Germany > Rhineland-Palatinate > Castles of the Rhine Valley
Castles of the Rhine Valley
N 50°8.001', E 7°41.632'
2011-06-08
http://www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/castles.php
Our rating: 8.80
Overall rating: - Rate this place - 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Rhine valley is a section of the river from Bonn to Bingen. In this article, we will focus on the lower part from Koblenz to Bingen. This area is included in the list of world cultural heritage by UNESCO. The area can boast not only stunningly beautiful nature, but also about 40 castles on mountain slopes! However, most of them have been destroyed and rebuilt in the 19-20 centuries. When we planned our walk, the transport was not even discussed. This is certainly a bicycle! Although, there are roads and railway tracks on both banks of the Rhine. Our route was as follows. In Koblenz we hired bikes for 10 euros and took the train to Rüdesheim . Don't forget to buy an extra ticket for the bike. Our plans were to visit Rüdesheim and the cable car to the statue of Germany. So, if you get to Bingen, you can cross the river by ferry to Rüdesheim and then return back. We, however, had walked in Rüdesheim and then went by ferry to Bingen (ferry schedule is here ). In Bingen, we visited the tourist information office (here ) and took a map. Further, just ride in the direction of Koblenz. It's impossible to get lost as on one side are mountains and on the other side is the Rhine. The advantage of this trip is that you can take a train if you get tired or if it rains. We use took the train on the Niederheimbach - Bacharach, Oberwesel - St. Goar and St. Goarshausen - Braubach sections. From Sankt Goar we crossed the river to Sankt Goarshausen (ferry schedule ), don't miss this place! From here you can go by bus to the observation deck of the Loreley rock , which offers the best views of the Rhine valley. Find the bus around the place where the ferry stops.
View of the Rhine valley from the Lorelei rock ©Yuriy Buriak
Ferry Sankt Goar - Sankt Goarshausen ©Yuriy Buriak
We didn't plan to visit the castles, but in general it's possible. However, it's inconvenient that the castles are located on the mountain slopes and it's quite hard to approach them. Below is the list of major castles in the area from Rüdesheim to Koblenz. Check out the map of the Rhine castles here .Ehrenfels Castle Ruins 49° 58' 31" N, 7° 52' 50" O These ruins are located in a 30-minute walk from Rüdesheim. The interior was closed in 2012.
Ehrenfels Castle ©Yuriy Buriak
Rheinstein Castle www.burg-rheinstein.de 49° 59' 37,3" N, 7° 51' 30,3" O Visits are possible only by appointment and for large groups. For details, go to the website .
Rheinstein Castle ©Yuriy Buriak
Reichenstein Castle www.burg-reichenstein.de 50° 0' 18,5" N, 7° 51' 12,6" O The visit is possible, check out information at the website - prices and opening hours .
Reichenstein Castle ©Yuriy Buriak
Sooneck Castle 50° 1' 10" N, 7° 49' 30" O Is open to visitors.Heimburg Castle 50° 2' 2,1" N, 7° 48' 23,8" O Is privately owned, closed to tourists.Furstenberg/Rheindibah Castle Ruins 50° 2' 30,2" N, 7° 47' 14,6" O Is closed for reconstruction.
Fuerstenberg/Rheindiebach Castle ©Yuriy Buriak
Stahleck Castle 50°03'29"N 7°45'56"E There's a youth hostel in the castle and you cannot visit the interior, but can walk in the courtyard.
Stahleck Castle ©Yuriy Buriak
Stahleck Castle and houses in Bacharach ©Yuriy Buriak
Pfalzgrafenstein Castle 50° 4' 59,2" N, 7° 45' 56,6" O Stands on an island in the middle of the river, is open to visitors.
Pfalzgrafenstein Castle ©Yuriy Buriak
Schoenburg Castle www.burghotel-schoenburg.de 50° 6' 4,5" N, 7° 43' 56" O There are a hotel and a restaurant in the castle.Gutenfels Castle 50° 5' 16,1" N, 7° 45' 56,2" O There is a hotel in the castle.Katz (Cat) Castle www.burg-katz.de 50° 9' 6,5" N, 7° 43' 26,9" O There is a hotel in the castle. Is closed for tourists.
