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Start: Rottbitze
(S) From Rottbitze, we return to the Kölner Weg at the pumping station near Windhagen-Rederscheid, turn right and continue our hike, following the K. We quickly reach Rederscheider Straße. Hikers arriving by car can start the stage here. We cross Rederscheider Straße and walk along the edge of the forest on the right. At the second fork, the K turns left. A little later, we have to cross a small stream. The tree-lined path then climbs slightly uphill and curves in a wide arc to the right towards Schweifeld.
(1) There we meet the K24, Schweifelder Straße, turn right and walk about 200 metres to the nearby forest.
(2) Just before the forest, we leave the K24, walk 10 metres to the right onto a dirt road, but immediately turn left into the forest. The path winds its way through mixed forest and rejoins the K24. We continue along the K24, cross the L253 and continue our march on a forest path towards Kreuzeiche, where we come to the Walther-Lauffs-Hütte.
(3) Before reaching the Kreuzeiche, turn right onto Stellweg. Stellweg runs straight through the forest.
(4) However, after about 800 metres, the Kölner Weg branches off to the left of the Stellweg at a stone signpost. (The hike can be shortened by 2.4 kilometres by continuing straight ahead on the Stellweg, which later rejoins the Kölner Weg However, we follow Kölner Weg. After a right-hand bend, the path descends into the Mucher Wiesental valley, but we do not walk into it.
(5) At the Mäckihütte, we turn right in a hairpin bend. Now the path climbs steeply uphill on an asphalt road. In a long left-hand bend, the path climbs towards a small plateau in a hollow between the Mittelberg (352 metres) on the left and the Broderkonsberg (378 metres) on the right. Soon, the Himmerich, a 366-metre-high latite mountain, rises up in front of us like a wooded hump.
(6) We approach the mountain and reach a crossroads. However, the K turns right.
However, it is advisable to turn left here and make a detour of 600 metres to the Himmerich. A small asphalt road leads uphill through a wooded area to a plateau below a steep rock face. The summit of the Himmerich rises about 35 metres above the plateau. From here, you have a wonderful view of the Rhine Valley and the Radom near Berkum. If you look to the right, you can see the Löwenburg and the Drachenfels.
The steep wall of the Himmerich bears witness to the former quarry and the intensive mining of latite, a volcanic rock named after the central Italian region of Latium. It also occurs on the island of Stromboli and in the French Massif Central. The stone was used as a building material, for example in the construction of Heisterbach Abbey in the Siebengebirge.
We return to the fork, follow the K straight ahead and reach the Floriansteiche, originally fire ponds.
(7) Today, the ponds serve to protect rare plants and animals.
(8) A little later, we cross the Drei Eichen intersection and march uphill again.
(9) At a stone signpost, we turn left towards Löwenburg and find ourselves back on the Stellweg. We have reached the huge forest area of the southern Siebengebirge.
The Westerwald merges almost imperceptibly into the Siebengebirge. According to legend, it was created when seven giants dug a passage for the Rhine and knocked off their spades when they had finished their work. What fell from the giant spades is said to be the seven mountains we see today. Geologically, however, things happened differently. Around 28 million years ago, huge quantities of ash and loose rock were ejected from one or more volcanic vents, which over time solidified into a relatively soft rock known as tuff. At various times, different types of molten rock, such as trachyte, latite and alkali basalt, penetrated this tuff mountain from below. They cooled and also solidified.
Water and wind eroded the mountains over millions of years, exposing the harder rocks, the Härtlinge. The cone- and dome-shaped mountains gradually emerged from the older tuff cover. And what nature did not achieve, man completed within 2,000 years by permanently changing the appearance of the Siebengebirge through numerous quarries. The history of this mountain range is therefore also the history of stone cutting. - Finally, 450,000 years ago, the Rhine began to cut into the slowly rising Rhenish Slate Mountains between Bingen and Bonn, forming the fascinating Middle Rhine landscape we see today.
However, the origin of the name Siebengebirge is not entirely clear. The name can most likely be traced back to the old German word "Siefen", which means a damp valley.
(10) Further along the trail, we come to the L144, which we cross at the Kohlstraße stop to reach the Reisberg car park. The Kölner Weg then winds gently up and down to the Frühmesseiche.
(11) Here we come to the Wehrhütte. The Kölner Weg turns half-left here and winds slowly higher and higher through a beech forest. To the right, the slope rises steeply and to the left, a wooded slope descends deep into the valley. After a while, we reach a spot with a view of the hiking trail we have covered.
(12) From here, it is not far to the Löwenburger Hof, a popular restaurant below the Löwenburg.
From the Löwenburger Hof, it is worth making a detour of about 1.4 kilometres to the Löwenburg by turning left and walking towards Löwenburg. A narrow path leads up to the summit. Deep below us, the silver ribbon of the Rhine glistens, and the chain of mountains stretches all the way to the Drachenfels.
The name of this second-highest mountain in the Siebengebirge has nothing to do with a lion, but is probably derived from the word "Lewen", which means "elevation" or "height". The ruins of the Löwenburg crown the summit of the mountain. The castle was built around 1200 by the Counts of Sayn. It served as a border fortress against the Archbishopric of Cologne and its castles Drachenfels and Wolkenburg. In 1484, Löwenburg Castle became the property of the Duchy of Berg. The castle began to fall into disrepair in the 17th century. From 1980 to 1985, the remaining foundation walls of the castle complex were uncovered and secured. Several information boards show what the castle originally looked like.
