North Tower - Schloss Drachenburg

Schloss
Drachenburg
Visitors’ Guide

Schloss Drachenburg
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You are here
Entrance to the Castle
Guide Tour Meeting Point
Toilets
West Terrace
Exit
Castle Restoration Exhibition
Castle History Exhibition
Architecture (East)
Architectural Decoration
Coach House
Venus Terrace
View of Cologne Cathedral
View of the Petersberg
North Tower
View of Drachenfels Peak
Landscape Park
Nordic Summer Houses
Volker House (in ruins)
Wotan House (in ruins)
Architecture (West)
Sea of Rocks
Stone Store
View of Roland‘s Arch
Elm Tree Avenue
View of the Dechen Monument
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Intro
Dear Visitor,
It is a great pleasure for us to welcome you to Schloss
Drachenburg today.
To help you fully enjoy all the sights and attractions of this
unique castle complex, we have compiled this information
brochure. In addition to the overview diagrams on the opposite
page, you will fi nd all the texts belonging to the Visitors’
Guide & Information System – in English.
You will see numbers in the upper left- and right-hand
corners of the page. These numbers are also to be found
on all the relevant display panels and steles. We hope this
will make it easy for you to navigate your way around.
A feast not just for the eye
The culinary delights served in the Vorburg Bistro or in the
spacious Terrace Restaurant (with its imposing views of the
Rhine) will round off a visit to a castle you’ll never forget.
Finally, anyone wishing to take home a souvenir of their visit
to Schloss Drachenburg or looking for reasonably priced
presents for their loved ones will fi nd a select range of articles
in the Castle Shop. We wish you much enjoyment and many
memorable impressions!
Your Schloss Drachenburg management team
When leaving the site, please
return this brochure to the Visitor
Information Desk in the Vorburg.
Thank you.
17
Ulmenallee
Vom Bergtor der Anlage Schloss Drachenburg
führt ein gerader Weg neben der Hangstützmauer
zum Schlossgebäude. Dieser Weg war und ist nun
wieder mit Ulmenbäumen bepfl bepflanzt. flanzt.
Bei Bei der Ulme handelt es sich um einen Laubbaum
mit feingezackten, oval-spitzen Blättern, der vor
allem in den gemäßigten Zonen der Nordhalbkugel
beheimatet ist. Die beiden bekanntesten
Varianten Varianten sind die Felde-Ulme und die Berg-Ulme.
Vermutlich waren auf der Allee im Park von
Ansicht Schloss von Südosten
Schloss Schloss Drachenburg ursprünglich Feld-Ulmen
Feld-Ulmen mit gepfl gepflanzter flanzter
Ulmenallee,
Ausschnitt eines Fotos um
gesetzt, da diese schlanker wachsen und geeig-
1883/1884
neter für die Bepfl Bepflanzung flanzung
einer kleinen Allee
sind, als die wuchtigeren Berg-Ulmen, die am
besten als Solitärbäume zur Wirkung kommen. kommen.
Ulmen Ulmen sind stark vom sogenannten „Ulmensterben“
betroffen. betroffen. Ein parasitärer Pilz, „Ophiostoma
ulmi“, der durch eine Splintkäfer übertragen
wird, verursacht Verstopfungen in den Wasser-
Schloss mit Ulmenallee im
leitbahnen des Holzes. Es kommt dabei zu einer
dichten Laubkleid oberhalb
der Hangstützmauer,
Unterbrechung Unterbrechung der Versorgung, und Äste sterben Ausschnitt einer Postkarte
ab. Ab 1918 1918 verbreitete sich dieser Pilz aus ostost- um 1902
asiatischen Gebieten über die Niederlande in
ganz Europa. Die Ulmen im Park von Schloss
Drachenburg mussten in den 1930er Jahren, zu
Zeiten der katholischen Heimschule St. Michael,
niedergelegt werden.
Im Rahmen der Restaurierungsarbeiten wurde
die Ulmenallee 2010 wieder angepfl angepflanzt. flanzt.
Für die
Neupfl Neupflanzung flanzung
wurde die gegen die Ulmenkrank-
Fällung der Ulmenallee,
heit resistente Sorte Ulmus Resista-Hybride
vermutlich aufgrund der der
‚Regal‘ gewählt. Diese kommt im Wuchs dem Ulmenkrankheit,
Habitus der Feld-Ulme nahe und zeichnet sich
Foto 1930er Jahre
durch eine schöne gelb-orange Herbstfärbung
aus.
Schloss Drachenburg – ein Haus der
R
H
Eingang Schloss
Entrance
to the Castle
Toiletten
Toilets
Westterrasse
West Terrace
Ausgang
Exit

01
The Architecture of
Schloss Drachenburg (East)
The Schloss Drachenburg comes across initially as a sprawling architectural mix of a building
that has grown over time. It virtually demands that you take a stroll round it. But as you
change position, your impressions will shift. And as you walk up the slope from the Vorburg
to the Hauptburg, what dominate at fi rst are the powerful rectangular North Tower and the
crenellated walls all so reminiscent of a medieval castle. The annexed Art Gallery with cupola
top and pointed-arch tracery windows creates the appearance of a Gothic church edifi ce.
Similarly, the southside core building – with protruding wall surfaces, octagonal turrets,
double staircase and portico – produces a chateau or manorhouse effect.
North Tower and crenellated walls
Art Gallery
Core Building
This vibrant confi guration of structural elements is supported by the colourful design of the
various types of stone. The surrounding walls and the lower part of the building are lined with
grey latite and trachyte stone originating from the Siebengebirge. The upper parts of the
building boast an attractive contrast of red sandstone inlays and wall surfaces of ochre-yellow
tuff. Both types of stone were excavated in the Eifel.
As such, the Schloss Drachenburg building is a prime example of “historicist“ architecture.
This is a term from art history that defi nes a phenomenon relating to the architecture and
applied arts of the 19th century – an approach that deliberately imitated or drew on older
historical styles ranging from the Middle Ages to the Rococo Era. For its part, Schloss
Drachenburg is remarkable for neo-Gothic elements.

Architectural Decoration
The design of the Schloss Drachenburg building with its
diverse architectural elements and different coloured types
of stone is well complemented by the architectural decoration.
In addition to decorative architectural components such as
trefoils, crocket capitals and rosettes, we also fi nd heraldry
motifs and statues.
It was the Cologne-based sculptor Wilhelm Albermann
(1835-1913) who carved the sandstone statues of the pointed
arch niches at the upper end of the North Tower.
These fi gures represent German artists of the Middle Ages
and early modern times: to the east, you see the artist and
copper-engraver Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528); to the south,
the Nuremberg sculptor Peter Vischer (c. 1460-1529); on the
west wall overlooking the Rhine, the poet Wolfram von
Eschenbach (c. 1160- c. 1220); and in the direction of Cologne
to the north, Cologne Cathedral‘s fi rst master builder architect
Gerhard von Rile (c. 1271 †).
The north-eastern gable of the core building is decorated by
a relief depicting the Loreley. Together with a relief of the Maid
of the Drachenfels on the opposite western side and with the
heroic fi gure of Siegfried on the wall surface on the left next
to the portico, all these portraits refer to the mythology of
the region.
On the southern façade, there are three baldachin statues by
Cologne cathedral sculptor Peter Fuchs (1829-1898), which
recall the statues of saints typical for Gothic churches. Even
so, the fi gures they represent are secular leaders: Julius
Caesar (100-44 BC) in the gable peak; Charlemagne (747-814)
on the left and Kaiser Wilhelm I (1797-1888) on the right
embody the “development of state governance in the
Rhineland“ (Proelss: 1884).
Figure of Peter Vischer on the
south façade of the North Tower,
Photo: Foto Marburg, 2010
Depiction of Wolfram von
Eschenbach on the west side
of the North Tower
Photo: Foto Marburg, 2010
Depiction of Wolfram von
Eschenbach on the west side
of the North Tower
Photo: Foto Marburg, 2010
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Coach House
The large pointed-arch door in the northern part of the surrounding wall opens into the Coach
House. This multi-winged hall will have originally offered space for the accommodation of
wagons and coaches. The rear section also accommodated the castle heating system, as it
does today.
When Schloss Drachenburg was constructed, a heating system was built in a central room
in the castle to warm and circulate air through ducts in the walls and fl oors. Indeed, sliders
to the former combustion chambers are still in place behind the new heating system and, in
some of the display rooms, the former gratings that allowed the warm air to exit are also in
evidence. Investigations, however, have not been able to prove conclusively that this original
heating system was ever operated.
On the contrary, thanks to the rapid engineering develop-ments of the 1880s, the original
warm-air heating unit was replaced by a more modern low-pressure steam heating system
that actually continued in service until a new system was fi tted in 1992. Within the framework
of the general rehabilitation work, though, a state-of-the-art gas-powered heating system
with condensing gas boiler was installed.
Later on – during the tenancy of St Michael‘s Catholic Boys Boarding School in the 1930s –
the Coach House was used as a smithy for metalwork. Today, it houses an exhibition given
over to the history of the castle restoration, a process which took place between 1994 and
2010 under the aegis of the NRW Foundation, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the
City of Königswinter.

