 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Königswinter" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Königswinter | |
|---|---|
 Front of St. Remigius Roman Catholic Church (May 2009) | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Königswinter within Rhein-Sieg-Kreis district  | |
 Location of Königswinter | |
  Königswinter  Königswinter | |
| Coordinates:50°40′25″N7°11′41″E / 50.67361°N 7.19472°E /50.67361; 7.19472 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Admin. region | Köln |
| District | Rhein-Sieg-Kreis |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–25) | Lutz Wagner[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 76.17 km2 (29.41 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 460 m (1,510 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 51 m (167 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 41,642 |
| • Density | 546.7/km2 (1,416/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 53639 |
| Dialling codes | 02223, 02242, 02244, 0228 |
| Vehicle registration | SU |
| Website | www.koenigswinter.de |
Königswinter (German pronunciation:[ˈkøːnɪçsˌvɪntɐ]ⓘ;Kölsch:Köningkswinte;Low Franconian:Keuningswintjer) is a town and summer resort in theRhein-Sieg district, inNorth Rhine-Westphalia,Germany.
Königswinter is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, oppositeBad Godesberg, at the foot of theSiebengebirge. It covers an area of 76.19 square kilometres which makes it the fourth-largest conurbation in the Rhein-Sieg district. It contains over 80 townships and boroughs, divided over themunicipal districts of Stieldorf, Niederdollendorf,Oberdollendorf, Heisterbacherrott, Ittenbach, Oberpleis, Eudenbach, Thomasberg and Königswinter proper.
TheDrachenfels, crowned by the ruins of a castle built in the early 12th century by thearchbishop ofCologne, rises behind the town. From the summit, which can be accessed by theDrachenfels Railway, there is a view celebrated byLord Byron inChilde Harold's Pilgrimage.[3]
Acave in the hill is said to have sheltered thedragon (German:Drachen) which was slain by the heroSiegfried. The mountain is quarried, and from 1267 onward supplied stone (trachyte) for the building ofCologne Cathedral. TheSchloss Drachenburg, built in 1883, is on the north side of the hill.[3]
ThePetersberg mountain also overlooks Königswinter. This was formerly the home of anAugustinian and, later,Cistercianmonastery. Around 1195 the monks moved to the foot of the mountain and founded theAbbey of Heisterbach, which was destroyed in 1803. The ruins can still be seen.
Today the peak of the Petersberg is occupied by theHotel Petersberg, a grand hotel which serves as a guest house for the German Government. Many world leaders have stayed there, and conferences are regularly held. Like the Drachenfels, the Petersberg was once served by its own railway, thePetersberg Railway, but this closed in 1958 and the hotel is now reached by road or helicopter.
Königswinter has aCatholic (St Remigius) and a Protestant church, some small manufactures and a little shipping. It has a monument to the poetWolfgang Müller.[3]
The town is served byKönigswinter andNiederdollendorf stations on theRhine East Bank Railway betweenCologne andWiesbaden, as well as by several stops on line 66 of theBonn Stadtbahn, which takes a different route through the town. The tourist-orientedDrachenfels Railway does not connect direct with either of these lines but instead relies on asteam-outline road train for connection to the town centre and stations.[4]
Several ferries cross theRhine between Königswinter and Bad Godesberg on the west bank.
Königswinter istwinned with:[5]
Cleethorpes, United Kingdom
Cognac, France
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Königswinter".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 896.
Königswinter travel guide from WikivoyageTowns and municipalities inRhein-Sieg-Kreis | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
