the art nouveau doors of the art forum palastweiher in königswinter.
one day before i turned 30 my parents and i made a trip to königswinter, a smaller city not far away from bonn, a metropolis in north rhine-westphalia. königswinter is well known for its location, down at the foot of drachenfels mountain ( dragon rock mountain ), which is part of the siebengebirge mountain range and overlooking the rhine river. it is known for both the drachenburg palace and drachenfels castle, and by now you are probably wondering why there are so many dragons involved ;) that's because there is a legend that tells of a dragon living in a cave underneath the mountain and constantly spreading terror amongst the citizens living around it. it's said that it was defeated by a christian virgin in white who imposed a cross against it, which apparently disliked this action so much that it perished immediately. you know the drill with these legends ;) the telling of the legend was also taken to create a link to the nibelung saga, an ancient tale of love, treason & blood shedding, though the connection to that legend is very shady and probably belongs to the realms of untruth. apparently, though, people still believe that the song of the nibelungs took place at some point somewhere in the area, which explains why we saw so many references everywhere. the rhine river always held a big part in that story, but the river is long and you can find paraphernalia of the nibelung tale all alongs its coasts.
drachenfels mountain was described in many poems over the century, two of the most famous poets who were inspired by it were lord byron and my beloved heinrich heine. i will include the poems of these prominent poets in this post, you know, just to set a mood ;)
we didn't explore much of königswinter, though, our main destination was the mountain with its expansive views over the rhine landscapes and its two old buildings. we drove up the mountain with a small rack railway - the drachenfels railway. it helps people reach the top of the mountain without having to exhaust themselves, even though you can also hike up ( or down ) if you are inclined and eager to do so.
the day was sunny and lovely, a perfect october day! it helped lighten up my previously slightly somber mood immensely and enchanted the things we visited in a way that made us develop a taste for more. hopefully i'm gonna return to this area in the future, as there is so much to discover ( i'm really interested in bonn for example, which was the capital of west germany during the iron curtain era and still plays an important part in the presence, as it is headquarters of some federal institutions ). and the whole area has some interesting spots to offer, scenic, historic and just plain cool.
before we made our way towards the top of drachenfels mountain, we passed by this beautiful neo-classicistic house that sported some serious ( but subtle ) art nouveau signs. the wilhelm-auguste-victoria house was built from 1910 to 1911 as a welfare house for königswinter citizens, basically a cultural hub that offered courses and pastime activities like painting, playing music or even doing sports. during the reign of the nazis it was a school for the youth, and continued to be one until 1975. from that time on it was converted back to its original determination - to be a forum for the public, with a focus on the arts ( kunstforum palastweiher ).
i liked the subtle use of art nouveau details, especially the main portal.
the view from drachenfels mountain down to the rhine valley. the city down there is bad honnef and not königswinter. it is all very close together, part of a metropolitan region close to bonn.
the castled crag of drachenfels
by george gordon byron
The castled crag of Drachenfels
Frowns o’er the wide and winding Rhine,
Whose breast of waters broadly swells
Between the banks that bear the vine,
And hills all rich with blossom’d trees,
And fields which promise corn and wine,
And scatter’d cities crowning these,
Whose far white walls along them shine,
Have strew’d a scene, which I should see
With double joy wert thou with me.
And peasant girls, with deep blue eyes,
And hands which offer early flowers,
Walk smiling o’er this paradise;
Above, the frequent feudal towers
Through green leaves lift their walls of gray;
And many a rock which steeply lowers,
And noble arch in proud decay,
Look o’er the vale of vintage-bowers;
But one thing want these banks of Rhine,
– Thy gentle hand to clasp in mine!
I send the lilies given to me;
Though long before thy hand they touch,
I know that they must wither’d be,
But yet reject them not as such;
For I have cherish’d them as dear,
Because they yet may meet thine eye,
And guide thy soul to mine even here,
When thou behold’st them drooping nigh,
And know’st them gather’d by the Rhine,
And offer’d from my heart to thine!