Venus Terrace
The Venus Terrace plays a special role within the terraces
as a whole. It lies deeper and is more narrowly constructed
than the main terrace directly in front of the castle.
The terrace area was laid out to the medieval design of hortus
conclusus, which is the Latin for „closed garden.“ The term
defi nes gardens that are enclosed by walls and shaped to
medieval principles of form. One typical design element
included a grass lawn cut to a perfect square with a fountain
in the centre of the quadrangle. The two-basin lion fountain
here also gave the Venus Terrace its name. Originally, there
had been a Venus fi gure on the fountain pillar as carved by
French sculptor Pierre Rouillard (1820 - 1881). Rouillard also
created the gold-bronze stags on the pedestals of the main
terrace. Against all medieval standards, the wind-shielding
row of square-cut lime trees was planted here in the east.
However, the row does not block your view to the Rhine valley.
When the castle was taken over by the Christian Broters in
1932, the appearance of the Venus Terrace had to be changed.
Since the lifestyle of the mythological goddess of love was not
compatible with the principles of a Catholic Boys‘ Boarding
School, Venus had to go. It was only as the result of the initial
restoration work carried out by owner Paul Spinat in the 1970s
that the fountain was to receive a new statue. The fi gure in
the long dress with a small bouquet of roses possibly depicts
Flora, the Roman goddess of fl owers. Either way, the Venus
Terrace was restored to full historicism glory in 1999.
View of the Schloss Drachenburg
and Venus Terrace, photo
1903
Venus Terrace with Venus statue
on the Lion Fountain, photo 1908
Venus Terrace – Lion Fountain
without statue, Christian
Brothers with pupils from the
St. Michael Boarding School,
photo taken between 1931
and 1938
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05
Select Stones
for Cologne Cathedral
The stones preferred for the building of Cologne Cathedral in the Middle Ages, came from the
Drachenfels – until construction work ceased for several centuries. When building operations
were resumed around 1820, work at the Drachenfels stone quarries also started up again.
However, this began to threaten the ruined on the peak of the mountain while citizens from
both Bonn and Cologne protested against the defacement of the landscape. In 1836, then, this
early manifestation of a “citizens‘ initiative” prompted the Prussian state to place a section of
the countryside – the Drachenfels summit – under protection for the fi rst time.
If you would like to fi nd out more about the relationship between Cologne Cathedral, the
Drachenfels quarries, the fi rst “Save our Drachenfels” Citizens‘ Initiative and the history of
nature conservation in general, please visit the exhibition entitled “Nature Conservation and
Its History” at the museum in the Vorburg.
Lithograph after S. Boisserée, undated:
Cologne Cathedral, uncompleted, at the
beginning of the 19th century
© Siebengebirgsmuseum Königswinter/
Heimatverein Siebengebirge

„Save the Petersberg!“
The Petersberg is known throughout the world, not least because of the international state
guests that were accommodated in the former guesthouse run by the Germany‘s federal
government.
From 1886 onwards, the Prussian provincial administration operated a stone quarry on the
Petersberg. In 1886, the Bonn-based lawyer Joseph Humbroich (1830-1906) founded the Save
the Siebengebirge Association. Its members, many other citizens and Humbroich protested
against the defacement of the landscape. Successfully! Excavation operations on the Petersberg
stopped in 1889. Today, thick deciduous woodland covers up the scars.
If you would like to know more about the Petersberg, the state guests in the hotel and the
campaign conducted by the nature conservationists against the state authorities, then please
visit the exhibition entitled “Nature Conservation and Its History“ at the museum in the Vorburg.
Queen Elizabeth II on a state visit at the
Petersberg, 1965
© Siebengebirgsmuseum Königswinter
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The North Tower
The North Tower of Schloss Drachenburg is 30 metres in height. Its rectangular body and
crenellated top recall a keep or a donjon – i.e. the main tower of a medieval castle. The sides
to the tower here are decorated with works carved by sculptor Wilhelm Albermann (1835-1913),
exemplifying well the various genres used by German artists of the Middle Ages and early
modern times: on the north wall, the construction art of Cologne Cathedral architect Gerhard
von Rile (c. 1271 †); to the east, the painting and engraving genius of Albrecht Dürer (1471-
1528); to the south, the sculpturing skills of Peter Vischer (c. 1460-1529); and on the west
wall, the music and poetry of poet Wolfram von Eschenbach (c. 1160- c. 1220). The north side
of the North Tower boasts the coat of arms of Schloss Drachenburg‘s owner/builder Stephan
von Sarter with its motto of “Wäge – Wage”, which in English means: “Think – Dare”. An
inaugural dictum for the Drachenburg by poet Emil Rittershaus (1834-1897) is attached to
the base.
In the course of the restoration work carried out between 1994 and 2010, the North Tower and
the Coach House beneath it were completed in 2000, the fi rst phase of rehabilitation work.
And after the tower had been gutted, the upper part was given a winding steel staircase. At
the top, two viewing platforms afford exceptional panoramic views across the Rhine Valley
and the Siebengebirge.
The ascent is made by a historical narrow staircase and steep corridors. Access from the
Castle Terrace to the tower is limited to 25 persons maximum. We would kindly request you
to take care of your children. Please note that you enter the tower at your own risk.

The Icon of
Rhine Romanticism:
the Drachenfels
From around 1800, the Drachenfels mountain with its ruined castle at the top was considered
the epitome of Rhine Romanticism. So when, from 1820 onwards, quarrying operations
started up there with the aim of building Cologne Cathedral again, citizens from Bonn and
Cologne protested at once. Soon the protection of the mountain (“Dragon‘s Rock”) became a
national issue.
Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III intervened. In 1836, Prussia placed the mountain peak
under protection, which is why the Drachenfels now rates as the birthplace of the nature
conservation movement in Germany. People in the vicinity and from elsewhere have committed
themselves to the protection of nature and landscape for nearly two hundred years now.
If you would like to fi nd out more about nature conservation in the Siebengebirge area as a
whole and about the Drachenfels in particular, then please visit the exhibition entitled “Nature
Conservation and Its History” at the museum in the Vorburg.
Christian Georg Schütz:
Drachenfels und Rolandseck, 1822
© Siebengebirgsmuseum Königswinter/
Heimatverein Siebengebirge
08

09
Landscape Park
After Stephan von Sarter had purchased the Drachenfels property for the construction of the
castle, he had the approximately ten acres of land zoned into landscaped gardens. This work
was completed by 1884 but the name of the landscape architect remains unknown to this day.
Schloss Drachenburg Park is subdivided into “zones” – i.e. terraces, pleasure ground, cliffside
meadows and forest park – and thus exemplifi es later landscape gardening style. Yet
the regular and symmetrical elements typical for historicism circa 1880 are missing almost
completely.
Terraces
The terraces in Schloss Drachenburg Park can be seen as a garden zone per se. In the
southern and western part, a terrace that encircles the building has been planted with
decorative fl owerbeds, including a circular one. To the south, somewhat lower and connected
by a staircase, is the Venus Terrace with its design reminiscent of a medieval garden.
Pleasure ground
To the east, a pleasure-ground area leads up to the castle. Inspired by English garden landscaping,
this element makes up that part of the park adjacent to the building and so emphasises
the artistic aspects of the estate as opposed to the more natural aspects. Characteristic here
are a modelled lawn surface and ornamental trees. Corresponding to the horticultural style
of the castle‘s actual time of construction, the trees and scrubs near to the building are exotic,
mainly conifers from the Pacifi c coast. These trees had been discovered in the fi rst half of
the 19th before becoming popular in Middle Europe. Deciduous trees were also planted in
the Schloss Drachenburg Park, trees which impress for the blazing colours of their foliage
worthy of natural-landmark status. The stock of trees was supplemented by a decorative
cone-shaped fl owerbed in front of the portico and a trail network inviting you to go for a
stroll.
Cliffside meadows
In the south-east, the pleasure-ground zone is separated from the cliffside meadows behind
it by means of a low wall. This part of the park is predominately planted with native trees,
either individually or in groups, which thus frame the views to the Rhine. Swathes of meadow
lead from south to the west.
At the turn of the 20th century, the nephew of Stephan von Sarter and second owner of the
castle, Jacob Hubert Biesenbach Jnr, redeveloped the cliffside meadows by planting fi r and
spruce trees, building block houses in a Nordic style and laying a network of trails to connect
the buildings. He also created a deer park with fallow deer.
Forest park
A forest park with beech, oak and lime trees adjoins the cliffside meadows in the west. Plus
which, the steep lay of the woodland has another special feature: a sea of rocks whose trachyte
formations range up between the trees.Thanks to the history of the property both in terms of
construction and use, there have been numerous redevelopments set against the times of
decay and/or uncontrolled natural growth in the parkland areas. In the course of restoration,
it was found possible to reconstruct the original parkland layout, following comprehensive
analysis. On that basis, lines of sight have been recreated, old trails re-opened and stretches
of land remodelled.

Nordic Summer Houses
The second owner of Schloss Drachenburg and nephew of its builder, Jacob Hubert Biesenbach
Jnr, developed the estate as a tourist attraction. In addition to tours of the castle, he also
offered lodgings to summer visitors. From 1907/1908, he remodelled the cliffside meadows
of the castle park by planting fi r and spruce trees, creating a deer park and building a series
of Nordic-style summer houses on the southern slope. Further buildings were added on the
western slope at the border to the forest park. Of the 18 block houses then planned, we can
identify twelve of these thanks to the buildings and foundations still intact. Biesenbach‘s
wife named the twelve after fi gures from the world of Germanic mythology and the Song of
the Nibelungs: Brunhilde, Siegfried, Chriemhilde, Walküre, Tristan, Parsival, Isolde, Volker,
Wotan, Siegmund, Sieglinde and Gieselherr.
In the 1920s, the block houses were placed at the disposal of the local Women‘s Association
of the German Red Cross for use as a women‘s convalescence home. When St Michael‘s Boys
Boarding School occupied the premises in the 1930s, the pupils lived in the block houses.
Connecting structures between the blocks served as dormitories. Some time later, the houses
were let out privately. Over the years, however, most of them fell into decay. Today, only the
buildings of Walküre, Tristan and Parsival have survived (as a new construction from the 1930s)
to the east; and Isolde to the south.
Postcard, circa 1908/1910
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Volker Summer House
Jacob Hubert Biesenbach Jnr, the second owner of Schloss Drachenburg and nephew of
its builder, had a series of Nordic Summer Houses built in the castle deer park in the years
spanning 1907 to 1910. Some of these block houses were photographed at the time for advertising
purposes. In other words, views of the summer house which would otherwise have
remained unknown have been handed down to posterity.
The “Volker” originally stood beneath the Venus Terrace and formed the north-western
closure in a ring of block houses on the southern cliffside meadow of the castle park. Parts
of the surrounding natural-stone walls have survived to this day and still point to the original
location.
Volker Summer House
beneath the Venus Terrace,
photo circa 1908/1909

