Rhineland 2003

My Homeland

Images of the Central Rhineland, 2003

My birthplace
I was born in Brühl, and I still have a soft spot for this city halfway between Cologne and Bonn. Frequently I go shopping there, or go for a walk in the palace's park. Augustusburg palace and the nearby Falkenlust hunting lodge were built here because Brühl was the summer residence of the arch bishops and dukes of Cologne, after their banishment from that city. For many years, Augustusburg was used by the West German government for banquets and other official acts. One should not miss the opportunity to visit these palaces and the surrounding park on a holiday trip to the Rhineland.
Another popular local attraction is located on the outskirts of Brühl. Phantasialand, founded in the 1960s, is one of Europe's biggest amusement parks. What started as a fairy tales forest developed into a huge business, which lures a lot of visitors from Germany and the neighbouring countries to Brühl. If you are travelling with children, a visit to this place is highly recommended.
You can get an excellent meal in Brühl as well - as an example, I'd like to name the Spanish restaurant El Patio, whose owner is a native of Tenerife.

My neighbouring towns
In the immediate vicinity of my home town Weilerswist there are some towns, which are worth a visit. I lived for several years in Erftstadt, namely in the town of Liblar. The city of Erftstadt is made up of various towns, which were incorporated into one entity in the late 1960s. I spent most of my school days in Euskirchen, the administrative center of my home district, which stretches way southwards into the Eifel hills. Part of this district is the old city of Zülpich, founded by the Romans, and used by the Franks as their royal residence in the early middle ages. Not far from Weilerswist, there is the city of Rheinbach, where I spent much of my working life for a couple of years. This city has a very interesting glass museum.

The Eifel
According to tradition, the maternal side of my family is offspring of a family of knights from the Eifel hills. As far as historical proof is concerned, I have my doubts. What might be an indicator of my origin from this region is, that I spend a good amount of time in this low mountain range.
Visitors can't elude neither the rough charme of the Eifel landscape nor the medieval romanticism of its small cities, towns and castles. The densely wooded heights, and the valleys often crossed by creeks mould this sparsely populated region between the lowlands and the Moselle river. The visitor will find a lot of picturesque towns, ideal for short vacations.
The climatic spa of Bad Münstereifel is located in the northern Eifel, and is crossed by a creek. It has an intact, picturesque town centre and is surrounded by a long city wall.
A bit further south there is Blankenheim, the former residence of the once mighty counts of Blankenheim. This picturesque town is dominated by the mighty castle, which nowadays serves as a youth hostel.
Talking about castles: hardly any other region has such a density in castles as the Eifel. Just within 45 minutes from Weilerswist, there are a multitude of castles like Satzvey, Nideggen, Hengebach (City ofHeimbach), Reifferscheid (Hellenthal community) etc. You can be busy for days just visiting castles.
In the western Eifel, there are such pearls as Monschau and the Rur river storage lake.In the east, not too far from the Rhine valley, there is the quaint city of Mayen and the nearby monastery of Maria Laach. Located in the south is the Vulcanic Eifel, with the well known lakes called Dauner Maare.
A particular attraction is the Rhenish Open-Air Museum at Kommern, in the far north of the Eifel. Here are arranged a lot of old buildings from the various regions of the Rhineland, which were re-erected in this place. These buildings were grouped according to their regional origins, and were nicely fitted into the landscape. I'd like to recommend a visit to this museum, which is highly interesting for families with children too.