How high do you think this Aussichtsturm Haus Heisterberg is? Ten and a half meters high that’s quite impressive for an observation tower. It stands here on the Kellerberg a part of the Petersberg overlooking the Rhine Valley and Bonn itself. The Aussichtsturm Haus Heisterberg is much more than just a pretty tower. It’s a silent witness to centuries of history.
Originally this spot was a vineyard belonging to the Heisterbach monastery. Back in 1329 it was called Pfaffenröttchen meaning a clearing made by the monastery’s priests. It covered just two Morgen a traditional unit of land measurement. Can you imagine the scale of that vineyard? It produced enough grapes to fill the glasses of many a monk.
After the secularization in 1803 the vineyard became state property. Then in 1823 the Prussian state sold it to Geheimrat Rehfues a curator at the University of Bonn. Rehfues turned it into a country estate. Famous writer Ernst Moritz Arndt even visited. He described Pfaffenröttchen as a charming paradise garden hidden in bushes open only to the southwest overlooking the Rhine the valley and Bonn.
In 1860 the Wuppertal factory owner Albert H Caron bought the place. He renamed it Haus Heisterberg and transformed it into a magnificent estate. He commissioned architects Oppler and Ferdinand Schorbach to create a manor house a mausoleum a rose garden and of course this very Aussichtsturm. The tower which was built in 1871 is a masterpiece of design.
The estate changed hands several times. Industrialist Ottmar Edwin Strauss owned it for a while. Later it became a children’s home. Then in 1953 the Landschaftsverband Rheinland took over turning the estate into an educational center. The original manor house was damaged during World War II and later demolished. However the Aussichtsturm survived.
In 2017 the JUFA Group took over transforming Haus Heisterberg into a hotel. Nowadays a cafe open to hikers welcomes guests with coffee cake and local wine.
So next time you climb the Aussichtsturm Haus Heisterberg remember you are standing on layers of history. From a humble vineyard to a grand estate to a children’s home and now a hotel this tower has witnessed it all. And it continues to offer magnificent views. Enjoy the panorama.