Weilberg, Siebengebirge, Königswinter
Nature

Volcanic Origin

The Siebengebirge is of volcanic origin. Here were are at at the geological outcrop at Mount Weilberg,, and abandoned quarry. You can see the different rock formations, and geologically trained people can use it to understand how a region was formed and what it has gone through over millions of years. About 30 million years ago, in the Oligocene and […]

Town gate, city coats of arms Königswinter and Bad Honnef
High and Late Middle Ages

Late Middle Ages

There is a lot to report and above all to see from the late Middle Ages in the Siebengebirge as well. Large parts of Cologne Cathedral were built with stones from Mount Drachenfels; the coats of arms of the Siebengebirge towns Bad Honnef and Königswinter date back to the reigns of those times.

Proterozoic
Nature

Siebengebirge – earth history

The Siebengebirge is about 30 million years old. That’s beyond a human’s imagination, yet in geological terms, earth history, it’s just a blink of the eye. Cenozoic Quartiary Holocene (10,000 years ago – today) Since the beginning of the Quaternary, the plants and animals are similar to ours today, only a few species highly adapted to the Ice Age did […]

Mount Ölberg, view from the loop trail around Mount Lohrberg, Siebengebirge
Around the Ölberg

Ölberg

Mount Ölberg (468 m) is the highest mountain in the Siebengebirge. When you come by car over the A3 Autobahn (freeway, interstate) or over the Kennedy bridge in Bonn, you see it already from far.

Reitersdorf Castle, Bad Honnef-Rhöndorf
Medieval castles

Medieval Castle Reitersdorf

Let us go down from the Siebengebirge to the bank of the Rhine. Here, in Bad Honnef-Rhöndorf, we find the ruins of the small medieval Reitersdorf Castle. Today, the castle is in the middle of the beautiful park Reitersdorf. Count Johann I. Reitersdorf Castle was built around 1270 by count Johann I. von Heinsberg, lord of the Löwenburg. He had […]

Loop hiking trail
Around the Ölberg

Lohrberg

I love Mount Lohrberg, Siebengebirge. Just walk along the loop hiking trail, sit down on a bench and enjoy the fantastic views. If you have come to rekindle with nature and enjoy great views, you will certainly love Mount Lohrberg, too.

Dinosaur at Nassenplatz, Siebengebirge (collage). Dinosaurs Siebengebirge?
Nature

Did the dinosaurs know the Siebengebirge?

The Siebengebirge is over 30 mio. years old. That is unimaginable for us, we are looking for clues. Did dinosaurs live in the Siebengebirge? The Siebengebirge came into being about 30 millon years ago. 30 million years .. this age seems beyond human imagination, yet in the context of earth history it is just a moment. Diplodocus, whom you see […]

Dr. Weyer, Hennef-Blankenberg
Early Modern Age

Early modern period

The stone crucifixes from the 17th and 18th century all along the “Petersberger Bittweg”, the ancient procession way from Königwinter city to the chapel on Mount Petersberg, remind us of the early modern period in the Siebengebirge. . The years that the locals set up these crucifixes correlate with years of wars and plagues in the Rhineland. 

Stahleck Castle, Bacharach
Medieval castles

Castles and Rhine tolls on the Middle Rhine

In this post, we will have a look southward down the Middle Rhine, and speak about Castles and Rhine tolls. Our region is located at the northern end of the Middle Rhine Valley. Speaking in medieval terms, it is on the southern border of the power of the archbishopric of Cologne. Here, four of the seven prince-electors of the Holy […]

Löwenburg Castle, coats of arms
Medieval castles

Medieval castles

Besides the hiking trails and scenic viewpoints, the medieval castles are exciting places to see in the Siebengebirge. Castles Drachenfels, Löwenburg and Rosenau You can visit three of them in one day – Drachenfels Castle, Löwenburg Castle and Rosenau Castle. Yes, the mountains and the medieval castles have the same name, that’s a bit confusing. Moreover, there is Reitersdorf Castle […]