Königswinter

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The title of this article contains the character ö. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Koenigswinter.

Coordinates: 50°41′N 7°11′E

Königswinter
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Administrative region	Cologne
District	Rhein-Sieg-Kreis
Population	43,678 (2005)
Area	76.19 km²
Population density	573 /km²
Elevation	51-460 m
Coordinates	50°41′ N 7°11′ E
Postal code	53639
Area code	02223, 02244
Licence plate code	SU
Mayor	Peter Wirtz (CDU)
Website	koenigswinter.de

Königswinter is a town and summer resort in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, opposite the “Federal City” Bonn, at the foot of the Siebengebirge. Königswinter is twinned with the English town of Cleethorpes.

The romantic Drachenfels (1010 ft.), crowned by the ruins of a castle built early in the 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 magnificent 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 castle of Drachenburg, built in 1883, is on the north side of the hill. Königswinter has a Roman Catholic (St. Remigius) and an Evangelical church, some small manufactures and a little shipping. It has a monument to the poet Wolfgang Müller. Near the town are the ruins of the Abbey of Heisterbach.

The town is twinned with Cleethorpes in the United Kingdom.

[edit] References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

[edit] External links

• 

• Website of Königswinter