-Schule – i.e. an elite Nazi college.<br />

Much of the inventory to <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> was damaged and stolen after the war, and<br />

the same applied to the Hunt & Billiard Room. From 1948, it functioned as a training room<br />

for the German Railways but further stock was to vanish between 1960 and 1971 when the<br />

castle as a whole stood vacant. It was only in the Paul Spinat era that damaged parts and<br />

lacunae in the wood panelling were provisionally repaired using epoxy resin. In addition, the<br />

room mutated into a Knight’s Hall in which numerous pieces of equipment and weaponry<br />

were placed on exhibition – including an armour-clad wooden horse!<br />

Following the restoration process completed in 2006, the decoration was returned to its original<br />

appearance, having been reconstructed on the basis of detailed descriptions, photographs<br />

and other fi ndings in situ.


Hunt & Billiard Room, postcard 1905<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Doublettes of the lower window sections of the<br />

wall paintings of the Hunt & Billiard Room. The<br />

window panes to the billiard room were made in<br />

duplicate at the Mayer’sche Institute of Court Art.<br />

Although the glass paintings once installed at<br />

<strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> have gone missing, these<br />

three coloured doublettes still exist in the Munich<br />

archives.<br />

Photo from the archives of Mayer’sche Institute<br />

in Munich.<br />

Billiard Room with a view into the adjoining<br />

library, photo 1903<br />

(Familienarchiv Dr. Wenzel Boeckenhoff)<br />

The Hunt & Billiard Room Here deprived of its<br />

real function and revamped as a “Knight’s Hall”<br />

(1983-1985) under the ownership of Paul Spinat<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

30


The Library<br />

“The remarkable wooden ceilings, doors and wallpaper etc. are of the most tasteful and<br />

artistic design, just like the rest of the castle”.<br />

Drachenfels and <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> near Königswinter on the Rhine, undated, c. 1904<br />

In addition to its obligatory function as a study – and thus fi tted with desk, cabinet and bookcase<br />

– the Library at <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> was planned with a representative role in mind,<br />

hence the high quality and artistic design. Indeed, the “private” study was located on the fi rst<br />

fl oor, which supports this interpretation of the Library on the ground fl oor as the “public”<br />

study.<br />

Together with the adjoining Hunt & Billiard Room, the Library functioned as a kind of Gentlemen’s<br />

Lounge and social room. Since the furnishings and the décor owed a lot to the advice<br />

of contemporary experts, both rooms underline Stephan von Sarter’s susceptibility towards<br />

the latest trends in living accommodation. The highly praised wooden fi ttings were made<br />

from 1884 to 1885 by the Cologne-based fi rm of Pallenberg in the then popular style known<br />

as “German Renaissance”.<br />

All the furniture items and furnishing elements were specially conceived for the Library.<br />

Even the glass paintings for the windows, which were made by the Munich-based Mayer’sche<br />

Institute of Court Art and which are now lost to posterity, were a part of the integrated spatial<br />

concept. They depicted the “various branches of knowledge” such as history, arithmetic,<br />

astronomy and geography as well as the <strong>North</strong> and South Poles (in a design by Anton<br />

Nepomuk Seder).<br />

In other words, the Library was purpose-built and has maintained that function over time,<br />

which is why the original wooden wall fi ttings have survived to a great extent. The present<br />

movable furniture has been reconstituted on the basis of historical pictures and descriptions.<br />

In other words, the room on view is more or less in its original state.<br />

Above the sofa, the oil sketch Handing Over of the Foundation Stone at Cologne Cathedral<br />

by the artist Friedrich von Keller was drawn circa 1884 as the draft to the same-named wall<br />

painting in the Main Staircase. It may, without a doubt, be considered one of the most valuable<br />

surviving testimonies from the construction years of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>.<br />

The subject of the picture refers to an event from the annals of local history. However, it also<br />

bears witness to the strong nationalist awareness of castle-owner Stephan von Sarter.


