Königswinter (; ; Low Franconian: ) is a town and summer resort in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Geography

Königswinter is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, opposite Bad Godesberg, at the foot of the Siebengebirge. 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 the municipal districts of Stieldorf, Niederdollendorf, Oberdollendorf, Heisterbacherrott, Ittenbach, Oberpleis, Eudenbach, Thomasberg and Königswinter proper.

Main sights

Drachenfels

The Drachenfels, crowned by the ruins of a castle built in the early 12th century by the archbishop of Cologne, rises behind the town. From the summit, which can be accessed by the Drachenfels Railway, there is a view celebrated by Lord Byron in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.

A cave in the hill is said to have sheltered the dragon () which was slain by the hero Siegfried. The mountain is quarried, and from 1267 onward supplied stone (trachyte) for the building of Cologne Cathedral. The Schloss Drachenburg, built in 1883, is on the north side of the hill.

Several ferries cross the Rhine between Königswinter and Bad Godesberg on the west bank.

Twin towns – sister cities

Königswinter is twinned with:

  • Cleethorpes, United Kingdom
  • Cognac, France

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Image:Sankt Remigius Koenigswinter 1850.jpg|Lithography of St. Remigius (August Karstein, 1850)

File:Jugendhof Rheinland Koenigswinter.jpg|Homes in Königswinter

File:Koenigswinter Rathaus.jpg|Königswinter town hall

File:Königswinter from Drachenfels.jpg|Königswinter viewed from the Drachenfels

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References

  • Official site
  • View at Terraserver