Wotan Summer House
After Jacob Hubert Biesenbach, the second owner of Schloss Drachenburg, had completed
building work on the Nordic Summer Houses in the Schloss Drachenburg park, a few of
them were photographed for purposes of postcard manufacture and advertising material.
Thus it is that we still have photodocumentation of block houses that have now disappeared.
“Wotan” formed the south-western closure of the group consisting of nine block houses on
the southern cliffside. Only a few remains of the original natural-stone masonry have survived.
Wotan Summer House in the deer park
of Schloss Drachenburg,
photo circa 1908/1909
12

13
The Architecture of
Schloss Drachenburg (West)
If you view Schloss Drachenburg from the western side of the Rhine, it comes across as an
elongated building with the individual elements of its architecture clearly visible. The large
rectangular North Tower and the crenellated wall encircling the entire building look like
components of a medieval castle. The Art Gallery with its tracery windows and reconstructed
cupola reminds you of a Gothic church edifi ce. The core building to the south – notable for the
high tower, protruding wall surfaces and octagonal corner towers – gives the impression of
a renaissance-style castle. But you can also see medieval elements such as pointed arches
and rosettes there.
North Tower and
d crenellated walls
Art Art Gallery
Core Building
The polymorphism of the building is underlined by the different kinds of stone used in the
construction. Grey latite and trachyte for the perimeter wall contrast neatly with the ochreyellow
tuff walls and red sandstone inlays.
Architects
Responsible for the draft of the main structure of Schloss Drachenburg and for carrying out
the work until the end of 1882 were two Düsseldorf architects: Bernhard Tüshaus (1846-1909)
and Leo von Abbema (1852-1929). Their plans for Schloss Drachenburg were revised by
Cologne-born master builder Wilhelm Hoffmann (c. 1890 †) who also added plans for the
North Tower and Art Gallery. A resident of Paris, Hoffmann had previously worked under
Ernst-Friedrich Zwirner (1802-1861) on Cologne Cathedral maintenance. Franz Langenberg
(1842-1895), an architect active in the Cologne-Bonn area, was in charge of building operations.

Sea of Rocks
Geologically speaking, the Schloss Drachenburg forest park
is remarkable for its stone formations – a sea of rocks that
came into being about 26 million years ago during the
Tertiary Period. As the result of volcanic eruptions at the
Drachenfels, enormous quantities of ash were discharged.
The ensuing viscous magma pressed from below against
the layer of ash solidifi ed as tuff – but without being able to
break through. A cryptodome thus swelled up. Next to this
main crypto-dome, to the north west, a rock mass pressed
into the tuff. The body of lava solidifi ed into stone known
as trachyte. Cracks then formed into which surface water
was able to penetrate. Subsequently, as the result of frost
shattering, various blocks broke free of the rock. Along with
the tuff layer, these large trachyte blocks moved down the
mountainside in two fl ows, one of which runs through today‘s
park at Schloss Drachenburg.
Trachyte
The volcanic rock trachyte was fi rst identifi ed at the start of
the 19th century by the French geologist Alexandre Brongniart
(1770-1847) studying rock formations in the Auvergne. The
name comes from the Greek word trachyt which means “raw”,
this due to the fact that the cavities in the stone lend any new
fracture a raw jagged exterior.
Typical for trachyte are the grey colouring and the sanidines
encased in the stone – i.e. the fl at-shaped crystals.
The trachyte found at the Drachenfels was excavated as long
ago as Roman times. Quarries, identifi able by tooling marks
visible on the stones, were located in the western area of the
summit and in the Sea of Rocks here at Schloss Drachenburg.
Drachenfels cryptodome and
Drachenburg rock mass with
tuff substratum
Trachyte stone with tooling
marks from quarry work in
Roman times, found in the
Schloss Drachenburg forest
park.
14

15
Stone Store
When restoration work began in 1995, the entire park was
searched systematically for stone witnesses to the building
history of Schloss Drachenburg. Ashlars and other parts of
the original masonry were found scattered all over the site
where they had been dumped as rubble after the destruction
or the dismantling of the castle. Parts recovered included the
remains of the original main staircase and Art Gallery. The
main staircase and portico had been removed in the 1940s
and the Art Gallery had suffered heavy damage during the
Second World War.
Although no fewer than 800 natural quarry stones were rediscovered,
they then had to be transported back on diffi cult
terrain. In fact, the more remote areas of the park could only
be reached with the assistance of logging horses.
The stones were placed in provisory stores, numbered and
measured. In nearly all cases, it was found possible to ascertain
the original building purpose.
Depending on their condition, the stones – many hewn with
great artistic skill – were either re-instated or used by the
stonemasons as a model for faithful copies. Some of the
stones even allowed the reconstruction of complete sections
of building. Those belonging to the original cupola vault above
the Art Gallery, for example, acted as a template from which
the vault as a whole could be reconstructed.
Finally, on completion of the restoration work, a high-rack
store was erected to the west of the park to house the unused
ashlars.
Ashlars on park territory before
retrieval, photo 1994
Logging horse carrying stones,
photo 1995
Reconstructed portico at the
main entrance with original
ashlars at the pillar bases,
photo 2010

Roland‘s Arch,
Rhine Romanticism
and Nature Conservation
Romantic painters frequently used the legend-steeped Roland‘s Arch, which stands on the
“other” side of the River Rhine, as a subject. In fact, Romantic landscape painting was very
infl uential. With painters of the Romantic period and the early conservationists all drawing
on the same sources of inspiration, Romantic landscape paintings were able to shape the
thinking of many early conservationists in terms of nature and the landscape. Paintings that
still have an effect today – whether consciously or unconsciously.
Romantic art thus continues to infl uence our sensibility as to the beauties of nature and landscape.
If you would like to fi nd out more about this relationship between Rhine Romanticism
and nature conservation, please see the exhibition entitled “Nature Conservation and Its
History” at the museum in the Vorburg or visit the Siebengebirge Museum in Königswinter.
Andreas Achenbach
View from the Roland‘s to the Siebengebirge, 1834
© Sammlung Rheinromantik
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17
Ulmenallee/Elm Tree Avenue
A straight thoroughfare leads from the Bergtor to the Schloss
Drachenburg complex along the retaining wall. This thoroughfare
was formerly fl anked with elm trees ... and now it is again.
A deciduous tree with serrated oval-shaped leaves, the
elm is mostly native to the moderate zones of the northern
hemisphere. The two best-known varieties are the fi eld elm
and the mountain elm. It is a fair assumption that the fi rst
elms planted along the avenue in the Schloss Drachenburg
Park were fi eld elms since these tend to grow more slender
in shape and are thus more suited for setting out in a small
avenue than the sturdy mountain elms which fl ourish better
as solitary trees.
Elms everywhere have been badly affected by the “Dutch elm
disease”. A parasitical fungus known as ophiostoma ulmi
and spread by the elm bark beetle causes blockages in the
wood tissue. In that process, the supply of water and nutrition
is disrupted and the branches die off.
From about 1918 onward, this fungus came from East Asia
via the Netherlands and spread throughout Europe. The elms
in the Schloss Drachenburg Park had to be felled in the 1930s,
when the St Michael‘s Catholic Boarding School had its
premises here.
As part of the overall restoration process, our Elm Tree Avenue
was replanted in 2010. This time round a variety resistant to
Dutch elm disease was used – the Ulmus Regal hybrid elm
cultivar which resembles the fi eld elm in habitus and is remarkable
for its rich yellow-orange colouring in autumn.
View of the castle from the
south east, Elm Tree Avenue
planted with elms, extract from
a photo taken circa 1883/1884
Castle with Elm Tree Avenue in
full foliage above the retaining
wall, extract from a postcard
dating from circa 1902.
Trees in Elm Tree Avenue being
felled, presumably due to Dutch
elm disease
Photo from the 1930s

Nature Conversationists
and the Drachenfels
The fact that today we can still enjoy the beauty of the Siebengebirge
goes back to the people who have campaigned for
the protection of the Drachenfels and the other mountains
since the 19th century.
Heinrich von Dechen (1800-1889)
If you go past the orchard, you will see a memorial which
was erected in 1892 and dedicated to nature conservationist
Heinrich von Dechen. He served as the fi rst president of the
Siebengebirge Preservation Society (VVS), which was set up
in 1870. Dechen and the VVS went on to develop the Siebengebirge
as a recreation area, having to fi ght against the
disfi gurement of the Siebengebirge countryside due to the
increasing number of quarries. The VVS, therefore, over the
decades, repeatedly bought up plots of land and so helped
rescue the natural beauty of this unique landscape.
Ernst Rudorff (1840-1916)
As a student at the University of Bonn, this Berlin-born
musician frequently went on long hikes in the Siebengebirge.
When in 1880 he fi rst heard of proposal to construct a rack
railway, he was concerned that the mountain and the summit
would lose their beauty. The proposals thus inspired him to
write an essay called On the Relationship Between Modern
Life and Nature. This essay, in which Rudorff cast light on the
way we relate to nature and deal with it, is now acknowledged
as the founding manifesto of the German Nature Conservation
Movement.
If you would like to fi nd out more about Heinrich von Dechen
and the Siebengebirge Preservation Society (VVS) and about
Ernst Rudorff and the beginnings of tourism in the Drachenfels
area, then please visit the exhibition entitled “Nature
Conservation and Its History“ at the museum in the Vorburg.
Heinrich von Dechen,
co-founder and fi rst president
of the VVS
Drachenfels Railway Under
Steam
© Siebengebirgsmuseum
Königswinter/Heimatverein
Siebengebirge
Ernst Rudorff, musician, nature
and heritage campaigner
18

