Discover Oberpleis: gardens, churches and hiking trails

Oberpleis brings together an inclusive garden, Romanesque church architecture and hiking trails. Whether you are interested in gardens and landscapes, want to explore the history of church architecture or compare routes with different themes, local attractions and trails offer a range of ways to shape your trip.

The Provost’s Garden and hiking trails

Behind St. Pankratius Church in Königswinter-Oberpleis, the inclusive Provost’s Garden extends over around 3,000 square metres. It is a “garden for everyone”, for plants, animals and people. The combination of these three elements gives it its distinctive character and creates a focus of its own in the town alongside the churches.

The hiking trails offer different attractions, too. After leaving Oberpleis, the KapellenSchleife – Villages, Chapels & Fruit Growing route passes orchards and visits five of the twelve chapels on the Chapel Hike. Stage 13 of the Bergischer Weg runs along paths through secluded valleys and forests. From the end of the Bergischer Weg stage, a marked 2.5 km access trail also leads to Königswinter-Oberpleis station.

You can distinguish between the routes by their themes: the KapellenSchleife features orchards and chapels, while the Bergischer Weg stage passes through valleys and forests. The marked access trail to the station is a separate landmark to consider when planning. Which landscapes and attractions appeal to you most can help shape the focus of your stay.

Romanesque architecture and church art

The Provost Church of St. Pankratius in Oberpleis is a three-aisled Romanesque pillar basilica with a transept, semicircular apse and hall crypt. It was built as a provost church between 1100 and 1120. The church’s artworks include the Adoration of the Magi relief on the high altar, dating from the 12th century; a decorative floor featuring a depiction of the cosmos from 1220/30; a Vesperbild (Pietà) from the 15th century; and a Felicitas shrine created in 1961 in the crypt. The relief is considered an outstanding work of 12th-century Rhenish sculpture.

The Protestant Church of Oberpleis offers a different architectural accent. It is a listed historic building and a Type D Bartning emergency church, preserved largely in its original condition. Free guided tours may be available by appointment. Oberpleis is therefore home to two very different church buildings, each with its own historical and architectural features.

Other cultural attractions in the wider Königswinter destination

In the wider Königswinter destination, the Petersberg Visitor Centre presents the site’s history in an exhibition divided into five sections. One section focuses on the natural environment of Petersberg; another covers the building’s former role as a guardhouse and its security features. The exhibition and access to the site are accessible. If you have specific access requirements, check the arrangements before your trip. The Rheinsteig hiking trail passes directly by the Petersberg site.

The Brückenhof Museum also adds to the cultural offerings in the wider Königswinter destination. Its permanent exhibition includes an early 20th-century kitchen, a fully equipped shoemaker’s workshop and the “Weilberg” model railway display about the Heisterbacher Talbahn. This narrow-gauge railway ran through the Heisterbach Valley from 1889 to 1950. The museum’s special exhibitions also feature local and association history, as well as works by local artists.

For further historical perspectives, visit the grounds of Heisterbach Abbey, with the choir of the former abbey church and several 18th-century buildings, as well as Drachenburg Castle. The castle was built between 1882 and 1884; in its furnished rooms, visitors can experience the domestic culture of the late 19th century. The Drachenfels Railway is also a useful point of reference in the wider destination: Germany’s oldest rack railway connects Königswinter’s old town with the ruins on Drachenfels.

Choose the right base

If you want the Provost’s Garden, Oberpleis’s churches and the hiking trails described above to shape your stay, focus your search on Oberpleis. If you mainly want to visit the Petersberg site, the Brückenhof Museum or Drachenburg Castle, search within the wider Königswinter destination.

Discover other destinations: Eudenbach.

Back to the main travel overview: Königswinter.