The Drachenfels in Königswinter

more than just tourist kitsch

I grew up in Königswinter, a town of approx. 40,000 inhabitants next to Bonn.  It stretches from the Rhine in the west across the Siebengebirge to the east. The Siebengebirge (“Seven Mountains”) consists of more than 40 hills of volcanic origin.  Of the seven hills, which gave the region its name, the highest is the Ölberg with 460m, the smallest is the Drachenfels with 321m.  How it got its name is disputed with various suggestions floating around.

The Drachenfels seen from the Rhine

Siegfried von Westerburg refound in Bonn Minster

The story of a forgotten archbishop

Siegfried von Westerburg, archbishop of Cologne, was buried in 1297 in Bonn Minster, where he seems to have had the unfortunate fate to get forgotten.

Bonn Minster from the north looking west

St Martin in Bonn

Ernemann Sander tells the story of the saint in reliefs at the Bonn Minster 

This time of the year brings a lot of memories of my childhood.  11 November is St Martin’s Day and that’s a very important date in the area of the Rhineland where I grew up with lots of traditions associated with this day.  The story of St Martin is told in four bronze reliefs by Ernemann Sander, set into a wall next to Bonn Minster.