Augustusburg Palace

Interesting facts

The palace replaced a moated castle begun in 1284 by the archbishops of Cologne as a bulwark against the city, which French troops blew up in 1689.

Because the foundations of the old castle were reused, the window axes of the side wings are not perfectly symmetrical.

Balthasar Neumann's staircase, built from 1740 to 1746, culminates in a gilded bust of Clemens August set on the main wall beneath a ceiling fresco by Carlo Carlone.

Although work started in 1725, fitting out the palace dragged on until 1768, outliving its patron Clemens August, who died in 1761.

Unusually for the time, the showpiece parterre lies in front of the south wing rather than the main facade, which faces the town.

A bomb in October 1944 destroyed a third of the north wing, taking with it the music cabinet and a lacquered cabinet in the Indian style.

Falkenlust has a viewing platform on its roof, from which the elector and his guests could follow the flight of the falcons over open hunting ground.

The staircase at Falkenlust is lined with Dutch tiles from Rotterdam, while its ceiling painting shows scenes of falconry.

In 1760 Giacomo Casanova hosted a gala dinner at Falkenlust for the wife of a Cologne burgomaster and other ladies of Cologne society.

A two-storey Chinese House about 60 metres wide stood in the park from 1747 until 1822, when it had become so dilapidated it was pulled down.

Why it is worth it

Augustusburg Palace is a masterpiece of early German rococo, a pale three-winged palace whose state rooms burst into colour behind a calm façade. Its showpiece is the grand staircase designed by Balthasar Neumann, a theatrical ascent of marble, jasper and stucco. In front of the south façade stretches a formal parterre laid out by Dominique Girard, embroidered in box and gravel with fountains and a long mirror pool, flanked by avenues of lime trees. Together with the little Falkenlust hunting lodge in the park, the palace has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.

The patron was Clemens August of Bavaria, a member of the Wittelsbach family and Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, who had the palace raised from 1725 on the foundations of a medieval castle. The architects were Johann Conrad Schlaun and François de Cuvilliés. Cuvilliés also designed Falkenlust, built between 1729 and 1740 about 1.5 km to the south-east along a diagonal avenue: a compact two-storey country house, modelled on the Amalienburg in the park of Nymphenburg, flanked by low wings in which the elector kept the falcons for his favourite sport. Part of the original formal gardens was reshaped in the 19th century by Peter Joseph Lenné as an English landscape park.

The main block is built of brick finished in roughcast plaster, with orangeries attached to the north and south. Because Brühl lies close to Bonn, the Federal Republic used Augustusburg from shortly after the Second World War until 1994 for state receptions given by the German president. The palace and park also host the Brühl Palace Concerts. Brühl is a small town in the Rhineland between Cologne and Bonn, and the palace stands at its centre.

Getting there

The palace is in central Brühl, a few hundred metres from Brühl station on the West Rhine Railway, served by regional trains between Cologne and Bonn. The nearest airport is Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN), about 17 km away.

Augustusburg Palace

Interesting facts

Why it is worth it

Getting there

Plan your visit

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