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| Some interesting facts about the Petersberg:
Visitors of the Petersberg can enjoy the beautiful scenery overlooking the Rhein valley, and can even take a walk into the history of the mountain atop of which it sits. Several years ago archaeologists discovered parts of a ring-wall on the plateau that originated from around 100 B.C.. The foundation walls of a five-nave church, built in the 12th Century, can still be seen on the eastern part of the parkgrounds. In 1131 a knight by the name of Walther settled on the mountain to live here as a hermit. At that time the Petersberg was called “Stromberg” (or stream mountain) because of its location near the Rhein river. About 60 years later, Zisterzienser monks from the Eiffel region moved on to the mountain. The “Sankt-Peter” Chapel, renovated over recent years, was originally built in 1764 and is now open to the general public on a daily basis. In 1834 the government sold the domain Petersberg to Mr. Joseph Ludwig Mertens. His wife Sibylle Mertens-Schaaffhausen, also known as the “Countess of the Rhein”, built a summer residence atop the mountain. She played hostess to a number of famous personalities during the 1930s, including Ernst Moritz Arndt and August Wilhelm Schlegel. The first hotel was opened on the Petersberg in 1892, and after the First World War it bacame a health resort which had a world-wide reputation. After the Second World War and until 1952 the Petersberg was used as the Heaquarters of the Allied High Commissioners. Here, on 22nd November 1949, the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of German, Dr. Konrad Adenauer, signed the “Petersberg Agreement” which in most parts restored the sovereignty of the Republic. From 1955 to 1969 the hotel was used as residence for high-ranking state visitors such as Queen Elizabeth II, American Presidents including Bill Clinton, former South African President Nelson Mandela, the former President of the Soviet Union Michail Gorbatschow, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Steigenberger Grandhotel Petersberg Phone: +49 2223 74 – 0
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