The 67 km Upper Middle Rhine valley between Bingen and Koblenz is the richest cultural landscape in Germany in terms of medieval castles and ruins and ranks first in the density of these monuments in Europe. All of them have the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
mouse tower
In front of us is the Mouse Tower (Mäuseturm). It is located in the middle of the river at the beginning of the romantic valley, listed by UNESCO. This sentinel post was part of the defensive fortifications of the local Ehrenfels castle. In the Middle Ages, the tower was used to collect customs duties. In the 17th century, it attracted the attention of Dutch painters, thanks to which it became widely known.
Ehrenfels
Here is the Ehrenfels castle itself, or rather, the ruins of the castle, from where the previous photo was taken. It is located near the city of Rüdesheim – in the middle of the Rhine vineyards, during the laying of which, in the 18th century, part of the walls were demolished here. The castle began to be built in this place at the beginning of the 13th century during one of the internecine feudal conflicts, and was destroyed in 1689.
Reinstein
This medieval castle on the Rhine was rebuilt during the German Romantic era for Prince Friedrich of Prussia (1794-1863). He commanded divisions in these places and was a great connoisseur and connoisseur of art. The prince turned Rheinstein into a luxurious residence in the style of knights’ castles. Now there is a museum, a hotel and a restaurant.
Reichenstein
There is a well-known legend associated with the following castle. In the 13th century it was owned by a family of robber knights. After the capture of Reichenstein by the royal soldiers, the father of the family and nine sons were to be executed, but the king agreed to pardon the sons – as many of them as the headless body of the father takes steps. The body collapsed to the ground after nine steps…
Zoon
Sooneck Castle acquired its present form in the 19th century, when the Prussian princes – the sons of King Friedrich Wilhelm III – turned the then ruins into their hunting residence. The history of the castle goes back to the 11th century, but the first written mention dates back to 1271, when the Vogts were located here – managing the lands of one of the Benedictine monasteries.
Fürstenberg
The ruins of Fürstenberg Castle are just the perfect ruins. It was founded in the 13th century and destroyed during the War of the Palatinate Succession at the end of the 17th century. This castle was not attempted to be restored in the era of romanticism, so a lot of medieval plaster has been preserved here. Visitors can get a good idea of what such structures actually looked like in ancient times.
Pfalzgrafenstein
The “stone ship”, as Victor Hugo called this castle, is located on a rock in the middle of the Rhine. The Pfalzgrafenstein was built to collect customs duties for the transport of wine and other goods on the river. In the Middle Ages, there were twelve different customs posts on the Rhine between Mainz and Cologne alone. The merchants complained about them, or rather, about the extortions from the local feudal lords to the Pope, but to no avail.
Gutenfels
This is how the Pfalzgrafenstein looks from the other side, but in this picture we are more interested in a landmark towering over the city of Kaub in the middle of the vineyards. Gutenfels Castle was built during the reign of the Hohenstaufen dynasty in the 12th-13th centuries. It was blown up in 1806 under Napoleon, but later, in the era of romanticism, it was saved from final demolition and carefully restored.
Stalek
Stahleck Castle was founded at the turn of the 11th-12th centuries and at first belonged to the Electorate of Cologne. Then, in the 13th century, it became the property of the Wittelsbach family. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815 – the Kingdom of Prussia. In the 1920s, the castle was restored from ruins in order to mark the youth hostel, which operates to this day.
Schoenburg
It takes half an hour to walk up here from Oberwesel. In the middle of the last century, a hotel was opened here. Now there is also a museum dedicated to the construction and preservation of castles. The first mention of Schonburg (Schönburg) dates back to 1357. The ruins began to be restored in a romantic style at the end of the 19th century at the expense of an American businessman who bought the castle, whose ancestors lived in these places.
Katc
One of the most famous castles on the Middle Rhine is located near the most famous Rhine rock – Lorelei, which needs no introduction. Katz Castle (colloquial – “Cat”, Katz) belonged to the counts of Katzenalenbogen. They were at enmity with their neighbors, whose castle was popularly nicknamed Maus (“Mouse”). The second castle is located a little further downstream…
Mouse
So, in turn, looks like “Mouse” – Maus castle (Maus). Both of these names of neighboring castles are folk. Officially they are called differently. The first is Neukatzenelenbogen, the second can even boast of three alternatives, but we will give only one of them, given to this castle in the middle of the XIV century during the construction of the then Archbishop of Trier in honor of St. Peter – St. Petersec.
Reinfels
Not far from the Lorelei rock, but on the opposite bank of the Rhine, are the picturesque ruins of Rheinfels Castle, also owned by the counts of Katzenalenbogen. In the Middle Ages, it was the largest defensive structure on the Rhine and was considered impregnable. In 2029, it will become one of the venues for the Federal Exhibition of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture (BUGA).
Elector’s castle
The Eltville Castle (Kurfürstliche Burg) in Eltville on the Rhine was built at the beginning of the 14th century on the site of an older one. It housed the residence of Elector Kurmainz, or rather, one of them. It turned out that in those days there were two of them …. The castle was destroyed by the Swedes during the Thirty Years’ War. Then only this residential tower survived, which has survived to this day.
Marxburg
Marksburg is one of the most picturesque castles in the Middle Rhine Valley. Situated on a 160-meter rocky ledge, it is the best preserved of all the castles in this part of the river. The beginning of construction dates back to the first half of the 13th century. In the 1990s, the Japanese wanted to move the castle to Miyako Island, but the deal fell through. Limited to building a copy.
Lanek
The name of this castle was given by the river Lahn, which flows into the Rhine in this place. It was erected in the 13th century to protect the border of the Electorate of Mainz. It was destroyed in the Thirty Years’ War. In 1774, the ruins were visited by Goethe, who dedicated the poem “Greeting of the Spirit” to this place. Restoration of Lahneck Castle began in the middle of the 19th century after the purchase by the then director of the Rhine Railway Company.
Martinsburg
This castle was founded on the Rhine in 1298 and was intended to collect customs duties. In this case, they went to the treasury of the archbishops – Electors of Mainz. Martinsburg Castle has never been destroyed in its history. Until the beginning of the 19th century, it was expanded and rebuilt many times. Now it is in private ownership.
Stolzenfels
This castle is located near Koblenz. Stolzenfels was built in the 13th century on the border of the Electorate of Trier. In the first half of the 19th century, the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, ordered to build a summer residence here. The famous classicist architect Kral Friedrich Schinkel participated in the work on the project.
Ehrenbrightstein
The UNESCO-listed upper valley of the Middle Rhine ends at Koblenz at the “German Corner” (Deutsches Eck). This is the name of the place where the waters of the Moselle flow into the Rhine. One of the attractions here is the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, founded in this strategic location in the 16th century. It acquired its present form after the transfer of these lands under the control of Prussia in the 19th century.