Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust
The Augustusburg and Falkenlust castles in Brühl are considered masterpieces of the rococo. They were developed in the 18th century for Clemens August, the archbishop and worldly ruler of Cologne.
Construction of Augustusburg was started in 1725. First Johann Conrad Schlaun was appointed as architect, but August wanted something more modern and after 3 years hired Francois Cuvilliés. He made the castle into what it is now, with a lot of help of other artists like Balthasar Neumann who is responsible for the magnificent marble staircase.
Nearby Falkenlust was built as a hunting castle. The responsible architects here were Cuviliés and Leveilly. Also worth mentioning is the garden of Augustusburg. It was designed in Versailles-style by the Frenchman Dominique Girard.
Rococo .
Visit November 2002
Brühl is a little town near Cologne that is famous for its amusement park 'Phantasialand'. I drove 2,5 hours from my home to see the castles though.
After I arrived I first did a guided tour of the Augustusburg Castle. There I learned about the mighty Clemens August, who ruled a large part of northwestern Germany in the 18th century. One of his hobbies, besides hunting, was building castles. It cost him so much money that after his death all the furniture had to be sold to pay the debts. But the fine rococo palaces are still standing. In Augustusburg you really should see the staircase, by which Clemens August meant to impress the humble visitors that came to see him.
The other castle that is part of this world heritage site, Falkenlust, is being restored at the moment. It's a lot smaller, but in nice quiet surroundings. The small chapel in the woods to the right is also very pretty.
More photos can be found in the Picture Gallery
Reviews
Klaus Freisinger (Austria):
On a cold and very rainy day I took the subway out of Cologne to the small town of Brühl to tick off another WH site. The bad weather had one advantage - I had both palaces completely to myself. Apart from that, they are not particularly remarkable, and the 5-kilometre walk to Falkenlust and back was not really worth it. Augustusburg is a nice enough Baroque palace, but I have seen plenty of those already. There was an interesting exhibit on state visits to Germany, though, when I was there. When nearby Bonn was still the capital, all foreign heads of state were grandly received at Augustusburg. Now everything takes place in Berlin, and this palace once again enjoys its traditional tranquility. |
| |
Adrian Lakomy (Slovakia):
 This castle is located in nice garden enviroment. The castle Augustusburg is very luxurious, i was quite curious how could anyone had lived in such a place. Every room is different and quite kitsch - mixture of chinese ornaments with blue dutch tiles looks quite strange. Staircase is beautiful and very impressing. The music room has a nice story - the ruler ate there and the people were honored when they could look at him from the musicians balcony. There is a tour which takes about one hour and i had luck - it was in english. Falkenlust is about 20 minutes from main castle through the gardens. Unfortunately there is reservation needed for this.
Pic: Castle Augustusburg from the front |
| |
Zack Culvert (USA):
 If you want to take a break from the grandeur and majesty of Cologne cathedral, go to the train station next door and take the 15 minute, 3.5 Euro local train to Bruehl to visit this site.
This being high Rococco is so overdone that I wondered if it done as a parody of the period. it is as if someone took the 50 rooms of Schonnbrunn and jammed into the 20 rooms the here. The grand staircase is filled with sculptures and frescoes that should occupy a space three times the size. The faux marble columns put finishing touch on this epitome of camp.
I had to go back to Cologne cathedral for another hour before the stained glass to regain my respect for the German people.
The signs and marking are nearly non-exixtent. I found the visitor center, where the guided tours (only access) started by accident. tours are only in German, with english tape cassette available, all for 4 Euro.
The Falkanburg was not marked or mapped anywhere. I gave up after wondering for an hour byodnthe garden. |
| Date posted: March 2006 |
Ian Cade (England):
 After visiting a fair few mediocre palaces whilst UNESCO hunting, these came as a welcome surprise, they were a lot more lavish than I expected them to be, and the level of decoration was very high. The high point of the two palaces inscribed is Balthasar Neuman’s staircase in Augustusburg, which is stunning. It is everything you expect of Rococo, massively over the top but impressive none the less. The level of decoration continues into many of the other rooms, and is consistently high.
The formal gardens (pictured) and forest are very nice to walk around and lead you to the hunting lodge Falkenslust. On the way there as it was a national holiday in Germany there was a man demonstrating Falcon keeping, which added a nice authentic touch to the surroundings. The walk was very nice, though a little longer than I thought, but it helped to clear my hangover!
Brühl is very close to Cologne about 20 minutes by train, and Augustusburg’s grounds begin on the other side of the road from the station, it was well worth the trip out from Cologne. The castles are closed on Mondays. |
| Date posted: October 2005 |
Marcel (Germany):
It's a one hour drive away from the town I'm living in and so two friends and me went there spontaneously in February 2005. Of course the parks weren't full of flowers and the water in the ponds/fountains was frozen, but it anyway was amazing and didn't take away any of the castles' glance. Both castles are masterpieces of their kind! |
| Date posted: July 2005 |
Martha Wiley (USA):
I enjoyed this castle and its smaller hunting lodge. When I was there, the lodge at Falkanhurst was open, although the exterior was being restored. The building was small enough that I could imaging actually living in it. The staircase walls are tiled in amazing blue and white patterns, all handmade and definitely worth looking at. It takes a few minutes to walk over to Falkanhurst from the main castle, but worth the walk (it's flat, through the formal gardens, a forest and then across some agricultural land).
The main castle is only viewable on a tour. If you call ahead you can find out when they offer a tour in your language, or they have audioguides in different languages that you carry with you on the regular German tour. The staircase is pretty impressive, all Baroque and curly and ornate. One wing of the castle is used for exhibitions and performances, so you can schedule your visit around what's showing.
We arranged a weekend in Cologne and hit this one, Aachen and the Cologne cathedral in one weekend. |
| Date posted: July 2005 |
Have you been to Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at Brühl? Share your experiences!
Add your own review
