Wachtberg

Wachtberg is a municipality in the Rhein-Sieg district, of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km south of Bonn. In 2021 the Wachtberg municipality had approximately 20,352 inhabitants.

Geological situation
Wachtberg is located on the left bank of the Rhine between the Kottenforst forest to the north, the Voreifel to the west, the lower Middle Rhine Valley to the east and the Ahrgebirge to the south. The municipality was named after one of its highest points, the Wachtberg, located between Berkum and Villip (extinct for 25 million years, now with a height of 258 m).

Political division
The municipality was formed in 1969 with the Bonn Act (formally Gesetz zur kommunalen Neugliederung des Raumes Bonn, abbreviated as the "Bonn-Gesetz") and merged 13 now incorporated villages:


 * Adendorf (with Klein-Villip)
 * Arzdorf
 * Berkum
 * Fritzdorf
 * Gimmersdorf
 * Holzem
 * Ließem
 * Niederbachem
 * Oberbachem (with Kürrighoven)
 * Pech
 * Villip (with Villiprott)
 * Werthhoven
 * Züllighoven

Until then, most of the villages belonged to the so-called "Amt Villip"; Adendorf, Arzdorf and Fritzdorf were added to the newly founded municipality by the town of Meckenheim. Niederbachem is the biggest village within Wachtberg with 4276 inhabitants (July 2018).

The town-hall is in the village of Berkum, approximately in the center of the area. The Rodderberg mountain is in the east of the Wachtberg district.

Landmarks


Four water castles are still inhabited:
 * Burg Münchhausen (near Adendorf)
 * Wasserburg Adendorf (near Adendorf)
 * Burg Gudenau (near Villip)
 * Burg Odenhausen (near Berkum)

Several water mills are situated on the streams, of which the Broicher Mühle near Villip is in continuous use since 886.

At the top of the mountain Wachtberg there is a cenotaph, built in 1923 by 10 of the 13 villages. The radome near Berkum has a diameter of 49 m.

In contrast to this several villages have ensembles of timber framed houses.