Library and Study<br />

Postcard 1903<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

The Library in the 1930s. Illustration from a school<br />

brochure published by St Michael’s Boarding<br />

School/<strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong><br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Preparatory sketches for the windows in the<br />

Library. Illustration from the historical template<br />

books kept in the archives of the Mayer’sche<br />

Institute of Court Art in Munich<br />

Symbolism<br />

History: symbolised by the owl and the scroll.<br />

The owl is an ancient symbol of wisdom. As the<br />

creature symbolic of scholarship and knowledge<br />

and seeing through the darkness, today the owl<br />

is often found on the signets of academic publishing<br />

houses and bookshops.<br />

Arithmetic: symbolised by the set square, plumb<br />

line, ruler, compass, reckoning machine and<br />

numbers. But in addition to arithmetic, the objects<br />

so illustrated also bring in the subjects of<br />

geometry (set square) and architecture (plumb<br />

line).<br />

Astronomy: symbolised by the star, the planets,<br />

the astronomical globe and the signs of the<br />

zodiac. The central six-sided star, the Morning<br />

Star, on a blue background is surrounded by fi ve<br />

smaller stars representing the planets of Mercury,<br />

Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The scroll<br />

encircling the globe denotes various signs of the<br />

zodiac, including from left to right: Capricorn,<br />

Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus and Gemini.<br />

Geography: symbolised by ship, globe, telescope<br />

and exotic plants (coral and palm). In addition to<br />

its symbolism as the “ship of life”, the vessel also<br />

symbolises travelling. The billowing sails epitomise<br />

the winds while telescope and globe stand for the<br />

exploration of the world. The coral and palm here<br />

signify new and exotic discoveries.<br />

31


Music Room<br />

The Music Room is the only social room on the second fl oor of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>. It has<br />

a neo-Gothic reticulate vault and lavish wall panellings (and designed by Franz Langenberg<br />

and made by J. Vershoven, a fi rm based in Bonn). As originally furnished and subsequently<br />

augmented, the room has always been in the service of music.<br />

Now as then, the Music Room boasts a grand piano made especially for <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>,<br />

thus recalling the era under Stephan von Sarter’s nephew when the castle was fi rst opened<br />

for viewing purposes and the rooms were used as social rooms by the summer holiday guests<br />

staying in the Nordic Houses and Hotel Burghof.<br />

In June 1909, the piano- and organ-making fi rm of Ibach from Schwelm near Wuppertal sold<br />

this grand piano – purpose built for the Music Room – to the second owner of the castle, Jakob<br />

Hubert Biesenbach. A unique piece, it had a special frame whose grapevine wood carving<br />

harmonised with the wall panelling of the room. Biesenbach bought this concert-standard<br />

instrument after returning another black lacquered Ibach Glockenfl ügel (Instrument Nr 42223)<br />

which he had previously rented. Historical pictures of the time after 1909 show that his unique<br />

Glockenfl ügel grand piano made of walnut wood remained in the Music Room from the early<br />

20th century well into the 1930s and continued to be played. When the St Michael’s Catholic<br />

Boys’ Boarding School was closed in 1938, the instrument was auctioned off. However, thanks<br />

to a set of fortunate circumstances, it was found possible to re-acquire the grand piano for<br />

the castle in 2001.<br />

The Glockenfl ügel grand piano is an extravagant and seldom-built “concert instrument with<br />

charm” (Ibach), a true historical rarity. In fact, Ibach only made six examples of this special<br />

model. It was called a Glockenfl ügel or “bell grand” due to the contours: seen from above,<br />

the shape of the instrument resembles that of a bell. It is also virtually “axisymmetrical”<br />

meaning that it can be designated a “symmetrical grand piano”. Its lid can be opened from<br />

the back while inside the long strings for the lower notes can be diagonally stretched across<br />

the shorter strings.<br />

The Music Room also contains a neo-Gothic organ placed on the neo-baroque balustrade<br />

along the east wall. Again, this is reminiscent of the last owner of the castle: the quirky Paul<br />

Spinat, the proprietor from 1971 to 1989. It is reported that Mr Spinat would organise organ<br />

concerts for his guests – with the music, however, coming from a tape record. The organ<br />

itself is a dummy.<br />

The stencil paintings of the 19th century along the walls of the Music Room have been uncovered<br />

and/or reconstructed. As in almost all other parts of the castle, the room’s original<br />

stained glass windows have disappeared. A central feature was the folkloric “Birds’ Wedding”.<br />

The large window rosette once showed the Sarter coat-of-arms, encircled by the coats-of-arms<br />

of the eight cities which were home to the most important fi rms to have participated in the<br />

overall building and furnishing of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> – Bonn, Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart,<br />

Paris, Dresden, Düsseldorf and Berlin.


