The trip was Aachen & Cologne (Köln) was a whirlwind, hectic one. It was a very short trip and we had much to do. One of the important sites in Köln was infact not in the city, but in the outskirts, in Brühl - the Augustusburg Palace!
One of the rooms' ceiling is dedicated to Flaconry! Make sure to look into the depiction of falcons. Once again rococo styling with real-life, daily-life depiction! One of the important tool of Rococo is stucco - its used to give an extreme 3 dimensionality. The ceiling patterns begin as shallow relief sculptures and proceed to a completely projected, very-high relief, that's almost as good as a stand-alone sculpture that's just attached at one point!!! See the falcons! Half the bird would be shallow relief and the other half is completely projecting out!!!
Pic Courtesy: All non-watermarked photographs - ©UNESCO Welterbestätte Schlösser Brühl. Foto Horst Gummersbach. Photography is not allowed inside the palace, so all photographs of interiors are the official photographs of Augustusburg Palace.
To Get There:
To Get There:
On Google Maps: Augustusburg Palace, Falkenlust Hunting Lodge
Nearest Railway Station: Brühl (4 mins walk from Palace)
Trains are available from/to Cologne (Köln HBF) every 40 mins and the journey is 20 mins.
Trains are available from/to Cologne (Köln HBF) every 40 mins and the journey is 20 mins.
Entry tickets & timings:
Garden: Free; varies from 7:00AM/8:00AM to 5:00/9:00PM in Winters & Summers. More details here.
Both Palaces:Tue-Fri: 9:00AM to 12:00Noon & 1:30PM to 4:00PM; Weekends: 10:00AM to 5:00PM.
Augustusburg Palace: €9, Accessible via guided tours only, which starts every hour.
Falkenlust Hunting Lodge: €7; Self-guided with audio guides
Both palaces are closed completely during December & January.
Garden: Free; varies from 7:00AM/8:00AM to 5:00/9:00PM in Winters & Summers. More details here.
Both Palaces:Tue-Fri: 9:00AM to 12:00Noon & 1:30PM to 4:00PM; Weekends: 10:00AM to 5:00PM.
Augustusburg Palace: €9, Accessible via guided tours only, which starts every hour.
Falkenlust Hunting Lodge: €7; Self-guided with audio guides
Both palaces are closed completely during December & January.
My complete Aachen & Cologne travelogue: coming up soon...
P.S: I was invited by NRW Tourism to experience the region for review purposes, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.