The Petersberg (), formerly known as the Stromberg, is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

in the

Siebengebirge The (), occasionally Sieben Mountains or Seven Mountains, are a hill range of the German Central Uplands on the east bank of the Middle Rhine, southeast of Bonn. Description The area, located in the municipalities of Bad Honnef and Königs ...

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

near

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It overlooks the cities of

Königswinter Königswinter ( ksh, Köningkswinte; Low Franconian: ) is a town and summer resort in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Königswinter is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, opposite Bad Godesberg, at th ...

, on the right bank of the

Rhine The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...

river, and Bonn on the opposite side. Today the peak is the site of the

Hotel Petersberg Hotel Petersberg is a hotel and official guest house of the Federal Republic of Germany, termed the "Bundesgästehaus" (the official title being ''Gästehaus der Verfassungsorgane der Bundesrepublik Deutschland''). It is located on the Petersberg ...

, which serves as a guest house of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south ...

History

There is evidence that humans were already living on the Petersberg in 3500 BC. A ring wall constructed about 1000 BC has been excavated. In 1189, by order of the

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Pala ...

Philipp von Heinsberg,

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Sain ...

monks from the abbey of Himmerod took over an abandoned hermitage built by Augustinians. In 1202 the new

Heisterbach Abbey Heisterbach Abbey (Kloster Heisterbach; also Petersthal, formerly Petersberg) was a Cistercian monastery in the ''Siebengebirge'' near Oberdollendorf in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Petersberg The tradition of its origin is that a knight nam ...

was constructed in the Peterstal, the valley below the Petersberg. The mountain was first known as ''Stromberg'' (as documented in 1142) and received its current name after a chapel dedicated to

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupa ...

was erected on its peak in 1764. In 1834 the area was sold to the merchant Joseph Ludwig Mertens. His wife Sibylle Mertens-Schaafhausen built a summer residence on the Petersberg, and became known as the ''Rheingräfin'' ("countess of the Rhine"). At the end of the 19th century the Nelles brothers from

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

bought the area and by 1892 had opened the Hotel Petersberg, along with the '' Petersbergbahn'', a

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack and pinion, rack rail, usually between the running Track (rail transport)#Rail, rails. The trains are fitted with one or ...

that linked it to Königswinter. In 1912 Ferdinand Mülhens bought the property and the hotel was converted into a spa. Terraces to overlook the Rhine and a new access road were built in the 1930s, whilst the railway closed in 1958. Since the

second world war World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the hotel has served as the headquarters of the

Allied High Commission The Allied High Commission (also known as the High Commission for Occupied Germany, HICOG; in German ''Alliierte Hohe Kommission'', ''AHK'') was established by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France after the 1948 breakdown of the Al ...

for Germany, and as a guest house for the Federal German Government. Many world leaders have stayed there during official visits to Germany. File:Kapelle Petersberg 2.jpg, Chapel dedicated to Saint Peter File:Blick vom Petersberg auf das Rheintal.jpg, Dawn view from Petersberg into Rhine valley, showing the castle ruins on the Drachenfels and the Schloss Drachenburg

External links

* Hills of the Siebengebirge Mountains and hills of North Rhine-Westphalia {{NorthRhineWestphalia-geo-stub