The last section of the Cologne Trail begins at Löwenburger Hof, which will provide us with some unusually beautiful impressions. We follow the K and the path now runs below the Lohrberg as a high trail on the slope. To our left, we are again accompanied by a deep slope. Then we pass a memorial plaque commemorating Franz Schultz (1831-1926). He saved the ruins of Löwenburg Castle from complete destruction.
(13) Our path finally heads towards a fork, where we turn left.
(14) Later, we pass the Milchhäuschen restaurant, which is located in the forest on the left. Our hike is now heading towards its final, absolute highlight. A few steps behind the Milchhäuschen, we turn left and then immediately right. Now we walk along a tree-lined avenue towards Wolkenburg, which we do not climb.
A castle once crowned this mountain, but no walls or stones remain to remind us of the castle built in 1118 by Archbishop Friedrich I of Schwarzenberg of Cologne. It is said to have been one of the strongest castles in the whole of the Rhineland and to have been so high up on the mountain in the clouds that only the name "Wolkenburg" (cloud castle) seemed appropriate. Today, even archaeological excavations cannot determine the ground plan of this castle. In the 16th century, the castle fell into disrepair. Until around 1900, the mountain was used as a quarry to extract andesite. This resulted in the summit height being reduced by an estimated 30 metres. Visitors to Bonn's town hall or Brühl Castle can admire the figurative stones, magnificent coats of arms and decorative ornaments carved from Wolkenberg andesite by skilled artists. Even the tiniest details can be carved out of this stone with a fine chisel.
We now make our way along an ancient, stony path towards the Drachenfels and arrive at a small plateau. This was once the site of a Roman quarry.
(15) Shortly afterwards, we reach a crossing asphalt road. The Cologne Trail branches off to the right.
We turn left to make a detour to the 800-metre-high Drachenfels and cross the last section of the Drachenfelsbahn railway over a bridge. On the left, the steep section of the Drachenfelsbahn railway swings up into the sky, so to speak, before ending shortly afterwards at the summit station. A few steps behind the bridge, we turn left and reach the summit station.
Germany's oldest rack railway has been chugging up the Drachenfels since 1883. On the 1,520-metre-long route from the old town of Königswinter, it climbs 220 metres and has carried more than 35 million people to the summit to date. Steam locomotives operated until 1958, but from June 1953, the railway was gradually converted to electric power.
Passing the summit station, we come to the viewing terrace of the Auf dem Drachenfels restaurant. From here, we have an enchanting view to the south. The entire route of today's hike can be traced. In the distance, the Löwenburg, Broderkonsberg and Himmerich mountains are lined up, with the Mittelberg in front and the Asberg a little further to the right.
Looking to the right, we see the two Rhine islands of Nonnenwerth and Grafenwerth. On the other side, the view opens up to Bonn and the Cologne Bay. The two towers of Cologne Cathedral can be seen on the horizon.
The Drachenfelsburg was also built as a border fortress of the Electorate of Cologne against the Counts of Sayn. Construction began in 1138 and was completed in 1167. Today's ruins are all that remain of what was once an extensive fortification dominating the summit of the Drachenfels. The castle was destroyed in 1634.
In the language of more than 700 years ago, the word Drachenfels meant nothing more than "steeply sloping rock", and the slopes are indeed steep. From the Rhine, you can see the wound inflicted on the Drachenfels by the construction of Cologne Cathedral. On 15 August 1248, Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden laid the foundation stone for the Gothic cathedral. The people of Cologne did not have the stones for such a massive construction, but the Drachenfels was located upstream on the Rhine, so the trachyte from the Drachenfels was brought to Cologne by ship and used to build the cathedral. Fortunately, construction of Cologne Cathedral stagnated for around 300 years. It was not resumed until 1842 by the Prussians. However, the Prussians stopped quarrying trachyte at the Drachenfels in 1836 when they bought parts of the mountain. The Domkaule quarry is now a nature reserve, so the Drachenfels remains in its present form.
We return to the fork in the road to hike to Königswinter.
(16) Then we pass the monument to Heinrich von Dechen (1800-1889). The trail now descends steadily.
(17) Then we turn left at a stone signpost and enter a pronounced sunken path.
(18) At another stone signpost, the K branches off to the right and a little later we reach the famous Nachtigallental (Nightingale Valley). Once again, we walk downhill through a sunken path and a beech forest.
(19) Soon after, we pass the Ostermann monument, which commemorates the Cologne composer (1876-1936).
(20) A little later, we reach Königswinter, continue along Bahnhofstraße, cross a railway crossing and immediately turn right towards Königswinter railway station.
(E) This is where the Cologne Trail ends (19.0 kilometres).
From here, we can now explore Königswinter. The town, first mentioned in documents in 1015, lies at the foot of the Petersberg. Worth seeing are the Church of St. Remigius, a late Baroque hall church built in 1779/81, and the Siebengebirgsmuseum.
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