Script in English

Welcome to the Petersberg!
We – that is, the NRW Foundation – would like to welcome you here.

You’re standing in front of a model of our facility. It shows the Petersberg’s summit area and some of its sights. We’re right at the edge of the Seven Mountains. If you compare the Petersberg to the surrounding mountains, you’ll immediately notice how expansive its summit area is. It’s also easy to protect the summit from all sides, making the Petersberg an attractive location to use – both in the past and today. Now, we’d like to spend a few minutes talking about some roles that this mountain has played over the past 2,000 years.

In the centre of the model, you can see the large hotel building that has dominated the Petersberg skyline for over a century (No. 5). It acquired political prominence in West Germany’s early years starting in 1949, when Bonn was named the nation’s capital. You can learn a lot about the history of this period in the building you’re standing in front of (No. 1). It was completed in 1990 when the state-owned Hotel Petersberg was made the federal government’s official guest house. It contained the surveillance centre for the entire facility. Security was also provided by a largely intact fence – indicated by a dashed line in the model. This former guardhouse now belongs to the NRW Foundation and houses the “Petersberg: A Showplace” exhibition. Five rooms contain exhibits detailing the site’s political history, including many spectacular state visits. There, you can also learn about parts of the Petersberg that have been designated a “National Natural Heritage” site.

The hotel has been frequently modernized since 1889 – as you can tell from some striking changes. One change is today’s large car park, which was specifically built for the federal guest house until 1990 so it could be used as a helicopter landing pad if needed (No. 6). Also, a large cupola was added on the Rhine-facing side of the hotel complex in 1990. It now serves as a formal room and is a popular venue for large social events. The seat of the federal government moved to Berlin in 1999, but the entire facility remains federally owned and is operated as a grand hotel.

The Rhine Terrace adjoining the hotel grounds provides the most sweeping panoramic view (No. 7).  From this vantage point, you can see the Rhine River, Bonn, Cologne and the Eifel Mountains as well as the forest that the NRW Foundation manages as a National Natural Heritage site. This is the area labelled “NNE” on the model.

If we travel back in time to before the hotel was built, we will find vestiges of all the history that has unfolded on the Petersberg. The summit once contained a large church that was built in the 12th century. Its foundations are still preserved on the original site (No. 2). The church and mountain belonged to the Cistercian Heisterbach Abbey, located at the base of the mountain, for 600 years. The monks built a new baroque chapel right by the church in 1764 (No. 4). The mountaintop plateau remained a Christian pilgrimage destination for centuries. “Prayer paths” dotted with wayside crosses hark back to this tradition. You can find one of these stations on the model, right by the chapel (No. 3).

However, the most ancient traces of human settlement are located right next to today’s Rhine Terrace: A massive, at least 3-meter-high and 3-meter-thick ring wall protected the entire mountaintop plateau over 2,000 years ago (No. 8). The remains of the wall form a bulge in the ground that parts of the security fence still stand on.

Do you want to learn more about the Petersberg and its history? Then come see the exhibition at the former guardhouse or pull up the Lauschtour app for a roughly one-hour audio tour of the real-life highlights. You’ll learn more about how to download and use the app in the exhibition entrance area.

Have fun discovering and learning more about the Petersberg!

 

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