ROLANDSECK  , a

village of Germany, in the Prussian Rhine province, delightfully situated on the left bank of the Rhine, 8 m. above Bonn, with a station on the railway Cologne-Coblenz . The place consists almost entirely of villas and is a favourite 'summer resort . Crowning the vine-clad hills behind it lie the ruins of the castle, a picturesque ivy-covered arch, whence a fine view is obtained of the Siebengebirge and the Rhine valley as far as Bonn . Immediately below Rolandseck in mid-river is the island of Nonnenwerth, on which is a nursing school under the conduct of Franciscan nuns, established in 185o . The convent which formerly stood here was founded in 1122 and secularized in 1802 . Tradition assigns the foundation of the castle of Rolandseck to Charlemagne's paladin, Roland . It was certainly built at a very early date, as it was restored by Frederick, archbishop of Cologne, in 1120, and it was a fortress until the end of the 15th century .