Rhine Valley
Placed in the romantic Rhine Valley – the heartland of the old Holy Roman Empire - Bad Honnef is the starting point for a lot of excursions along the Rhine and also not far away from the cultural events in Bonn or Cologne. Bad Honnef enjoys an enviable location between Siebengebirge National Park and the Rhine River. In this area, the Rhine cuts deeply through Rheinisch slate mountains, meandering between hillside medieval castles and steep fields of wine to create a magical mixture of beauty and legend.
A procession of famous villages, towns, castles, and fortifications hugs the river’s bank. Among them there are the cities of Linz and Bad Hönningen, the legendary ‘Drachenfelds’ (Dragon Rock) Castle, ‘Schloss Drachenburg’, and the city of Koblenz, where the ‘Vater Rhein’ (Father Rhine) is joined by his loveliest daughter, the Mosel River, to rush together - powerful and broad - towards the sea.
Not far away from Bad Honnef, visible for miles around and steeped in legend, Dragon Rock Castle is one of the most significant early castles in the Rhine Valley. In a declaration dated 1147 Archibishop Arnold of Cologne stated that he had built the tower and part of the other buildings and transferred the castle to the Cassius Foundation in Bonn to protect its property in the region. The ruin and its restaurant can be reached on foot, by donkey or with the lovely rack railway. Located below ‘Drachenfels’ (Dragon Rock) Castle, ‘Schloss Drachenburg’ is an important example of historicist architecture. Although was build in the late 19th century (1882-84), the style of ‘Schloss Drachenburg’ is modeled on medieval castles. One of the most outstanding features of the magnificent interior is the colorful stairwell with many large historical paintings.