The river nobly foams and flows,
The charm of this enchanted ground,
And all its thousand turns disclose
Some fresher beauty varying round:
The haughtiest breast its wish might bound
Through life to dwell delighted here;
Nor could on earth a spot be found
To nature and to me so dear,
Could thy dear eyes in following mine
Still sweeten more these banks of Rhine!
the siebengebirge uplands. they are of ancient volcanic origin ( as is the drachenfels mountain ), and are densely wooded. i would like to name those peaks in the background, but i actually can't determine the right positions anymore.
you can find a restaurant on drachenfels mountain ( consisting of a 30ies and a contemporary building which was erected in 2013 ) and enjoy a bite or two while looking down into the rhine valley. not very far from this restaurant you can also climb up to drachenfels castle, which you can see here ( the tower on top ). the castle is only ruins these days, and it was ruins even back in the middle ages, due to it actually being pretty unimportant in defense aspects. the erection of it happened mainly because of prestigious reasons. the mountain itself was always used as a quarry and yielded rocks for the building of the cologne cathedral.
the drachenfels plateau is a pretty neat space to have a panoramic view onto the surrounding landscapes. i reckon that it's also a splendid place to see the sun rise or the sun set.
since we visited the mountain around noon, the sun was a liiiiittle bit unfavourable for taking photos. the view was still gorgeous.
the view on the other side, into the direction of königswinter ( on the right side of the river ) and on bonn ( left side ). the big tower in the middle is the post tower, which is about 160 meters high, was build by helmut jahn and is the tallest tower germany's outside of frankfurt ( main ). i think in the far distance you can also make out cologne ( the whole region is basically made out of cities ).
better view onto the tower and bonn in general. i really have no clue what else you can see here, since bonn wasn't really on our radar that day.
the tower of drachenfels castle. of course we climbed up the few meters ( about 30 ) to reach the peak of the mountain. it was very crowded up there ( everywhere on the mountain ), but it was still pretty neat, especially because of the view.
a little random something, announcing the railway ( tut-tut! ) i found this on the walk up to the castle.
the view from the castle onto the platform and the rhine valley again.
the night-watch on the drachenfels
by heinrich heine
standing tall.
i always am super in awe when i look at the foundational bedrocks on which many medieval castles were built on. i mean, they basically just incorporated the rocks into the building ( instead of totally blowing them up - like they do today sometimes ).
i wish i could cut that dude out of the picture, but since he's in the shadow it's not so grave after all. here you can see that the ruinous walls are heavily used as a climbing spot for children ( which i think is not that ideal for preservation purposes, but when you are a kid everything is a playground ). and well, as long as everything is still intact and not endangered of a possible collapse, who am i to judge?
when the first yellow leaves can be found on ancient castle walls 💛
back down near the restaurant: a quick selfie with a siebengebirge backdrop. i think the mountain is the ölberg ( oil mountain ), but i am really not sure.
the railway's tracks. the railway itself is driving tourists up to the castle and the restaurant since 1883.
the railway cars. it was a really nice way to get to the top, but down the mountain we decided to walk to reach our next goal, drachenburg palace.
our path to the palace led us past chestnut tree alleys.
and we also passed by this place, formerly a hotel that is now abandoned and in limbo because of planning permissions for a new revitalisation going awry. it is only a few meters away from the majestic and luxurious drachenburg palace.
it's always been called burghof and before it became a hotel and restaurant it was basically an estate building for cultivation and for a very long time as well, at least since the early middle ages. it was part of the drachenburg palace until the concession of the restaurant was up in 1989. since then the whole complex is gradually falling apart, and investors are having a hard time reviving it.
it is a listed building, though, so tearing it down is also quite problematic. the current building had been put into place in 1904 in the style of suisse country houses.
it hurts a bit to see the wooden elements slowly rot away, but i also can't lie, it has a certain charm.
the representative side of the building.
there are apple orchards that surround the former hotel as well. when you look closely, you can see some apples growing.
in front of the drachenburg palace - which i will show you in a sec - there's another stop of the railway and on the railway constructions you could discover some old vintage photos from back in the day, when there were also horses and donkeys involved in the tourist activities. you could rent one of them for 1,50 or 2,00 ( i'm guessing ) reichsmark ( which would be, like, 3 or 4 euro today ). i loved this photograph in particular, because i was REALLY enamoured with one of those lads pictured here.