Main Staircase
“... Above the majestic stairs incorporating white, red and green marble come the spacious
podiums that permit a highly amenable, unimpeded view of the splendid ceilings and wall
murals …“.
Drachenfels and Schloss Drachenburg near Königswinter on the Rhein, undated, c.1904
In the fi eld of manor-house and castle architecture, the main staircase is seen as the
“representative showpiece” per se. It forms the glittering start to the interior of the building
and should thus be as magnifi cent as possible.
The staircase in a baroque castle was the centre of the building, creating a link within the
rigidly hierarchical sequence of rooms. It was the place where greetings were exchanged, a
backdrop to the ceremonials of reception and escorting. As such, it was always aligned to
the ballroom.
As in the baroque era, the staircases built in the manor houses and castles of the 19th century
served primarily to reinforce the dynastic prestige and personal fame of the owner, an aim
manifest most clearly in the choice of paintings and murals – the whole iconographic programme.
When ascending the stairs, the beholder would experience an accumulative effect,
Indeed, to appreciate the iconographic programme in full, it would be right and proper to walk
the entire staircase. On occasion, you were positively expected to take your time!
The Main Staircase at Schloss Drachenburg was once adorned with 24 monumental paintings,
of which 13 have survived the castle‘s troubled past. They include portraits of eight German
emperors as well as episodes from German history: The Handing Over of the Foundation
Stone at Cologne Cathedral and The Meeting of Heinrich the Fowler with Charles the Simple
both painted by Friedrich von Keller; The Contest of Song in Nonnenwerth and The Wedding
of a Cologne Patrician and an English Princess in 1201, both by Heinrich Heim; and Scene
from a Tournament at the New Market in Cologne 1486, by Carl Rickelt.
The Main Staircase was (and still is) lit by stained-glass windows in the wall to the east. It
is here that the only original stained-glass windows anywhere in the castle have been completely
preserved. You see a fi ve-part window with a wickerwork ornament under a tracery
rose and an imperial eagle.
The openness of the staircase in a house serving accommodation and society purposes
demanded that there be a clear separation between the lords and ladies of the manor and
the servants, meaning that the latter could only set foot on the stairs to clean them. This
meant in turn that extra sets of stairs for the staff and tradespeople were essential. One of
these side staircases is still in place north of the Main Staircase, with another winding staircase
to the south.

A view from the east into the Main Staircase,
postcard 1905
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Visible at the top: Carl Rickelt‘s Scene from a
Tournament at the New Market in Cologne 1486.
Underneath that, you see depictions of two paintings
by Joseph Flüggen that have disappeared:
The Meeting of Charlemagne with Leo III and,
on the right, The Baptism of the German Crown
Prince.
Main Staircase, photo c. 1971
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
The photo taken in 1971 shows the paintings with
canvas parts cut out.
These lacunae in the Patrician Wedding painting
and, opposite, the Foundation Stone at Cologne
Cathedral painting were reconstructed in the
1970s by a group of young artists at the behest of
the last private owner here: Paul Spinat. Paintings
now lost completely – such as The Meeting of
Charlemagne with Pope Leo III (in the photo the
empty space behind the chandelier) – were not
reconstructed.
19

The Iconographic Programme
at Schloss Drachenburg
Due to the turbulent history of Schloss Drachenburg, the original iconographic programme
(or series of paintings) has not survived completely. After the Second World War and during
the time the castle stood vacant in the 1960s, souvenir hunters and vandals left their mark in
more ways than one. Nevertheless, historical photos and document sources at our disposal,
not to mention the canvases still in existence, give a good indication today of what Stephan
von Sarter, the owner/builder and a “man of artistic sensibility”, had in mind for Schloss
Drachenburg as a “bastion of German art […] in whose splendid rooms the poetry and beauty
of the Rhine, its history and its myths would be given a unique memorial”.
(Johannes Proelss in Frankfurter Zeitung, 24.9.1884)
In the days of old, a visitor to the castle would be welcomed in the vestibule by two fairytale
pictures now long lost: Schneewittchen (Snow White) and Dornröschen (Sleeping Beauty) as
painted by the Munich artist Joseph Flüggen (1842-1906).
The re-awakening symbolism of the fairytales, a direct reference to the revival of the German
Empire in 1870/71, was a generally known and frequently used image. The prince rouses
Sleeping Beauty from a hundred years of slumber and Germany, liberated by Kaiser Wilhelm I,
becomes a new imperial power.
Seen here as a photo-reproduction on the wall, the depiction of Snow White – whose blond
hair harks back to the early Grimm Brothers‘ version of 1808 – shows her sitting somewhat
elevated in a hollow gnarled (German) oak-tree whilst her six (!) dwarves bear gifts of homage
such as crystals and minerals etc.
The two fairytale-themed paintings were superimposed by two river allegories, also by Joseph
Flüggen, in the pointed-arch sections under the vault. These paintings have disappeared too.
A river allegory of Father Rhine with the Mosel was depicted in the middle section above the
corridor towards the Reception Room. His daughters, the rivers Neckar and Lahn were on
the left and the rivers Ahr and Main on the right, next to the Rhine. The paintings originally
alluded to territorial annexation and local landscapes.
In the higher section of the Main Staircase, above the landing, there used to be depictions (no
longer extant) of the Loreley and the Maid of Drachenfels by Eduard Unger(1853-1894) which
also created a link to the fairytale pictures of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White.

Joseph Flüggen: Sleeping Beauty
Postcard, 1905
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Joseph Flüggen: Neckar
Postcard, 1903 (extract)
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Joseph Flüggen: Father Rhine
Postcard, 1903 (extract)
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Joseph Flüggen: Ahr
Postcard, 1903 (extract)
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
20

Hunting Trophy
and Breakfast Room
The Hunting Trophy and Breakfast Room, as it is called, once served as a dining room on a
daily basis. But outside meal times, it was also used as an ante-chamber and waiting room.
An inventory taken in 1912 for the “Hunt Room” listed the following items of furnishing.
3 oak sideboards
1 bench sofa
1 table
3 armchairs
4 chairs
1 chandelier
The engravings here, reproductions of the paintings at Schloss Drachenburg, have been
adapted from various publications of the later 19th century. Even in those days, the large-scale
wall and ceiling paintings of Schloss Drachenburg were coming in for much praise. Published
and documented in daily newspapers, trade journals and works of art history, they achieved
a great deal of recognition in their time. Reproduction prints in the form of magazine supplements
found their way into many households.
Moreover, it was also possible to order prints from the catalogues of the then major publishing
houses. In this way, in keeping with the idea of “art for all”, remote objêts d‘art could be
brought into private households to be noticed, admired and, not least, to provide a piece of
cosy interior decoration at an affordable price, you might say.

Looking into the Hunting Trophy and Breakfast
Room, postcard 1905
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
21

Wood Engravings
Based on Wall Paintings at
Schloss Drachenburg
(1) The Handing Over of the Foundation Stone at Cologne Cathedral
Wood engraving based on Friedrich von Keller’s mural in the Main Staircase at Schloss
Drachenburg, c. 1900.
The visitor arriving in the Main Staircase is greeted by The Handing Over of the Foundation
Stone at Cologne Cathedral under Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden, from the Drachenfels
Quarry in 1248, which hangs on the north wall. Friedrich von Keller (1840-1914) was the artist
who painted the blessing of the foundation stone. Certain stones for the building of the
cathedral came from the Drachenfels. Apart from the emphasis on local history, the pictorial
topic also pays tribute to the signifi cance of Cologne Cathedral as a symbol of 19th century
German unity. After all, only a few years prior to the construction of Schloss Drachenburg, the
Cathedral was completed following a construction period of 632 years! However, the depiction
of the group of fi gures on the left-hand side of the painting no longer refl ects the original
condition you see on the engraving. We can only assume that, when the building stood empty
during the 1960s, a piece of canvas was cut out. After 1971, the new castle owner Paul Spinat
commissioned a young artist, working from original documents, to re-imagine the missing part.
(2) The Meeting of German King Heinrich I with Charles III of France near Bonn
Wood engraving based on Friedrich von Keller’s sketches for the wall painting, 1897
At the historic meeting held on 7 November 921 near Bonn, the two kings conducted
negotiations as to the annexation of Lorraine to East Francia. The contemporary allusion
was the renewed annexation of Lorraine by Germany following the Franco-German War of
1870/1871. Friedrich von Keller’s painting, located in the Main Staircase next to the Handing
Over of the Foundation Stone, is the complete original.
(3) The Contest of Song
Wood engraving based on a wall painting by Heinrich Heim, c. 1890.
The Contest of Song on the Island of Nonnenwerth before the English King Edward III anno
1339 – to give the picture its full title – hangs on the south wall of the Main Staircase in its
complete original condition. It was painted by Heinrich Heim (1850- 1921). The contest of
songs here symbolises the furtherance of music and poetry in general.
(4) Riding out to the Hunt
Wood engraving based on Ferdinand Wagner’s wall painting, c.1890.
Hunting themes were the chief source of inspiration for the ornate decoration in the Dining
Room. The Munich artist Ferdinand Wagner (1847-1927) portrayed in fi ve paintings the course
of a hunt carried out by the Knight of Drachenfels Castle in the 14th century, the scenery
being that of the Rhine embankment. Only the right-hand part of the east wall with its main
painting of a stag hunt has been preserved. The Riding out to the Hunt originally acted as the
introduction to the series of paintings.
(5) The Quarrel between Kriemhild and Brunhild outside Worms Cathedral
Wood engraving based on a wall painting by Frank Kirchbach
The fi ctional link of the Siegfried legend with the Drachenfels was probably the reason why
a room at Schloss Drachenburg, the Nibelung Room, was dedicated to the saga. Its artwork,
consisting of ten key scenes from the Song of the Nibelungs was created by the Munich
painter Frank Kirchbach (1859-1912). The best-known and most publicised scene features
the quarrel between the two queens outside Worms Cathedral.

