It forms the first prelude of the Green C to the Siebengebirge, which appears here in the distance like a backdrop of hills. Different soils, dry and damp locations and a varied topography have given rise to a diverse and species-rich deciduous forest in this landscape.

Birlinghoven Castle, an architecturally and stylistically unusual collage, stands hidden in the middle of the forest. It was built around 1900 by the Rautenstrauch family from Cologne as a country residence and was then barely inhabited. The castle building with its unfinished outdoor facilities attempts to create a link to the landscape: The axis of the main house and the terrace points east towards the Mount of Olives. In the palace park, elements of baroque horticulture and the English landscape garden are combined as a transition to the forest. Today, the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft uses the palace for representative purposes of its research institutes.