North Tower - Schloss Drachenburg

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.