this one, and yeah, i had to take a close-up. he just really captured me! pretty fly looking dude in my opinion 🙈 it is so strange to look at people who are probably dead, but still you think to yourself: damn, i'd have the hots for this dude if i had been alive back then. i know, i am pretty basic sometimes, lol.
nearing drachenburg palace there was some wonderful autumn action going on.
the gate house of the palace ( which has a modernized middle wing ).
so, here's the deal with drachenburg palace: it is not super ancient, it was built from 1882 to 1884 for one stephan von sarter, a broker and banker turned baron for private purposes, but he never got to live inside it indefinitely. the architects were bernhard tüshaus, leo von abbema and wilhelm hofmann. one might say that a building like this must have at least needed 5 years of construction time, but due to the use of ( back then ) modern equipment like steel and cast iron it could get completed a lot quicker. and well, the money that the baron invested definitely helped, too, he payed 1,8 mio goldmark ( about 9 mio euro roday ) for the whole project ( which is so strange to me, since he never used it for himself? ). to build something that is purely representative of one's wealth and money... but then not use it for at least one purpose... it is a little incomprehensible to me. well, his nephew jakob hubert biesenbach, who bought the palace after the death of sarter, turned the whole thing around and made the place a touristic hotspot for a few years, until, after two more owner changes, it was overtook by a catholic fraternity that used it as a school. this was also not for a very long time, when world war 2 rolled around it was sold to the nazis so they could open up their very own educational institute. by the end of the war the palace was heavily damaged and stayed vacant for a few years until in the 70ies a dude called paul spinat purchased it and finally began to care for the beautiful palace again ( even though he added a few excentric things that were not originally part of the palace - crazy interiors and concrete statues ). the last owner change of the palace happened in the late 80ies when the nrw foundation bought it and took steps to restore and renovate the palace. since then it is open to the public interest as a museum and venue for various social happenings.
as you can see, for only being around approximately 140 years the palace went through a lot of historic ups and downs, but is still going strong today ( thanks to the nostalgia of human beings ).
the palace is an absolutely stunning piece of architecture, inspired by medieval castles, but executed in historicized styles ( that were all the rage back when sarter commissioned the building ). and since it also was really modern for its time, with gas lamps and warm-air heating, it is doubly interesting in terms of industrialization history.
the interiors were wonderful, too! there were so many intricate furniture pieces and rooms full of art nouveau/ historism objets d'art, that i basically squealed in every room i put my head into. and the stained glass windows throughout the palace were truly exquisite! a real fairytale palace, that i can tell you! but let's look at the pictures and let them do the talking:
let's start with the interiors of the palace before we move on to the outside ( am i being a little sneaky? yes i am ). this room was the reception room, a room where visitors and guests were to be greeted before they would or would not get access to the rest of the villa. the windows were originally all made out of stained glass, but world war 2 and the dereliction did its best to let the original work disappear. i think they are in the process to restore the windows bit by bit, so maybe the room will eventually resume to its former glory. the windows should depict women who symbolize the five ( well, 4 only seen here ) senses of the human being.
welcome in the dining room! listen, i fell in love with this room. if a room could be a living entity and that entity would want to steal my heart, it would have to look like this. ( and bauhaus-y as well, but y'all know what i mean ;) ). it was SUCH a show stealer! especially the wood carvings of the furnishings, they are so freakishly beautiful!
a closer look at the dining table.
and the panelled walls and integrated credenza. all the warm brown tones felt so cozy and snug.
das ist der nibelungen not - this is the misery of the nibelungs. this window refers to the legend of the nibelungs, which allegedly happened in the regions surrounding the rhine river. i am not very familiar with the legend, only know the superficial stuff, like that it is a very blood-thirsty and dramatic story and that it is very popular even today ( thanks to a componist called richard wagner - who practically made the whole story immortal ). maybe i'll eventually read up on it more, but until then let the wikipedia page tell you what is most important ;) because the whole legend is a mouthful and i don't think i can do it justice. suffice it to say, the window is a beauty.
you can find this window inside the nibelung room ( which i didn't manage to capture properly ). that room is full of paintings of crucial scenes happening in the story.
