The Rheinburg is a castle-like villa in Koblenz. It is located in the Ehrenbreitstein district and dates back to the Klausenberg fortification, which was built as part of the Ehrenbreitstein city fortifications between 1827 and 1833. This caponier thus belonged to the Niederehrenbreitstein system of the Prussian fortress of Koblenz.
History
Klausenberg fortification:
The Klausenberg fortification, also known as the Klausenberg Tower, was built between 1827 and 1833 as part of the construction of the Prussian city fortifications on the western slope of the Arzheim Heights in the east of the city of Ehrenbreitstein. The fortification was adapted for use by troops in 1850. When the gaps in the crenellated wall around the city were closed in 1854 and 1856, the caponier was integrated into the city fortifications. After the fortifications were abandoned in 1890, the city of Ehrenbreitstein bought the fortifications in 1892/93 and tried to sell them again in the following years.
Villa Rheinburg:
The building was publicly auctioned in 1898. The bid was won by Colonel Wilhelm von Bötticher from Bremen, who had it converted into the castle-like Villa Rheinburg, incorporating the fortress building. After the parents' death, their daughter Helene Bornhausen took over the villa, which remained in the family's possession until 1978. The Rheinburg is still privately owned to this day and was rebuilt several times in the 20th and early 21st centuries, but its romantic appearance as a castle was never lost.
Building (Klausenberg plant):
The caponier was a one-story casemated building with a total of nine gun loopholes. The front was semicircular and facing east. A semicircular stair tower led to the roof of the building, which could be used as a gun emplacement. The entire caponier was surrounded by a dry moat. It was connected to the city via a crenellated staircase.
When the Klausenberg plant was converted into a castle-like villa on the plateau, a multi-part, staggered structure with stepped gables, gable and hipped roofs and half-timbered projections was created. The stair tower was designed with a kind of battlement and a conical roof.
The Rheinburg is a protected cultural monument and has been part of the UNESCO Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage Site since 2002.