Lacunae in the Main Staircase painting entitled
The Handing Over of the Foundation Stone at
Cologne Cathedral, photo c. 1971
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Schematic drawing of the prints on the walls in
the Hunting Trophy & Breakfast Room
22

Reception Room
“The manorhouse would often have a room given over to receiving people on a short visit
and for use as an entrance to the suite of assembly rooms during festive occasions – the
Reception Room”:
(Josef Durm: Handbook of Architecture, 1902)
In compliance with the architectural how-to manuals of the time, the Reception Room at
Schloss Drachenburg was a point of entrance to the suite of assembly rooms on the representative
level. As customary at the time, it was located between the Dining Room and the
Salon (the Nibelung Room). The spacious size of the Reception Room is a good indication
that it was used for social purposes and this is why its amenities resemble those of a salon –
i.e. seats were the most important items of furniture.
In keeping with its function, the Reception Room was imposingly furnished. Castle brochures
of the late 19th century and early 20th century describe vividly “the large Reception Room
in which […] the wonderfully carved wooden ceiling, highlighted by two elegant chandeliers,
initially captures the eye”.
The designs for the magnifi cent ornamentation of the carving on the doors, wall panels and
ceilings came from Franz Langenberg, the building supervisor of Schloss Drachenburg.
Due to the damage infl icted during the Second World War, one of the most important décor
elements within the Reception Room is no longer extant today – the stained glass that
decorated nearly all the rooms of the castle with ornamental and fi gurative depictions. In
the pointed-arch skylights of the balcony doors, for example, there used to be fi gures of
night and day. And, on the skylights of the fi ve-part window wall to the west, there used to
be female fi gures personifying the fi ve senses of smell, taste, sight, hearing and touch. One
of these, the personifi cation of taste survived the war: it was rescued from the rubble by a
private individual. The designs for the stained glass of the Reception Room were provided by
Fritz Birkmeyer while the actual glass-work was produced by the Munich-based Royal Court
Stained Glass Manufactory of Franz Xavier Zettler in 1884.
As a result of the subdued daylight, the dark wood and the coloured walls, the Reception
Room came over as considerably darker than today. In those days, the Gründerzeit of the
decades after 1871, it was considered very sophisticated to reside in dark rooms.
Also echoing the taste of the late 19th century was the bust in the Reception Room – a copy
of the head of Apollo of Belvedere. This marble bust was returned to the Schloss Drachenburg
inventory in 1995. Its original central position in front of the west window wall was of
course not without reason. Castle-owner Stephan von Sarter clearly wanted the attributes
of Apollo – the god of youth, of the arts (especially music and poetry), of knowledge and of
thought – to refl ect on him. Nearly every visitor would pass this room and register the implicit
symbolism of the bust.

Reception Room, postcard 1905
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
A view of the west window wall with stained-glass
skylights. The bust of Apollo, in front of the
windows, is discernible.
Design sketches Day and Night for the pointedarch
skylights
(Archiv Mayer‘sche Hofkunstanstalt München,
ehem. Zettler)
The Sense of Taste, the one surviving stained-glass
item from the series of the Allegories of the Five
Senses in the skylights to the west window wall
of the Reception Room, photo 2009
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
23

Four Paintings from
the Rhine Romanticism Collection
The four large-format paintings on the walls of the Reception Room are on loan from the
Bonn Rhine Romanticism Collection which, with its approx. 500 paintings and drawings, is
the most comprehensive private collection in Germany dedicated to the Rhine and its history.
The pictures by Eduard Boettcher displayed here were completed at the time Schloss Drachenburg
was built and thus refl ect authentically the spirit of the times. Christian Eduard Boettcher
(born 1811 in Imgenbroich, died 1889 in Düsseldorf) belonged to the later generation of
Düsseldorf painters. He was appointed professor at the Academy of Art there in 1872. For his
pictures, he favoured a traditional approach to landscape art still indebted to Romanticism,
the composition and colourfulness of which coincided with the taste of the bourgeois public.
The Rhine at Rolandseck with a View of Nonnenwerth and the Siebengebirge, 1882
In this painting, Christian Eduard Boettcher chose a typically traditional view of Rolandseck
across to the Siebengebirge foothills on the other side of the river. Any reference to a specifi c
timeframe is avoided so that, even in 1882, a typical English tourist with peaked cap and
botanist’s specimen container can sit there on a small canal wall and watch the fi shermen
landing their boats in the light of the late afternoon sun.
Crossing the River at the Loreley, 1886
In this perfectly balanced composition, set against the backdrop of the Loreley, Boettcher
draws on the old theme of crossing the Rhine. The mountain scenery on both sides ranges
high while the virtually central opening to the river middle guides the beholder’s eyes via
the main motif of the boats into the depths. The painter succeeds in lending his portrayal a
statutory tranquillity – the subdued evening mood, the river fl ow almost at a standstill and
indeed the very passivity of the people in the boats. Elements which combine to convey an
impression of timelessness.
View of Oberwesel, 1888
This painting shows the Rhine side of Oberwesel from the north with the Werner Chapel in
the centre and, to the right, the northern City Tower (the Ox Tower). On the right-hand side
of the picture, you can still see the Church of St Martin whereas on the left-hand side the
south view of the Rhine Valley opens up to Pfalzgrafenstein Castle. However, the artist has
compressed Oberwesel’s characteristic buildings in such a way that an idealised picture of
a Rhenish town with all the important set pieces – castle, city wall, church, half-timbered
houses, vineyards and genre life – emerges while the place as such still remains tangible.
View of Friesdorf and the Rhine Valley, 1877
Set out as a broad panorama, this painting shows an unusual outlook to the south of Bonn,
namely, a view of Friesdorf and of the Siebengebirge on the opposite side. The wide plain, in
the middle of which you can just discern Friesdorf Station, is limited on the right by the hill
to the north of Godesberg that almost reaches the Rhine. The foreground is enlivened by its
genre-typical family scene. It would appear that they are admiring the extensive view over
to the Siebengebirge and the prominent Drachenfels. In the centre of the picture, this being
1877, the site of today’s Schloss Drachenburg has not yet been built on.

For further information about the Collection,
please visit the website (in German) at …
www.sammlung-rheinromantik.de
A book entitled Sehnsucht Rhein (or “Rhine
Yearning”) featuring the main works of the
Collection is available from the Castle Shop
C. E. Boettcher
Der Rhein bei Rolandseck mit Blick auf Nonnenwerth
und das Siebengebirge, 1882
Oil on canvas, 75 x 126 cm,
Signed and dated, lower right:
C. E. Boettcher pxt. 1882,
Slg. Nr 28
C. E. Boettcher
Überfahrt an der Loreley, 1886
Oil on canvas, 75 x 125 cm,
Signed and dated, lower left:
C. E. Boettcher pxt. 1886,
Slg. Nr 151
C. E. Boettcher
Ansicht von Oberwesel, 1888
Oil on canvas, 92 x 156 cm,
Signed and dated, lower left:
C. E. Boettcher pxt. 1888,
Slg. Nr 421
C. E. Boettcher
Blick auf Friesdorf und das Rheintal, 1877
Oil on canvas, 87 x 160 cm,
Slg. Nr 334
24

Dining Room
“… in addition to the paintings in the Dining Room, we are also captivated by the
immaculately fashioned wood carvings on the ceilings and walls”.
(Drachenfels and Schloss Drachenburg near Königswinter on the Rhine, undated, c.1904)
Hunting themes were the chief source of inspiration for the ornate decoration in the Dining
Room, which is at once imposing and domestic. In fi ve paintings, the Munich artist Ferdinand
Wagner (1847-1927) illustrated the course of a hunt carried out by the Knight of Drachenfels
Castle in the 14th century, the scenery that of the Rhine embankment.
A picture entitled Riding out to the Hunt to the north east of the room acted as the introduction
to the cycle of paintings. To the east, you see The Climax of the Hunt in which the distressed
stag – harried by the hounds – fl ees into the Rhine whilst the knight riding on the riverbank
is poised to throw his spear. The Boar Hunt to the south east also captures the decisive
moment as the boar, cornered by the hounds, is fi nished off by the thrust of the huntsman’s
spear. To the south west, you can see Taking a Rest near Godesberg. For its part, the Return
from the Hunt was originally placed on the north-west side.
The only mural to have survived is the south half of the east wall with its main painting of a
stag hunt. The others have been missing since the end the Second World War. Lacunae in the
east wall were reconstructed after 1947 and during the 1970s and the lacunae on the south
and north walls were augmented in the 1970s – at times with great imagination due to the
lack of original templates.
In 2009, in the wake of the general restoration, the overpaintings (which in parts meshed
with the original artwork) were removed, the actual paintings were cleaned up and the overlaps
between original and augmentation lightly retouched so that the wonderful artwork as
created by Ferdinand Wagner can be displayed in all its former splendour. The paintings of
the 1970s in the south and in the north of the room have also been cleaned up and re-instated.
Similarly, the original windows to the Dining Room were embellished by glass paintings with
hunting themes. These glazings were made to measure in 1883/1884 by the Royal Court
Stained Glass Manufactory of Franz Xavier Zettler, based in Munich, to sketches by Ferdinand
Wagner and drawings by Alois Brunner. But they too have been missing since the Second
World War.
Most of the original woodwork preserved – such as ceiling, panelling and buffet, with all their
intricate carvings – was carried out by the Hanover-based fi rm of Rümann. It was restored
and partly reconstructed in 2009.

Dining Room, postcard 1905
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH.)
A view of the east wall with buffet and south wall
with fi replace
Dining Room, photo 1948
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH.)
A view of the preserved east wall painting and of
the south wall with lacunae
Condition of the east wall painting during restoration,
photo 2009
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH.)
The overpaintings of the 1970s vis à vis the original
paintwork were removed. Between the original
paintwork (above) and the augmentations of the
1940s and 1950s (below), the fi llings are exposed
and visible.
A Riding out to the Hunt (missing, re-imagined
in the 1970s)
B Stag Hunt (partly missing, augmented in the
1940s, 1950s and 1970s)
C Boar Hunt (missing, reconstructed in the 1970s
on the basis of a original template)
D Taking a Rest near Bad Godesberg (missing,
reconstructed in the 1970s on the basis of an
original template)
E Still Life: weapon belt(s), missing
F Return from the Hunt (missing, mounted
following misattributed reconstruction in the
1970s as Riding out to the Hunt)
25

