Schloss Drachenburg

Schloss Drachenburg

A palace on the Dragon's Rock

On the slopes of the Drachenfels — the "Dragon's Rock" — above the river Rhine near Bonn, stands one of the most extravagant and fantastical buildings in Germany: Schloss Drachenburg. A wild mixture of towers, turrets, spires, terraces and stained glass, it looks like a medieval castle, a grand villa and a Gothic cathedral all rolled into one. Yet despite its ancient appearance, it was built in just two years in the 1880s.

The dragon's mountain

The Drachenfels has been famous for centuries. According to legend, this was the mountain where the hero Siegfried, of old German myth, slew a fearsome dragon and bathed in its blood to become invincible — a tale retold in the great medieval epic the Nibelungenlied and in the operas of Richard Wagner. A ruined medieval castle already crowned the summit, drawing romantic travellers.

It was on the slopes of this legendary mountain that Schloss Drachenburg was built, adding a new fantasy castle to a hill already steeped in dragon-lore.

Built by a self-made baron

Drachenburg was the creation of Stephan von Sarter, a man of humble origins who had made a fortune in finance, including in the building of the Suez Canal, and was given the title of baron. With his wealth he set out to build a spectacular castle that would announce his success and his romantic tastes.

Built between 1882 and 1884, in the historicist style of the age that freely mixed medieval and other influences, Drachenburg was packed with luxury: grand halls, fine art, beautiful stained-glass windows and modern comforts. Curiously, the baron who built it barely lived there at all.

Many lives

Over the following century Drachenburg had a colourful and sometimes troubled history. It served at various times as a private home, a Christian retreat, a boarding school and a training school, and it suffered damage and neglect, especially around the Second World War. For a while its future looked bleak.

Happily, in recent decades the castle was rescued and beautifully restored, bringing back its rich interiors, stained glass and gardens to their original splendour.

A romantic excursion

Drachenburg sits within a nature park on the Rhine, and reaching it is part of the fun: a historic rack railway, one of the oldest in Germany, climbs the Drachenfels, and visitors can stop at the castle on the way up to the summit ruins and viewpoint. From the heights, the views over the Rhine are magnificent.

Visiting today

Visitors can ride the historic railway up the Drachenfels, tour Drachenburg's lavishly restored halls and admire its stained glass and art, and walk the terraces and gardens with their sweeping Rhine views. The legendary dragon mountain and summit ruins add to the adventure. Extravagant, romantic and unforgettable, Schloss Drachenburg is one of the most spectacular 19th-century castles in Germany.