this, my dear friends, is basically THE gem of the whole building. it's the window situated in the hall of the arts and it depicts 3 famous painters: peter paul rubens, albrecht dürer & rembrandt van rijn. wilhelm hofmann was responsible for the art gallery and since he had worked with ornamental glass at the cologne cathedral, he brought his skills and knowledge to the construction of the art gallery. the whole gallery was filled with depictions of famous personalities, but many of that work is still missing or is planned to be restored. this windows was restored to its full glory and absolutely charmed anyone that laid eyes upon it, i think.
the art gallery into the direction of the tavern room.
hello albrecht 😍 i have to admit, i do have a little crush on dürer, always had, because his work and artistry is just beyond anything and feels massively groundbreaking for the time he lived in. it doesn't hurt that he seemed to have been a very handsome lad, as well. ( uhm, i don't know about you, but i feel like i'm gushing a little bit too much on dead handsome people lately... lol )
mr. rembrandt at your service. another seminal artist who changed the artistic world in a profound way.
and last but not least, peter paul.
the hall into the direction of the nibelung room.
the tavern room was used as a gentleman's lounge, where men could meet up after they had their official business done. i didn't find it that appealing ( even the paintings on the ceiling were not really to my taste - some classical comedy stuff involving bacchus and ariadne ), but i loved this little sunlit corner of the room.
we returned back to another special room, the hunt and billard room. the fireplace is pure decoration, the whole building was heated with warm-air heating. i love the art nouveau heads on either side of the fireplace!
the big billard table. the lamps remind me so much of bauhaus lamps, but like, a very early prototype.
entering the main staircase with its beautiful marble stairs and lamps. the window was also of stained glass, albeit i didn't capture it well. another mentionable thing here were the monumental paintings on each side of the staircase which depict scenes from german history and also introduce you to several german emperors.
the ceiling of the staircase and lots of the wallpapers were shimmering sort of golden. the effect was created through stencilling, which i personally think of as wonderful. the whole staircase was such a sight to behold, very majestic. the rose window is the only original stained window inside the palace, every other of those windows are just replicas.
a glimpse into the breakfast room. adjacent to this room was the music chamber, which i didn't take photos of, untrustworthy photographer that i am.
this room was the honour guest room for guests who had the privilege to stay overnight or more nights. i originally thought this was made purely for the lady of the house, but it seems that sarter basically gave up on that? ( more about that later ) anyway, anyone who was able to stay here could enjoy a special gimmick, a washing oriel. you could refresh yourself there while enjoying an awesome view over the rhine valley ( we did not get to see it closer, though ). while i do like my interior more dark than light, this chamber was still a very special and lovely one. the wallpaper was absolutely gorgeous with its flower-y motives and the peach colouring with the white elements made it look fresh and upbeat.
i wouldn't want a polar bear rug in my flat, though... poor thing. i liked the chaiselongue though, you rarely see these types of relaxing seatings anymore. they feel luxurious to say the least.
that little corner back there was another fave of mine. that would definitely be my reading spot if i had been the resident in this suite. there was also a living room belonging to the guest room ( which i also didn't take photos of ;P ), but i'm guessing it was quite a pleasureable stay you could have here.
the opening next to the wardrobe led to the washing oriel. oh, this room was so elegantly styled, it was such a delight.
a closer look at the wallpaper full of fantasy plants! i would really like to have one wall of my appartment plastered in this! alien plants are right up my alley!
back to the staircase. otto the first thrones over some lovely golden lady heads.
from where i stood on marble stairs.
and another staircase picture. can i have a 'hell yeah, this is gorgeous?' thank you :)
and now onto the outer parts of the palace! there are gothic and renaissance elements and these details let the palace appear as a fairytale abode. historicized architecture is well known for mixing several ancient styles into a coherent total work of art. baron sarter probably wanted to show the people of the region he came from how a small man can create something big out of his life. he grew up in a poor family and worked himself up in the financial world, ending up buying his title and fame with a lot of money. that he never moved into this palace, but stayed in his adopted country of france, is quite a mysterious thing, though. no one really knows the reasons, especially because he intented to boast about his origins with this building and feigning attachment to his homeland. there are rumours that he built the palace for love, that he intented to move in with a former sweetheart, but since she died before it was ready he never could bring himself to move in. anyway, he seems to have used it to receive prominent guests, but still, that would amount to only a few occassions per year, am i right? he died in a 3-room appartment in paris, definitely NOT in surroundings that were as luxurious as this palace.