Music Room, postcard 1905 – showing the fi rst,<br />

rented, grand piano (Ibach Nr 42223), a cousin<br />

of the grand piano which now stands in the Art<br />

Gallery.<br />

In the background, the stained-glass window<br />

depicting the “Birds’ Wedding”<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Looking into the Music Room with the walnut<br />

Glockenfl ügel made by Ibach, after 1909<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

High-angle view of a bell grand piano<br />

(Ibach-Firmenarchiv)<br />

A view of the organ loft – installed during the<br />

Paul Spinat era, postcard 1980s<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

32


Private Floor<br />

In contrast to the stately reception rooms on the ground fl oor, the second fl oor of the castle<br />

accommodated two self-contained private apartments. Facing north was the private apartment<br />

of castle owner Stephan von Sarter which consisted of a study, a dressing room, a<br />

bed room and a breakfast room. Facing south was the guests-of-honour suite reserved for<br />

special visitors to the castle and it consisted of a living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom.<br />

These two apartments were separated at the centre by the Music Room also used for social<br />

occasions. The rooms of the private apartments could be reached by corridors to the north<br />

and south. Moreover, it is from these corridors that the modest side staircases branch off –<br />

for use by staff to access and service all fl oors.<br />

Despite their private character, the two apartments rated highly in terms of both quality and<br />

prestige. Only shortly after completion of the building in 1882, the writer Elise Polko was to<br />

enthuse about the romantic-styled “living and sleeping chambers” kept for guests of honour.<br />

Indeed, the fi rms commissioned to furnish the premises enjoyed the best reputation.<br />

The Parisian fi rm of Jouvenau, for example, supplied the palisander furniture for the study,<br />

dressing room and bedrooms while the Mainz-based fi rm of Bembé supplied the furniture to<br />

the breakfast room. When the castle was modifi ed in the 1930s, all this furniture was auctioned<br />

off so that the apartments could be used as classrooms. The Music Room, however, retained<br />

its furniture and purpose.<br />

One of the original items, a porcelain painting showing a facsimile of Rubens’s famous work<br />

Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus was re-acquired in 2002. At fi rst, it had hung over the<br />

bed of the owner but, when the castle was sold in 1910, the second owner, J. H. Biesenbach,<br />

took it with him and later sold it himself.<br />

Worthing singling out here are the wood-grained painted stucco ceilings of the rooms. The<br />

ultimate effect is ceilings made of wood. In parts, they have also been stencilled to give the<br />

appearance of inlay technique.<br />

The last private owner, Paul Spinat, did not attempt to furnish the rooms in line with the<br />

original use or provide Wilhelmine-type furniture. Instead, the dressing room and study of the<br />

private apartment, which had been made into one room in the 1930s, were now renovated as<br />

a bedroom, as the Pompadour Room – including, it was claimed, Madame Pompadour’s bed.<br />

Today, though, following restoration on the basis of earlier descriptions and inventories, the<br />

rooms have been fi tted with items of furniture from the time <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> was built.<br />

The rooms on this private fl oor are open for viewing as part of the guided tours.


