The Drachenfels is
a mountain 321 metres (1,053 ft) in the
Siebengebirge mountain range between
Konigswinter and Bad Honnef in Germany.
The
ruined castle atop the mountain, built between 1138 and 1167
by Archbishop Arnold I of Cologne bears the same name and was originally intended for the
protection of the Cologne region from any assault from the south.
Originally it consisted of abergfried with
court, chapel and living quarters for servants. The castle
was slighted in 1634, during the Thirty Years' War, by the
Protestant Swedes and never rebuilt. As a strategic asset it had
outlived its usefulness. Erosion due to the continued quarrying
undermined much of the remains and only a small part is left today as shown on
this card.
The
rock, like the rest of the Siebengebirge, is formed by the remnants of a
volcano and has been the site of a trachyte quarry since Roman
times, which, amongst others delivered the building material for
the Cologne Cathedral. Of all the mountains in the Siebengebirge, it's
closest to the river Rhine, which facilitates easy transport by barges,
thus making it an excellent place for a quarry. This ended in 1836, when
the Prussian government bought the quarry. In 1922 the first
protection measures were put in place and in 1956 the site was declared a
national park.
Thank
you Kathrin for this card.
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