Advertisement
Published: April 23rd 2010
Edit Blog Post
My cousin, Sachi had suggested visiting Bruhl while we were staying in Cologne. She had a day off from her study and placement programme at one of the theatres on Sunday, 10 June. We therefore made journey for Bruhl.
Augustusburg Palace
The most famous building, Schloss Augustusburg, was next to the station. There were rows of flags of different countries standing on the pavement. As we approached the house on the pavement, we could see the policemen standing in front of the house, and it made us feel that the house might be closed. However, we realised that they were the models of security officers. Looking at many countries' flags hoisting, together with the models of security officers, I felt that the mansion with apricot coloured facade should have historical significance, as well as being added to UNESCO cultural world heritage list.
The entrance was situated on the western side of the house. After paying for the admission charge, i.e. 5 Euro, we started looking round the house. The entrance door was carefully monitored by the usher who checked us if we had bought the tickets to enter the house. We were invited to view the state rooms,
e.g. Drawing Room, Study Room, Meeting Room, etc which were furnished with intricate pieces of rococo work, golden and silver tableware, and furniture, and some big pieces of China. There was a sizeable portrait of Clemens August who resided at the palace and hugely influenced the history and architecture of the property in Bruhl. The red carpet corridor led us to the staircase which was decorated with marble statues, elaborate plasterwork, baroque paintings, and rococo style artwork. There was a model of the main entrance gate and official car displayed. There were models of heads of state, e.g. Queen Elizabeth 2nd, Gorbachov, Ronald W Reagan, George Bush, Akihito, standing on the staircase. The house was used for international meetings, conferences, and banquet feasts presented by the head of the state between 1949 and the 1980s. The most lavishly decorated space, the staircase, was the main entrance for the Very Important People. As a consequence, the models of security officers were not displayed randomly but showed the historical sequence.
Queen Elizabeth the 2nd who visited Augustusburg in 1965 and 1979 was arguably the most famous and favourite guest. There were numerous articles and photo of her in the exhibition rooms.
There was the display of the personalised toilet which was used by herself.
One of the highlights of Augustusburg Palace was the banqueting room where head of the states were having four or five set courses with exclusive table sets and cutlery. There was no kitchen facility in Augustusburg Palace. The banqueting dinner was prepared, conveyed, and washed up by one of the specialist catering companies based in Bonn. We read the details on the description panel and models of people carrying different types of tablesets and food from the ground floor to the dining room.
There was an immense collection of accessories, night dresses, tablesets, stationery, which the residents and visitors used for private life and official meetings, and piles of memorabilia e.g. German teddy bears, collection of seashells & minerals displayed in the cabinets and cupboards.
Augustusburg showed us comprehensive work of art in the rococo period, which was commissioned by Clemens August, and conveyed the period when the palace was used for representational purposes.
Unfortunately, there weren't English guide books or leaflets in the shop. I bought some postcards.
Baroque Garden and woodland
Next, we decided to explore an enormous baroque garden, which
was created by Dominique Girara from 1728 onwards. Colourful annuals had just been planted on the borders, which enclose the fountain and decorative laurel hedges. The fountains were not in operation. We stood and took photos around the big rectangular fountain lake with the background of Augustusburg Palace.
We found the footpath in woodland leading to south direction, and continued walking on. It was very cool and peaceful to walk in the woodlands. We spotted the direction to Falkenlust, which is another palace in Bruhl. We were walking on the southeast direction from Augustusburg. There were quite a few walkers and cyclists on the woodland trail. Falkenlust was a bit further away from the town. Following the signposts, we walked on the tarmac pavement beside the country road and railway, and took on the ground trail. We saw German trains and freight trains running across the green field periodically, while we were walking in the woodlands.
Falkenlust
After rambling along the tree avenue, the white building appeared in our sight. We entered the apricot bungalow, which was standing next to the main house. Unlike Augustusburg Palace, we were provided the English guide board with details of the furniture, paintings, and ornaments displayed at each room. Falkenlust was used as a private retreat for Clemens August. There was a picture illustrating Augustusburg and baroque Garden in the 18th century. The residents and aristocrat families were riding horse carriages and getting on the boats with golden sedan rooms.
Falkenlust offered a very peaceful and relaxed atmosphere. As the name of the house suggested, almost of all paintings, pictures on vases, screens, tiles and tapestries had falcons, and we felt that Clemens August must have really been fond of falcons. It was even surprising to see the crystals attached to chandeliers and they were shaped like falcons. The maintenance of the historical house is understandably one of the most painstaking tasks. We were asked to wear big slippers with our shoes whilst looking round the main rooms lest the floor gets damaged by dust, rain, spiked shoes, or high heels.
It was at 2.30 when we finished looking round the Falkenlust. We weren't keen on the Italian Restaurant near the house. We therefore decided to go back to Augustusburg. As a typical German life we had sausage with mustard and bread for our snack.
Summer gardens around Augustusburg
After the lunch, we began exploring the north side of Augustusburg Palace. There wasn't much interest in north side. When we reached the edge of the town centre, we found the entrance for the orangery of Augustusburg. After walking past there, we arrived at the Knot Garden. It was just the right time to marvel at old roses (pink, white, red, and orange) on the borders. In addition to roses, there were laurel topiaries which were positioned in an orderly manner. There were also dozens of annuals, e.g. begonias, sages, geraniums, marigold etc. Aquatic plants e.g. waterlilies were also blooming on the water garden. We truly enjoyed the summer garden around Augustusburg Palace.
Sachi left with us around 4pm. We strolled through the town centre. Many cafes were opened, and the High Street looked quite bustling on Sunday afternoon. The tourist information centre was opened. We picked up English information leaflet for Augustusburg.
We walked past Max Ernst Art Gallery on the way back to the station. Sadly, we were a bit too tired to visit there.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.151s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 15; qc: 57; dbt: 0.0994s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb