Drachenfels

The Drachenfels ("Dragon's Rock", German pronunciation: [ˈdʁaxənˌfɛls]) is a mountain 321 metres in the Siebengebirge mountain range between Königswinter and Bad Honnef in Germany.

The Drachenfels in 1624 by Matthäus Merian. The slide used to transport the rock from the quarry to the Rhine is shown, as is the (now disappeared) Burg Wolkenburg and an intact Burgfried. The engraving is an advertisement for glass windows

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 a bergfried 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.