Layout of the Private Floor<br />

Porcelain painting<br />

Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus<br />

By Carl Meinelt based on Peter Paul Rubens<br />

(Foto Marburg, 2010)<br />

Wood-grained painted stucco ceiling with stencils<br />

in the breakfast room<br />

Dressing room and study combined to make the<br />

Pompadour Room during the Paul Spinat era.<br />

Postcard 1980s<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

33


Guest-of-Honour Suite<br />

The Guest-of-Honour Suite, a second private apartment, is situated next to the Private<br />

Apartment on the second fl oor of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>, to the north.<br />

Its living room is impressive for its wood-grained stucco ceiling with stencil paintings. The<br />

ceiling also features several unrestored sections through which one can see the original coat<br />

of paint as uncovered. The room is now furnished in accordance with historical descriptions.<br />

The brownish wallpaper, the large buffet cabinet made of light oakwood by the Cologne fi rm<br />

of Pallenberg, the richly ornamented walnut chairs and the dark-red materials lend the room<br />

a subdued atmosphere entirely attuned to Wilhelmine taste. Of all the original coloured-glass<br />

skylights, one was rescued from the rubble of the Second World War and recently returned<br />

to the castle. It shows a youth “with his fondness for music and song” and a lute. The adjacent<br />

windows depicted childhood (fruit and sweets), adulthood (with the tools and weapons of the<br />

active full-bodied male) and old age (the Bible).<br />

Next to the living room in the suite, the bedroom conveys a different impression, being painted<br />

in friendly, almost cheerful, bright colours. On the basis of the historical evidence available –<br />

the nailing system for the wall covering, the written records and a photo handed down from<br />

1903 – the room has been refi tted with a fl oral wall covering and white lacquered furniture.<br />

Johannes Proelss, for example, writing in the Frankfurter Zeitung in 1884; spoke of “a guestroom<br />

with brightly patterned furniture and light textured wallpaper in a Marie Tudor style”.<br />

Today, the ceiling radiates once again in white with blue & apricot coloured stencilling. The<br />

through door to the living room has also been returned to its original colour.<br />

The oriel in the south-west originally served as a dressing room area – which invokes the<br />

charming notion of getting dressed or freshening up with such a wonderful view over the<br />

Rhine Valley! Like many of the rooms in the castle, the Guest-of-Honour Suite has had a<br />

turbulent history. From the 1930s onwards, it functioned as a classroom of various sorts.<br />

The last private owner of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>, Paul Spinat, set up a parrot aviary in the<br />

oriel with the guest-of-honour bedroom providing a fanciful brilliant ambience of baroque,<br />

rococo and Chippendale elements.<br />

In line with written records and inventory catalogues, the “small guest-of-honour room”<br />

situated to the east of the side corridor is also furnished as a bedroom for feminine requirements.<br />

Yet in the early 20th century the room was not reserved for guests of honour but for<br />

girls – i.e. for the maids in service to the guests.<br />

The corridor leads straight to the side staircase south which, like the staircase north, links<br />

all the fl oors together and through which the servants could directly access the house-keeping<br />

area in the basement.


Preserved glass painting entitled Youth from the<br />

guest-of-honour living room<br />

Guest-of-honour bedroom postcard from the<br />

photo c.1903<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Guest-of-honour bedroom with the rococoesque<br />

furnishings provided during the Paul Spinat era,<br />

postcard from the 1980s<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Dressing-room oriel as quarters for Paul Spinat’s<br />

parrot, photo probably from the 1980s<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Layout of the Guest-of-Honour Suite<br />

34


Guest Bedroom (<strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong>)<br />

“From the balcony and oriel of the room – which, thanks to its elevated position, is the<br />

room in the castle with the best vantage point – one has an incomparably good view of the<br />

entire Rhine and mountain panorama.”<br />

Drachenfels and <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> near Königswinter on the Rhine, undated, c. 1904<br />

Situated in the <strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong> of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>, the present Wedding Chamber used to<br />

be a guest bedroom. Refl ecting tastes of the late 19th century, the room was furnished in a<br />

neo-Gothic style. A postcard dating from 1905, for example, shows a monumental four-poster<br />

bed with rich intricate carvings, a prayer kneeler, a medieval-type chandelier and a linen<br />

chest. A brochure published in 1904 also reports of a “splendid bedroom placed not without<br />

reason above the Tavern Room”…<br />

“The Bonn fi rm of J. Vershoven clearly knew how to satisfy the highest demands, namely,<br />

by means of installing inordinately tasteful and comfortable furnishings to match the stark<br />

