North Tower - Schloss Drachenburg

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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
Page 1 and 2: Schloss Drachenburg Visitors’ Gui
Page 3 and 4: Intro Dear Visitor, It is a great p
Page 5 and 6: Architectural Decoration The design
Page 7 and 8: Venus Terrace The Venus Terrace pla
Page 9 and 10: „Save the Petersberg!“ The Pete
Page 11 and 12: The Icon of Rhine Romanticism: the
Page 13 and 14: Nordic Summer Houses The second own
Page 15 and 16: Wotan Summer House After Jacob Hube
Page 17 and 18: Sea of Rocks Geologically speaking,
Page 19: Roland‘s Arch, Rhine Romanticism
Page 23 and 24: A view from the east into the Main
Page 25 and 26: Joseph Flüggen: Sleeping Beauty Po
Page 27 and 28: Looking into the Hunting Trophy and
Page 29 and 30: Lacunae in the Main Staircase paint
Page 31 and 32: Reception Room, postcard 1905 (Arch
Page 33 and 34: For further information about the C
Page 35 and 36: Dining Room, postcard 1905 (Archiv
Page 37 and 38: Nibelung Room with a view through t
Page 39 and 40: West side of the Art Gallery with b
Page 41 and 42: Uhland window with lacunae Found 20
Page 43 and 44: Looking into the Tavern Room with t
Page 45 and 46: Hunt & Billiard Room, postcard 1905
Page 47 and 48: Library and Study Postcard 1903 (Ar
Page 49 and 50: Music Room, postcard 1905 - showing
Page 51 and 52: Layout of the Private Floor Porcela
Page 53 and 54: Preserved glass painting entitled Y
Page 55 and 56: Guest Bedroom, postcard 1905 (Archi
Page 57: Reconstructed stencils in the south

North Tower - Schloss Drachenburg

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