Katz Castle ©Yuriy Buriak
Sankt Goarshausen and Katz Castle ©Yuriy Buriak
Katz Castle ©Yuriy Buriak
Maus (Mouse) Castle www.burg-maus.de 50° 10' 18,8" N, 7° 41' 45,6" O Visiting is possible on certain days, the schedule is on the website . Or for groups by appointment.Liebenstein Castle Ruins www.burg-liebenstein.de 50° 12' 44,3" N, 7° 38' 7,6" O There are a hotel and restaurant in the castle.Shterrenberg Castle Ruins www.burg-sterrenberg.de 50° 12' 48,3" N, 7° 37' 59,3" O There are a hotel, a cafe and a restaurant in the castle. Is open for visitors.Marksburg Fortress www.marksburg.de 50°16'18.50"N 7°38'57.00"E The only undefeated altitude fortress on the Rhine. Check out information about the tours here .
Marksburg Fortress ©Yuriy Buriak
Lahneck Castle www.burg-lahneck.de 50° 18' 22,6" N, 7° 36' 44,9" O Is open to visitors, check out information at the website .Stolzenfels Castle www.schloss-stolzenfels.de 50° 18' 11.6" N, 7° 35' 32.7" E Is open to visitors, check out information at the website . Useful links:Information about the bicycle route Maps of bicycle routes in the region Route map:
Bicycle route along the Rhine valley ©Yuriy Buriak
Castles of the Rhine valley ©Yuriy Buriak
Bicycle route along the Rhine valley ©Yuriy Buriak
Getting there: You can easily get here by train from any city on Rhein between Cologne and Mainz. You can also get here from Frankfurt . Travel time from different cities: Cologne - Rüdesheim - 2 hours 20 minutes, Bonn - Rüdesheim - 2 hours, Koblenz - Rüdesheim - 1 hour.
Tags, Germany: castle , river Tags, all countries: castle , river
- Rate this place -
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Our rating - 8.80
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help
Visitor's rating - 0.00
Location : ------------ 1 - Far beyond the settlements, you must spend minimum a day 2 - Near the small town, you need to walk long distance 3 - Can be reached only by car 4 - A small town with a poor public transport 5 - Outside the settlements, but with excellent transport links 6 - A small town with excellent transport links 7 - Medium-size city 8 - Suburb of the capital or major city, the ability to reach by public transport 9 - Big city 10 - Capital
Impressions : ------------ 1 - No point in visiting 2 - Boring, wasted time 3 - You can visit, if you have a lot of free time and nothing better to do 4 - A lot of things, but not so interesting 5 - It seems to be interesting, but hard way to spoil the impression 6 - There is something interesting, but the rest is not worth the attention 7 - Probably interesting, but for everybody 8 - Very cool, but difficult to see everything and long-distance trails 9 - Very cool, but there are similar facilities in other locations 10 - Very cool, this is not anywhere else
Number of tourists (weekend afternoon) : ------------ 1 - Crowds, impossible to see everything normally 2 - A lot of tourists, a long wait 3 - A lot of tourists, the organization is lame 4 - A lot of tourists, but good organization 5 - There are many tourists, but they are concentrated in one place and you can walk freely 6 - Many tourists everywhere, but the large space is compensated 7 - The average number of tourists. To photograph, you must wait 8 - Tourists are, but they do not interfere 9 - There are few tourists 10 - You are alone
State : ------------ 1 - Only title left 2 - Dull ruins 3 - On restoration 4 - The picturesque ruins 5 - Have not been restored, the state is poor 6 - Partially destroyed, but the rest of the normal state 7 - Have not been restored, good condition 8 - OK, but it is possible to make better 9 - Looks good from the outside, partial repair inside or without repair 10 - In excellent condition, well-groomed area
Picturesque (for the photographer) : ------------ 1 - - 2 - - 3 - Horrible background, normal pictures only from the top 4 - wires and cars do not allow make normal photo 5 - Interfere with foreign objects 6 - In the city, but more or less normal photo can be made 7 - Beautiful, but you can take pictures with just one point 8 - Very nice, but you can only shoot at a certain time 9 - Very nice, but hard to get to the good weather or permanently interfere with tourists 10 - Very nice, but occasionally interferes with the weather or tourists
* - Note: Description of the evaluation is not always appropriate for a particular object, it's just a little help