Gothic style of the castle. For its part, the antique oil painting above the prayer kneeler in the<br />

corner of the room depicted the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven and was the work<br />

of an unknown master of the older Italian school”.<br />

But even though the inventory catalogues of 1910 and 1930 still spoke of the “richly carved<br />

bedroom” and listed the original items of furniture, the once romantic <strong>North</strong> <strong>Tower</strong> room<br />

was transformed into a classroom during the time the castle housed St Michael’s Catholic<br />

Boys Boarding School in the 1930s. And in the years after 1941, at the time of the Adolf-Hitler-<br />

Schule, the room was used as the headmaster’s offi ce.<br />

By the 1980s, furnished with a neo-baroque four-poster bed, commode and seats, the room<br />

was again to fulfi l its original purpose as a bedroom or, to be more precise, as the “representative”<br />

chamber and boudoir of Erina von Sachsen, the wife of Paul Spinat. Even today,<br />

you can still see Spinat’s initials painted on the white-and-gold-painted door and the ceiling<br />

artwork of The Education of Cupid by Venus and Mercury … with Paul portrayed as Mercury<br />

and Erina as Venus!<br />

The room now serves as a romantic Wedding Chamber high above the River Rhine and thus<br />

picks up on the symbolism of Venus the goddess of love and the young Cupid (Amor).<br />

For more information about civil wedding ceremonies at <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong>, please call<br />

+49 2223 90197-75.


Guest Bedroom, postcard 1905<br />

(Archiv <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> gGmbH)<br />

Ceiling fresco by Peter Tutzauer<br />

The Education of Cupid by Venus and Mercury –<br />

free interpretation of a painting by François<br />

Boucher<br />

35


Tea Room<br />

in the South-West Oriel<br />

The south-west oriel at <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> is not mentioned in the accounts of the castle<br />

written doing the era of castle-owner Stephan von Sarter (until 1902) or that of his nephew<br />

J. H. Biesenbach. Nor do the inventories of the time give any information as to how this<br />

small room was furnished.<br />

Nevertheless, in the course of restoration work on the oriel, good records of former stencils<br />

emerged that allowed the restorers to reconstruct large parts of the original livery. Along<br />

with its carefully reworked mosaic fl ooring, the oriel is on show as a room with a special<br />

decorative fl air. It also comes over as a link between outdoors and indoors. Due to its southwest<br />

position, the oriel can be reached from the Venus Terrace outside and via the loggias<br />

from the Dining Room.<br />

It is conceivable that the room was used in summer as a Tea or Coffee Room – and the present<br />

furnishings help to lend credence to this notion. The round table, surrounded by “airy”<br />

wickerwork chairs, displays a typical coffee and tea service made of silver and consisting<br />

of a tea pot, a coffee pot, a milk jug and a sugar bowl. With the silver, of course, you could<br />

combine any type of porcelain. Guests would be offered tea or coffee, depending on personal<br />

preference. Both of these beverages were widespread in the late 19th century as a stimulant<br />

enjoyed at all social levels. Chiefl y because of the expanding plantations in colonies such as<br />

<strong>North</strong> India (tea) and Central & South America and Africa (coffee), there was an abundance<br />

of the leaves and beans in Europe. Coffee houses fl ourished in the cities to serve these<br />

non-alcoholic beverages, although people enjoyed them at home too. Very popular in the<br />

19th century were receptions hosted by the Lady of the House, who would invite guests to<br />

afternoon tea or coffee and welcome them in the salon or front room accordingly.<br />

An earlier account of <strong>Schloss</strong> <strong>Drachenburg</strong> refers to a “tea room furnished with exquisite<br />

taste” on the top fl oor (Proelss 1884). However, this particular fl oor – which accommodated<br />

a number of guest rooms as well – is not available as a viewing area. It is used instead for<br />

the castle management’s offi ces.


Reconstructed stencils in the south-west oriel<br />

Mary Cassatt: Tea (Le Thé) circa 1880, Boston<br />

Museum of Fine Arts. Two ladies sitting together<br />

at the fi replace, enjoying their tea.<br />

36

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