Oldest rack railway

Always an experience...

is the grandiose view from Drachenfels down into the romantic Rhein Valley. As a vacation or as a small change during the weekend. The ride on Germany's oldest rack railroad up the mountain and the view of the forested heads of the Siebengebirge with glistening river in the valley are still impressive. In the 19th century, tourist interest in this mountain with its striking ruins and magnificent views began. But soon people noticed how laborious the climb to the 320-meter summit is. Therefore, the permit to build the rack railroad was granted as early as 1881. Since its completion

on July 17, 1883, then still using a steam locomotive, easily transported tourists to the top of the mountain and quickly made it one of the most popular outings in the Rhine Valley. Soon after, a restaurant was built on the summit, which in the 1970s was converted to the style

of that time was expanded with a concrete terrace, which has always drawn criticism ever since. Its demolition began in 2011. The historic part of the restaurant was extensively renovated in 2013 and with a glass cube overlooking

the Rhine Valley expanded. The entire mountain plateau was redesigned on a grand scale and offers visitors plenty of room to linger and enjoy themselves. At the also newly designed middle station one can interrupt the ride on the Drachenfelsbahn, so that a visit

to Drachenburg Castle with the castle park or the Nibelungen Hall with the reptile zoo is possible.