Nibelung Room
“Heroes and heroines, everything in splendid harmony with
the rest of the artistic designs in this room which no visitor
will ever forget”.
(Drachenfels and Schloss Drachenburg at Königswinter on
the Rhine, undated, c. 1904).)
The “Nibelung Room” gets its name from the subject matter
of the large-scale wall paintings by Frank Kirchbach (1859-
1912) depicting ten key scenes from the Song of the Nibelungs.
The glass paintings for the windows once showed protagonists
and motifs from the Germanic saga. Indirectly conveying
the intentions of the castle owner – by refl ecting the notions
of (state) loyalty, political conviction, manhood and martial
virtues – the mural also points to the function of the room as
a kind of gentlemen’s lounge. It was the conversation room
or smoking room to which the men withdrew after dinner for
political discussion or a simple chat. At the same time, the
medieval ambience of the room served the lord of the manor
as a kind of haven – the place for a fantasy journey into the
past.
Over the course of the castle’s changing history, the Nibelung
Room served a number of purposes and was redesigned
accordingly. Until 1930, the room could be viewed in its
pristine condition. From 1931 to 1938, it served as a school
staffroom for the Christian Brothers. During the Second
World War, the glass paintings and parts of the interior
decoration were destroyed. After the war, in 1948, the college
accommodated at the castle by the German Railways Board
used the room as the Principal’s Offi ce and, when the castle
stood empty during the 1960s, the wall paintings suffered
severe damage whether in the form of water or theft by
degrees. However, with the coming of the Spinat era from
1971 onwards, the fi ttings and furnishings saw some return
to former Gründerzeit splendour. Parts missing from the
canvas were replaced.
Fluctuations in temperature, damp and unprofessional
handling also beset the woodwork and the paintings. And so,
in 2006, to preserve these unique witnesses to the 19th century,
the entire Nibelung Room was meticulously restored with
close reference to the way it looked at the time of building –
i.e. lovingly restored and historically refurnished.
Designs for the glass paintings
in the Nibelung Room: middle
window wing with skylight and
right-hand window wing
(Archiv Mayer’sche Hofkunstanstalt
München)

Nibelung Room with a view through the
Reception Room and Dining Room
Postcard 1905
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Main Picture: The Quarrel of the Queens
from the Nibelung Room
Coloured lithograph, c. 1904.
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Layout of the Nibelung Room
Frank Kirchbach’s cycle of pictures contains ten
scenes from the Song of the Nibelungs (oil on
canvas …
1. King Gunther presents Brunhilde as his
queen to the people
2. The quarrel of the queens outside Worms
Cathedral
3. Siegfried’s leave of Kriemhild after the
plotting by Gunther and Hagen
4. Siegfried’s death: murdered by Hagen at
the spring
5. Siegfried’s body outside Kriemhild’s chamber
6. The revenge: the ride of the Burgundians to
Rüdiger’s castle at Bechelaren
7. The betrothal of Giselher to Dietlind, Rüdiger’s
daughter
8. In Etzelburg: Volker the Fiddle and Hagen on
night watch against the Huns
9. Kriemhild beseeches Rüdiger to take his
men to battle and destroy the Burgundians.
The Burgundians on the stairs.
10. Kriemhild cuts off Hagen’s head over
Gunther’s body.
A: Glass painting with the dragon slain and the
fi nal verse of the Song of the Nibelungs
26

Art Gallery
“… a fairytale hall apparently built solely of glass … writers and musicians, striking
personalities by way of great thinkers and artists, statesmen and inventors from all
countries and all epochs through to current times … how wonderful ... that he could
erect such as memorial to them in his magnifi cent castle”:
(Elise Polko. In: A Short Note about the Schloss Drachenburg on the Rhine, undated, c. 1900)
Although the name of the room may suggest the idea of an aristocratic picture gallery, the
Art Gallery here was never intended to be a place for the viewing of paintings. Its distinctiveness
lay more in the presentation of glass art for which the serially arranged high windows
provided more than enough surface area.
As such, the iconographic programme embodied by the windows offers an array of famous
personalities from all aspects of world history, art and science – discoverers, composers,
painters, writers, politicians, sculptors, architects, kings, queens, emperors, empresses, and
inventors.
The person responsible for the overall design of the glass paintings in the Art Gallery was
Wilhelm Hoffmann, one of the Schloss Drachenburg architects and formerly an apprentice at
Cologne Cathedral where he worked on ornamental windows. Responsible for the production
of the costly glass panes was the Royal Court Stained Glass Manufactory of Franz Xavier Zettler,
based in Munich, which was taken over in 1930 by the Mayer’sche Hofkunstanstalt, an institute
for the promotion of arts and crafts.
As you might expect of a picture gallery in a palatial building, the “Glass Art Gallery” at
Schloss Drachenburg acted to demonstrate the culture, good taste and affl uence of its
haute-bourgeois owner: Stephan von Sarter. This impressive cupola hall would confi rm the
social signifi cance and cosmological worldview of the host to visitors and to guests attending
a festive occasion or prestigious reception.
From 1931 to 1938, the Art Gallery served the Christian School Brothers as a chapel. During
the Second World War, the cupola was destroyed and all the glass windows either smashed
or “disappeared”. After the war, the college accommodated in the castle by the German Railways
Board used the large hall, now rebuilt on a makeshift basis, to stage a signal box. The
Art Gallery was to regain some of its representative, if modifi ed, character in the 1970s when
the now castle owner Paul Spinat had a sumptuous Gründerzeit staircase installed there.
However, the most recent renovation work carried out on the Art Gallery and completed in
2004 went back to the original appearance of the 19th century. Today, the design, the use of
colour and the opulent stencilling – all modelled on the original – go to underline the splendid
impression the room makes.

West side of the Art Gallery with bronze statue of Venus by
Francheschi (19th century) in the foreground of the central
tracery window.
In the lancets, full-fi gure portraits of Rubens, Dürer and
Rembrandt between ornamental windows with quotations from
In the Magic Garden of the Hesperides.
In the rosette: An Allegory of Poetry, postcard 1905
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Art Gallery with a view of the Nibelung Room to the south.
In the foreground: Venus by H. C. Allegrain (1767),
postcard 1905.
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
East side of the Art Gallery with bronze statue of Venus by
Francheschi (front) and a copy of the Venus di Milo. The central
tracery window shows full-fi gure portraits of Raffael, Murillo
and Michelangelo between ornamental windows with quotations
from In the Magic Garden of the Hesperides.
In the rosette: An Allegory of Music, postcard 1905
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
The Art Gallery as a chapel (view to the north), photo from the
album of the Christian School Brother, 1930s.
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
The Art Gallery during the Spinat era with main staircase
installed, photo 1980s
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
27

The Uhland-Heine Lancet Window
In 2003, an Uhland glass window turned up on the Drachenfels somewhat unexpectedly. Due
to its shape, colour design and inscription, it was possible to assign the origin of the glazing
to the Art Gallery at Schloss Drachenburg. The foundling also had lacunae which must have
been fi lled with simple glass at an earlier stage. The irregular lead strips in the blue surface
of the medallions and in the face area were the result of repairs made to damage incurred
during the Second World War.
With the “homecoming” of the Uhland window, the idea of reconstructing a lancet window
was born. Staff at the Mayer´sche Hofkunstanstalt Munich, an institute for the promotion
of arts and crafts, greeted the project with great enthusiasm. The main glass fragment and
other cullets helped researchers make a number of deductions as to glass colouring and
painting technique. And the photo of the Uhland portrait in the institute archives was a good
indication of how the complete medallion must have once looked.
A castle brochure dating from 1904 also indicated that Heine and Uhland had been placed
together in the one window. Likewise, a study of the template books in the Munich company
archives unearthed a “Heine” pencil sketch as well as sketches of the coats-of-arms of
Düsseldorf and Tübingen which could be assigned to the respective birthplaces of the two
German poets. Furthermore, various historical postcards divulged information as to the
overall composition and confi guration of the portrait medallions in the window. The historical
brochure quoted characteristic texts from the oeuvre of the two poets, quotations which
could also be read on the windows, as well as their biographical data (with Heinrich Heine’s
birth stated erroneously as 1799 instead of 1797). Either way, all preconditions for a full
reconstruction were now in place.
Königlich Bayerische Hofglasmalerei F. X. Zettler / Mayer’sche Hofkunstanstalt
Wilhelm Hoffmann was originally responsible for the designs of the glass paintings while the
Royal Court Stained Glass Manufactory of Franz Xavier Zettler in Munich was responsible
for the actual production of the costly windows. Founded by Josef Gabriel Mayer in 1847,
the Mayer’sche Institute of Court Art ranked in the 19th century as one of the most famous
glass-painting fi rms and today it still enjoys great renown as a glass-painting workshop. F. X.
Zettler, Joseph Gabriel Mayer’s son-in-law, was the commercial manager of the Mayer’sche
Institute from 1863 to 1870. He then started up his own manufactory which similarly went on
to achieve national fame.

Uhland window with lacunae
Found 2003
Foto Uhland medallion
(Archiv Mayer´sche Hofkunstanstalt, München)
Pencil sketch “Heine“
(Archiv Mayer´sche Hofkunstanstalt München)
28

Tavern Room
“A withdrawing room designed and furnished to exquisite and sophisticated artistic taste”.
Drachenfels and Schloss Drachenburg near Königswinter on the Rhine, undated, c. 1904
Although the Tavern Room served as a salon in general, “Gentlemen’s Lounge” would be a
better description. It was here in an intimate atmosphere that the men would meet after the
offi cial business of the day for confi dential chats and a few drinks.
The artist Hermann Schneider (1847-1918), a pupil of the Munich-born history painter Carl
Theodor von Piloty, created the large and vivid paintings. To the north, the wall arches depict
The Childhood of Bacchus; east and west The Love of Bacchus for Ariadne on Naxos; and
south The Triumph of Bacchus.
These scenes are augmented by allegorical depictions on the ceilings: south, Dreams of Love;
west, Dreams of Honour and Fame; east, Dreams of Riches; and north, Dreams of Blessed
Enjoyment.
Around 1931, the colourful canvases were banished under wallpaper once the Christian
School Brothers had deemed the mythological depictions as too libertine and inappropriate
for a Catholic boarding school. During the Second World War, the artillery shells destroyed
the “delightful glass paintings” of the oriel windows. In the 1970s, however, the Bacchus
artwork on the ceilings was uncovered and re-instated while the wall areas were re-imagined
in line with historical postcard templates.
Finally, in the course of the restoration work carried out in 2003, the paintings were gradually
cleaned up, later overpaintings were removed and lacunae retouched. Similarly, the wall
panelling that had been coated white-gold was returned to its former wood-like appearance.
The original movable furnishings have not survived. Today’s historical furniture is inspired
by images of the 19th century and thus, along with the paintings, exhorts you to “enjoy life’s
pleasures” and “take a rest from work and woes”.