these golden stags lead onto the venus patio, which i also didn't take a photo of, but this time because there were some wedding guests frolicking around. as faith had it there was a small wedding going on, and i didn't want to be too disturbing. from that patio you have a breath-taking view over the rhine valley and also, when you look back at the palace, a wonderful view of it, which reminds some people of neuschwanstein castle in bavaria sometimes.
from everywhere you had the best look-out onto the surrounding landscapes. and in a setting like this, who wouldn't want to spend delicious pastimes here? it's a place of the gods!
there were even some gargoyles involved in the game. i loved that the palace basically incorporated three styles here: gothic church, renaissance palace and medieval castle. three important styles. when i think about this building it is definitely apparent that sarter put a lot of thought into what his palace should symbolize. only it seems too much when you consider that it never really was inhabited by him. when someone puts so much detailed thought into a project, shouldn't he at least visited a lot more?
the glorious lamp posts of the balconies were also a really striking element.
hello handsome!
the view on the facade of the venus patio. you can even see the happy couple there, posing for photos. they seemed really low-key and minimal in appearance, which i liked, even though i can't identify with marriage and weddings at all. the contrast of a wedding celebration at an opulent place like drachenburg palace and then doing a really small wedding ceremony, with only about 30 guests, it's a contrast that i can get myself behind, though. if i was rich like that, that would be just my cup of tea, since huge gatherings would still be awful to me, but i wouldn't want to miss the beauty of a fairytale palace. plus, it was a GORGEOUS autumn day, which would totally be the only time in the year i would ever want to be married in ;P
i couldn't get enough of this place.
i mean... look at this please? heart eyes without end 😍 the tower you can see here can usually be ascended, but i think it was closed down when we visited. the view from here down to the river and the adjacent cities was basically unbeatable.
renaissance towers, medieval walls and gothic churches... here you have everything in one picture.
inside the park some cute sculptures greeted you. we didn't explore the whole palace garden, as we wanted to move to another place soon, but what i saw was quite beautiful.
so this was the final picture of the palace grounds, next we made our way to a little bistro to grab a bite and then visit the nibelungenhalle, a place that was built for the only purpose of worshipping the nibelungs and especially richard wagner, creator of the associated musical opera 'the ring of the nibelung'.
on our way there we found some dragons - clues to the legend that there once lived a dragon on drachenfels mountain.
the nibelungenhalle was built in 1913 for the 100th birthday of richard wagner by hans meier and werner behrendt, two architects from berlin and it was basically built to showcase several paintings of the artist hermann hendrich, who created lots of 'ring' related works. it is assigned to the late art nouveau era, which you can see very clearly as the chiseled faces are always a clear indicator of this. inside the nibelungenhalle you can find a collection of paintings dedicated to the nibelung saga and some information on the opera by richard wagner. there's also a hidden surprise that i won't tell yet, and another highlight: a reptile zoo. it's all about dragons and snakes, and saurians here... obviously something to do with a certain mythological creature that's important to the story of the nibelungs.
love the style of lettering!
the inside of the domed structure with all kinds of paintings and memorabilia for wagner's ring cycle. what i found most beautiful was the floor of the building made out of xylolite, depicting jörmungandr ( or the midgard serpent ). the snake is meandering around a hexagram and the earth disc. also worth mentioning is the dome that had 12 stained windows symbolizing all 12 of the star signs. the light going in created lovely beams on the dome's inner surface.
the head of the midgard serpent. she symbolizes the ouroboros, the snake that eats its own tail. what she has to do with the saga of the nibelungs though, i cannot explain to you, other that the original inspiration for the whole saga was norse mythology.
the floor is made out of magnesite screed ( or xylolite ), which is basically cement, sand or in this case magnesite which was spread as a thin layer on top of a concrete structure. after all the years in existence, the floor developed cracks that look like lightnings or veins, and i found this super cool.
a mechanical dragon, probably used in one of the countless opera performances of the ring cycle.