Looking into the Tavern Room with the paintings
on the west wall: Bacchus and Ariadne on Naxos,
postcard 1903.
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Design sketches for the windows to the Tavern
Room – from the archives of the Mayer’sche
Hofkunstanstalt in Munich.
Four amoretti representing French champagne,
German sparkling wine, Bordeaux wine and
Rhine wine (from left to right) with a garland of
fruit in the centre. The designs for these windows
were the creation of Hermann Schneider.
Looking into the Tavern Room – with the south
wall painting: Triumph of Bacchus – and into the
adjoining Art Gallery.
The fl anking pictures show the ceiling paintings
(reversed) on the west side: Dreams of Honour
and Fame.Lithography 1904
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
29

Hunt & Billiard Room
“No château, no bourgeois dwelling of the 19th century [was] without a Billiard Room.”
L’architecture privée au XIXe siècle, 1872. In: Ariès 1999.
If formerly reserved for the nobility, the game of billiards and the sport of hunting made
great inroads into the bourgeois lifestyle of the 19th century. Which meant that the interior
decorator of any haute-bourgeois residence – and of a country house in particular – would
have been duty-bound to take these latest leisure pursuits into account. Schloss Drachenburg
was no exception and received its own Hunt & Billiard Room to serve as a games room and
as a place to keep the hunting guns and trophies. Yet it also offered space for more informal
social events.
As with the adjoining library, the interior decoration plans were drawn up by the Bonn-based
architect Franz Langenberg and a building supervisor at Schloss Drachenburg. The wood
furnishings were made in 1884 and 1885 by Pallenberg, a Cologne fi rm. The billiard cues &
guns cabinet was conceived especially for this room.
Even the glass paintings from the Mayer’sche Institute of Court Art originally incorporated
motifs from the world of hunting and, in the process, depicted a “graceful fi gure of a Diana,
resplendent in bright colours, created by Professor Schraudolph” as well as hunting outcomes.
As such, the Hunt & Billiard Room remained open to viewers and users until 1930. How the
room was then furnished during the occupancy of Schloss Drachenburg by the Christian
School Brothers can only be the subject of speculation.
We are also pretty much in the dark as to the interior furnishings of the 1941 to 1945 period
when the castle was used to accommodate the Adolf-Hitler-Schule – i.e. an elite Nazi college.
Much of the inventory to Schloss Drachenburg was damaged and stolen after the war, and
the same applied to the Hunt & Billiard Room. From 1948, it functioned as a training room
for the German Railways but further stock was to vanish between 1960 and 1971 when the
castle as a whole stood vacant. It was only in the Paul Spinat era that damaged parts and
lacunae in the wood panelling were provisionally repaired using epoxy resin. In addition, the
room mutated into a Knight’s Hall in which numerous pieces of equipment and weaponry
were placed on exhibition – including an armour-clad wooden horse!
Following the restoration process completed in 2006, the decoration was returned to its original
appearance, having been reconstructed on the basis of detailed descriptions, photographs
and other fi ndings in situ.

Hunt & Billiard Room, postcard 1905
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Doublettes of the lower window sections of the
wall paintings of the Hunt & Billiard Room. The
window panes to the billiard room were made in
duplicate at the Mayer’sche Institute of Court Art.
Although the glass paintings once installed at
Schloss Drachenburg have gone missing, these
three coloured doublettes still exist in the Munich
archives.
Photo from the archives of Mayer’sche Institute
in Munich.
Billiard Room with a view into the adjoining
library, photo 1903
(Familienarchiv Dr. Wenzel Boeckenhoff)
The Hunt & Billiard Room Here deprived of its
real function and revamped as a “Knight’s Hall”
(1983-1985) under the ownership of Paul Spinat
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
30

The Library
“The remarkable wooden ceilings, doors and wallpaper etc. are of the most tasteful and
artistic design, just like the rest of the castle”.
Drachenfels and Schloss Drachenburg near Königswinter on the Rhine, undated, c. 1904
In addition to its obligatory function as a study – and thus fi tted with desk, cabinet and bookcase
– the Library at Schloss Drachenburg was planned with a representative role in mind,
hence the high quality and artistic design. Indeed, the “private” study was located on the fi rst
fl oor, which supports this interpretation of the Library on the ground fl oor as the “public”
study.
Together with the adjoining Hunt & Billiard Room, the Library functioned as a kind of Gentlemen’s
Lounge and social room. Since the furnishings and the décor owed a lot to the advice
of contemporary experts, both rooms underline Stephan von Sarter’s susceptibility towards
the latest trends in living accommodation. The highly praised wooden fi ttings were made
from 1884 to 1885 by the Cologne-based fi rm of Pallenberg in the then popular style known
as “German Renaissance”.
All the furniture items and furnishing elements were specially conceived for the Library.
Even the glass paintings for the windows, which were made by the Munich-based Mayer’sche
Institute of Court Art and which are now lost to posterity, were a part of the integrated spatial
concept. They depicted the “various branches of knowledge” such as history, arithmetic,
astronomy and geography as well as the North and South Poles (in a design by Anton
Nepomuk Seder).
In other words, the Library was purpose-built and has maintained that function over time,
which is why the original wooden wall fi ttings have survived to a great extent. The present
movable furniture has been reconstituted on the basis of historical pictures and descriptions.
In other words, the room on view is more or less in its original state.
Above the sofa, the oil sketch Handing Over of the Foundation Stone at Cologne Cathedral
by the artist Friedrich von Keller was drawn circa 1884 as the draft to the same-named wall
painting in the Main Staircase. It may, without a doubt, be considered one of the most valuable
surviving testimonies from the construction years of Schloss Drachenburg.
The subject of the picture refers to an event from the annals of local history. However, it also
bears witness to the strong nationalist awareness of castle-owner Stephan von Sarter.

Library and Study
Postcard 1903
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
The Library in the 1930s. Illustration from a school
brochure published by St Michael’s Boarding
School/Schloss Drachenburg
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Preparatory sketches for the windows in the
Library. Illustration from the historical template
books kept in the archives of the Mayer’sche
Institute of Court Art in Munich
Symbolism
History: symbolised by the owl and the scroll.
The owl is an ancient symbol of wisdom. As the
creature symbolic of scholarship and knowledge
and seeing through the darkness, today the owl
is often found on the signets of academic publishing
houses and bookshops.
Arithmetic: symbolised by the set square, plumb
line, ruler, compass, reckoning machine and
numbers. But in addition to arithmetic, the objects
so illustrated also bring in the subjects of
geometry (set square) and architecture (plumb
line).
Astronomy: symbolised by the star, the planets,
the astronomical globe and the signs of the
zodiac. The central six-sided star, the Morning
Star, on a blue background is surrounded by fi ve
smaller stars representing the planets of Mercury,
Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The scroll
encircling the globe denotes various signs of the
zodiac, including from left to right: Capricorn,
Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus and Gemini.
Geography: symbolised by ship, globe, telescope
and exotic plants (coral and palm). In addition to
its symbolism as the “ship of life”, the vessel also
symbolises travelling. The billowing sails epitomise
the winds while telescope and globe stand for the
exploration of the world. The coral and palm here
signify new and exotic discoveries.
31

Music Room
The Music Room is the only social room on the second fl oor of Schloss Drachenburg. It has
a neo-Gothic reticulate vault and lavish wall panellings (and designed by Franz Langenberg
and made by J. Vershoven, a fi rm based in Bonn). As originally furnished and subsequently
augmented, the room has always been in the service of music.
Now as then, the Music Room boasts a grand piano made especially for Schloss Drachenburg,
thus recalling the era under Stephan von Sarter’s nephew when the castle was fi rst opened
for viewing purposes and the rooms were used as social rooms by the summer holiday guests
staying in the Nordic Houses and Hotel Burghof.
In June 1909, the piano- and organ-making fi rm of Ibach from Schwelm near Wuppertal sold
this grand piano – purpose built for the Music Room – to the second owner of the castle, Jakob
Hubert Biesenbach. A unique piece, it had a special frame whose grapevine wood carving
harmonised with the wall panelling of the room. Biesenbach bought this concert-standard
instrument after returning another black lacquered Ibach Glockenfl ügel (Instrument Nr 42223)
which he had previously rented. Historical pictures of the time after 1909 show that his unique
Glockenfl ügel grand piano made of walnut wood remained in the Music Room from the early
20th century well into the 1930s and continued to be played. When the St Michael’s Catholic
Boys’ Boarding School was closed in 1938, the instrument was auctioned off. However, thanks
to a set of fortunate circumstances, it was found possible to re-acquire the grand piano for
the castle in 2001.
The Glockenfl ügel grand piano is an extravagant and seldom-built “concert instrument with
charm” (Ibach), a true historical rarity. In fact, Ibach only made six examples of this special
model. It was called a Glockenfl ügel or “bell grand” due to the contours: seen from above,
the shape of the instrument resembles that of a bell. It is also virtually “axisymmetrical”
meaning that it can be designated a “symmetrical grand piano”. Its lid can be opened from
the back while inside the long strings for the lower notes can be diagonally stretched across
the shorter strings.
The Music Room also contains a neo-Gothic organ placed on the neo-baroque balustrade
along the east wall. Again, this is reminiscent of the last owner of the castle: the quirky Paul
Spinat, the proprietor from 1971 to 1989. It is reported that Mr Spinat would organise organ
concerts for his guests – with the music, however, coming from a tape record. The organ
itself is a dummy.
The stencil paintings of the 19th century along the walls of the Music Room have been uncovered
and/or reconstructed. As in almost all other parts of the castle, the room’s original
stained glass windows have disappeared. A central feature was the folkloric “Birds’ Wedding”.
The large window rosette once showed the Sarter coat-of-arms, encircled by the coats-of-arms
of the eight cities which were home to the most important fi rms to have participated in the
overall building and furnishing of Schloss Drachenburg – Bonn, Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart,
Paris, Dresden, Düsseldorf and Berlin.

Music Room, postcard 1905 – showing the fi rst,
rented, grand piano (Ibach Nr 42223), a cousin
of the grand piano which now stands in the Art
Gallery.
In the background, the stained-glass window
depicting the “Birds’ Wedding”
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Looking into the Music Room with the walnut
Glockenfl ügel made by Ibach, after 1909
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
High-angle view of a bell grand piano
(Ibach-Firmenarchiv)
A view of the organ loft – installed during the
Paul Spinat era, postcard 1980s
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
32

Private Floor
In contrast to the stately reception rooms on the ground fl oor, the second fl oor of the castle
accommodated two self-contained private apartments. Facing north was the private apartment
of castle owner Stephan von Sarter which consisted of a study, a dressing room, a
bed room and a breakfast room. Facing south was the guests-of-honour suite reserved for
special visitors to the castle and it consisted of a living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom.
These two apartments were separated at the centre by the Music Room also used for social
occasions. The rooms of the private apartments could be reached by corridors to the north
and south. Moreover, it is from these corridors that the modest side staircases branch off –
for use by staff to access and service all fl oors.
Despite their private character, the two apartments rated highly in terms of both quality and
prestige. Only shortly after completion of the building in 1882, the writer Elise Polko was to
enthuse about the romantic-styled “living and sleeping chambers” kept for guests of honour.
Indeed, the fi rms commissioned to furnish the premises enjoyed the best reputation.
The Parisian fi rm of Jouvenau, for example, supplied the palisander furniture for the study,
dressing room and bedrooms while the Mainz-based fi rm of Bembé supplied the furniture to
the breakfast room. When the castle was modifi ed in the 1930s, all this furniture was auctioned
off so that the apartments could be used as classrooms. The Music Room, however, retained
its furniture and purpose.
One of the original items, a porcelain painting showing a facsimile of Rubens’s famous work
Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus was re-acquired in 2002. At fi rst, it had hung over the
bed of the owner but, when the castle was sold in 1910, the second owner, J. H. Biesenbach,
took it with him and later sold it himself.
Worthing singling out here are the wood-grained painted stucco ceilings of the rooms. The
ultimate effect is ceilings made of wood. In parts, they have also been stencilled to give the
appearance of inlay technique.
The last private owner, Paul Spinat, did not attempt to furnish the rooms in line with the
original use or provide Wilhelmine-type furniture. Instead, the dressing room and study of the
private apartment, which had been made into one room in the 1930s, were now renovated as
a bedroom, as the Pompadour Room – including, it was claimed, Madame Pompadour’s bed.
Today, though, following restoration on the basis of earlier descriptions and inventories, the
rooms have been fi tted with items of furniture from the time Schloss Drachenburg was built.
The rooms on this private fl oor are open for viewing as part of the guided tours.

Layout of the Private Floor
Porcelain painting
Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus
By Carl Meinelt based on Peter Paul Rubens
(Foto Marburg, 2010)
Wood-grained painted stucco ceiling with stencils
in the breakfast room
Dressing room and study combined to make the
Pompadour Room during the Paul Spinat era.
Postcard 1980s
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
33

Guest-of-Honour Suite
The Guest-of-Honour Suite, a second private apartment, is situated next to the Private
Apartment on the second fl oor of Schloss Drachenburg, to the north.
Its living room is impressive for its wood-grained stucco ceiling with stencil paintings. The
ceiling also features several unrestored sections through which one can see the original coat
of paint as uncovered. The room is now furnished in accordance with historical descriptions.
The brownish wallpaper, the large buffet cabinet made of light oakwood by the Cologne fi rm
of Pallenberg, the richly ornamented walnut chairs and the dark-red materials lend the room
a subdued atmosphere entirely attuned to Wilhelmine taste. Of all the original coloured-glass
skylights, one was rescued from the rubble of the Second World War and recently returned
to the castle. It shows a youth “with his fondness for music and song” and a lute. The adjacent
windows depicted childhood (fruit and sweets), adulthood (with the tools and weapons of the
active full-bodied male) and old age (the Bible).
Next to the living room in the suite, the bedroom conveys a different impression, being painted
in friendly, almost cheerful, bright colours. On the basis of the historical evidence available –
the nailing system for the wall covering, the written records and a photo handed down from
1903 – the room has been refi tted with a fl oral wall covering and white lacquered furniture.
Johannes Proelss, for example, writing in the Frankfurter Zeitung in 1884; spoke of “a guestroom
with brightly patterned furniture and light textured wallpaper in a Marie Tudor style”.
Today, the ceiling radiates once again in white with blue & apricot coloured stencilling. The
through door to the living room has also been returned to its original colour.
The oriel in the south-west originally served as a dressing room area – which invokes the
charming notion of getting dressed or freshening up with such a wonderful view over the
Rhine Valley! Like many of the rooms in the castle, the Guest-of-Honour Suite has had a
turbulent history. From the 1930s onwards, it functioned as a classroom of various sorts.
The last private owner of Schloss Drachenburg, Paul Spinat, set up a parrot aviary in the
oriel with the guest-of-honour bedroom providing a fanciful brilliant ambience of baroque,
rococo and Chippendale elements.
In line with written records and inventory catalogues, the “small guest-of-honour room”
situated to the east of the side corridor is also furnished as a bedroom for feminine requirements.
Yet in the early 20th century the room was not reserved for guests of honour but for
girls – i.e. for the maids in service to the guests.
The corridor leads straight to the side staircase south which, like the staircase north, links
all the fl oors together and through which the servants could directly access the house-keeping
area in the basement.

Preserved glass painting entitled Youth from the
guest-of-honour living room
Guest-of-honour bedroom postcard from the
photo c.1903
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Guest-of-honour bedroom with the rococoesque
furnishings provided during the Paul Spinat era,
postcard from the 1980s
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Dressing-room oriel as quarters for Paul Spinat’s
parrot, photo probably from the 1980s
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Layout of the Guest-of-Honour Suite
34

Guest Bedroom (North Tower)
“From the balcony and oriel of the room – which, thanks to its elevated position, is the
room in the castle with the best vantage point – one has an incomparably good view of the
entire Rhine and mountain panorama.”
Drachenfels and Schloss Drachenburg near Königswinter on the Rhine, undated, c. 1904
Situated in the North Tower of Schloss Drachenburg, the present Wedding Chamber used to
be a guest bedroom. Refl ecting tastes of the late 19th century, the room was furnished in a
neo-Gothic style. A postcard dating from 1905, for example, shows a monumental four-poster
bed with rich intricate carvings, a prayer kneeler, a medieval-type chandelier and a linen
chest. A brochure published in 1904 also reports of a “splendid bedroom placed not without
reason above the Tavern Room”…
“The Bonn fi rm of J. Vershoven clearly knew how to satisfy the highest demands, namely,
by means of installing inordinately tasteful and comfortable furnishings to match the stark
Gothic style of the castle. For its part, the antique oil painting above the prayer kneeler in the
corner of the room depicted the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven and was the work
of an unknown master of the older Italian school”.
But even though the inventory catalogues of 1910 and 1930 still spoke of the “richly carved
bedroom” and listed the original items of furniture, the once romantic North Tower room
was transformed into a classroom during the time the castle housed St Michael’s Catholic
Boys Boarding School in the 1930s. And in the years after 1941, at the time of the Adolf-Hitler-
Schule, the room was used as the headmaster’s offi ce.
By the 1980s, furnished with a neo-baroque four-poster bed, commode and seats, the room
was again to fulfi l its original purpose as a bedroom or, to be more precise, as the “representative”
chamber and boudoir of Erina von Sachsen, the wife of Paul Spinat. Even today,
you can still see Spinat’s initials painted on the white-and-gold-painted door and the ceiling
artwork of The Education of Cupid by Venus and Mercury … with Paul portrayed as Mercury
and Erina as Venus!
The room now serves as a romantic Wedding Chamber high above the River Rhine and thus
picks up on the symbolism of Venus the goddess of love and the young Cupid (Amor).
For more information about civil wedding ceremonies at Schloss Drachenburg, please call
+49 2223 90197-75.

Guest Bedroom, postcard 1905
(Archiv Schloss Drachenburg gGmbH)
Ceiling fresco by Peter Tutzauer
The Education of Cupid by Venus and Mercury –
free interpretation of a painting by François
Boucher
35

Tea Room
in the South-West Oriel
The south-west oriel at Schloss Drachenburg is not mentioned in the accounts of the castle
written doing the era of castle-owner Stephan von Sarter (until 1902) or that of his nephew
J. H. Biesenbach. Nor do the inventories of the time give any information as to how this
small room was furnished.
Nevertheless, in the course of restoration work on the oriel, good records of former stencils
emerged that allowed the restorers to reconstruct large parts of the original livery. Along
with its carefully reworked mosaic fl ooring, the oriel is on show as a room with a special
decorative fl air. It also comes over as a link between outdoors and indoors. Due to its southwest
position, the oriel can be reached from the Venus Terrace outside and via the loggias
from the Dining Room.
It is conceivable that the room was used in summer as a Tea or Coffee Room – and the present
furnishings help to lend credence to this notion. The round table, surrounded by “airy”
wickerwork chairs, displays a typical coffee and tea service made of silver and consisting
of a tea pot, a coffee pot, a milk jug and a sugar bowl. With the silver, of course, you could
combine any type of porcelain. Guests would be offered tea or coffee, depending on personal
preference. Both of these beverages were widespread in the late 19th century as a stimulant
enjoyed at all social levels. Chiefl y because of the expanding plantations in colonies such as
North India (tea) and Central & South America and Africa (coffee), there was an abundance
of the leaves and beans in Europe. Coffee houses fl ourished in the cities to serve these
non-alcoholic beverages, although people enjoyed them at home too. Very popular in the
19th century were receptions hosted by the Lady of the House, who would invite guests to
afternoon tea or coffee and welcome them in the salon or front room accordingly.
An earlier account of Schloss Drachenburg refers to a “tea room furnished with exquisite
taste” on the top fl oor (Proelss 1884). However, this particular fl oor – which accommodated
a number of guest rooms as well – is not available as a viewing area. It is used instead for
the castle management’s offi ces.

Reconstructed stencils in the south-west oriel
Mary Cassatt: Tea (Le Thé) circa 1880, Boston
Museum of Fine Arts. Two ladies sitting together
at the fi replace, enjoying their tea.
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