it actually still worked, despite being constructed in ( i'm guessing here ) around the late 20ies or 30ies. it looks like something film makers probably would have used for a silent movie or something. i think i read the info on the ground, but it seems i have forgotten what it wanted me to learn 🙈
my very own libra symbol as a roof light! ♎
we went outside again to go on a special quest, to find the dragon fafnir, and i noticed some more stone heads on the facade. they all show figures of norse gods, dwarfs and the heros of the nibelung saga, but to be honest, i had no clue who was who. my guess for this one is the warrior hagen.
and then we found the hiding spot of the dragon that was said to haunt the drachenfels mountain and slayed by either a virgin or siegfried himself: fafnir. or at least a petrified version of him. a very cute one. and that hiding spot was also so beautifully overgrown!
i like to imagine that this is not the face of a dead dragon, but that he's sleeping, and due to the inability of moving his facial muscles while sleeping his tongue is lolling out, probably even drooling - that's what created the pond around him 😂.
after we bid fafnir goodbye we actually met real life dragons! like i mentioned before, part of the nibelungenhalle is a really small reptile zoo that shows snakes, alligators, crocodiles and everything to do with reptilian animals. this dragon here is a dwarf caiman.
this beautiful yellow serpentine creature is a reticulated python. this colour you can never find in the wild, it can only be achieved through breeding.
what a striking face! 💛 i love snakes, they are such cool animals.
another python, this time a natural coloured one.
a portrait of an indian python.
this little cutie is another dwarf in the crocodile world: a broad-snouted crocodile. it is said to be the smallest crocodile in existence.
one thing that needs to be mentionted about the nibelungenhalle: it is a product of its time back in the 1910s. around that time various esoteric ( and often ethno-nationalistic ) societies were pretty big in the public eye and they used ancient symbols like the swastika ( seen on this door ) for their purposes. the purpose of the nibelungenhalle was exclusively commemorational and the inspiration for it was taken from the norse mythology, but it also shows that the ethno-nationalistic ideas were ingrained deeply into the public consciousness. the saga of the nibelungs, richard wagner's opera, these things were part of a populist agenda back then, that would eventually lead to the take-over of the national socialists under hitler. so, unfortunately, whenever i think of the saga of the nibelungs and everything to do with it, it always brings up the association with the nazi era, or generally the racist ideas of old colonial germany. on its own, the ancient legend is an awesome relict of an age-old time, way back when legends and sagas were formed, but since it was misused for folkish propaganda, the bad taste never really leaves your tongue.
so, whenever you stumble upon architecture like this, no matter how awesome it looks, it never hurts to look at it from a differentiated point of view and learn about why it exists and in which context. i don't support racism and folkish thinking, but still, i can appreciate the quality of the building, recognize it as a contemporary witness of that era and use its existence to learn more about how it all connects together and how these things shaped our country and history. while i do love the art nouveau elements in this building and am quite enamoured with it, it can be said that i do not look at it in complete adoration. i know that it came into being with a special goal in mind, to initiate a sense of national pride - a pride that turned into something toxic. still, i think that tearing it down would also mean an erasement of this history, so keeping it alive and well-kept is necessary in my opinion and these aspects should be high-lighted in the presentation of the architecture.
so, now that i also went a bit deeper into the matter, let's lighten this post up a bit with some last pictures of our way back to our car.
we passed by this closed public swimming pool. the light was gorgeously illuminating what is probably not a great deal usually. it looked tranquil and lost in this light, sweet and nostalgic. the swimming pool was built in 1953, and that seems to increase the charm and feeling of nostalgia even more.
the last picture, non-dramatically concluding this behemoth of a blog post: autumn leaves!
to everyone who read this post and reached the end of it: kudos! it was a big one, i know. i don't apologize, though, because i feel that it also was a good one, filled to the brim with interesting and beautiful things. i can safely say that this trip to königswinter was a wonderful start into my 30th year of being on this earth, despite it happening in a time where something fell appart slowly and in the shadows. but you know what? even though i had a little bit of a hard time back then, looking back now just tells me something different: that autumn and the month of october will always be there for me, in creating long-lasting memories that i LOVE to look back on and in embracing me with its warm vibrancy and lets me feel loved nonetheless, even if that would mean that i am not loved by a human being.
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