Tourist Attractions in Rhine Valley

The Upper Rhine plain, a rift valley some 30-40 km/20-25 mi wide, is bounded on the east by the Black Forest, the Kraichgau and the Odenwald, on the west by the Vosges, the Haardt and the uplands of the northern Palatinate. Its lose soil makes it a fertile fruit- and vine-growing region (Markgräflerland, Kaiserstuhl, Ortenau, Deutsche Weinstrasse, Bergstrasse).

In its middle course the Rhine flows between the Rheingau (on right) and Rheinhessen (on left) for some 100 km/60 mi. Both of these areas lie within the western Mainz basin, which forms the northern termination of the trough-like depression of the Upper Rhine plain and, like it, was the result of a rift in Tertiary times. The Rheingau and the Rheinhessen uplands were at one stage submerged by water and were separated from one another only in geologically recent times. How far the water extended at one time is shown by the interesting fossil-rich deposits which can be seen in sand and marl pits at Gau-Algesheim, Sprendlingen, Messel and Weinheim.

At Bingen the river, which at Mainz had come up against the wall of the Taunus and made a sharp turn westward, changes its course again and flows through the Rhenish Uplands against the grain of the rock, cutting across the hard quartzites of the Hunsrück and the Taunus. In this resistant rock it is confined to a narrow gorge-like valley. The hills rose slowly from the Tertiary onwards, while the Rhine cut its way in stages into a pre-existing trough, creating a terraced landscape pattern. As a result boulder clay deposited by the Rhine is found at varying altitudes.

The passage through the Rhenish Uplands, with its changes of gradient, also creates difficulties of navigation - at the Binger Loch (Bingen Hole), the legendary Loreley Rock and St Goar. In the more open loess basins between these places there is room for prosperous settlements, for the growing of vines and fruit. These variations, together with the castles crowning the steep hills on either side and the islands in the river, produce an ever-changing pattern of scenery.

Below Koblenz, where the Mosel flows into the Rhine at Deutsches Eck, the valley opens out into the little Neuwied basin, where there has been a vigorous development of industry. Shortly before the river enters the Lower Rhine plain it passes on the right an outlier of the Westerwald, the distinctively shaped Siebengebirge (Seven Hills), forming a striking landmark at the lower end of the Middle Rhine.

The river then enters the Cologne or Lower Rhine lowlands, a gently undulating region. The Lower Rhine really begins at Duisburg. Then at Elten, below a hill crowned by a monastery, the Rhine crosses the frontier into the Netherlands.

Above Kaub is Burg Gutenfels (13th C.). In the middle of the Rhine stands the Pfalzgrafenstein (usually abbreviated to Pfalz), a fortress built in 1326 to enforce the collection of tolls on river traffic.

The Siebengebirge, a range of hills at the northwestern end of the Westerwald, extends along the right bank of the Rhine a short distance upstream from Bonn, offering one of the finest stretches of scenery in the whole length of the Rhine.

Above Siebengebirge is the Siebengebirge National Park.

The popular spa of Bad Breisig has three springs at temperatures of between 26° and 34°C (79° and 93°F), a Kurpark, two indoor thermal pools and outdoor pools. In Oberbreisig is the 13th C parish church of St Victor, with wall paintings. Niederbreisig has the Baroque parish church of the Assumption (1718) and some handsome burghers' houses (17th-18th C.).

Extensive bike paths along the Rhine are one of the better and more scenic biking opportunities in Europe. The many small villages offer plentiful accommodation and gourmet meals.

Bingen lies at the junction of the Nahe with the Rhine, above the "Bingen Hole" where the river breaks through the Rhenish Uplands. In the old town, above the Nahe, stands the Late Gothic parish church (15th-16th C.), with a Carolingian and Romanesque crypt. Above the town is Burg Klopp (13th C.; blown up by the French in 1711, rebuilt in the 19th century), which now houses a Heimatmuseum.

The double town of Kamp-Bornhofen lies below two castles, Burg Liebenstein and Burg Sterrenberg, the "Enemy Brothers". Bornhofen has a handsome Gothic church (1435) and a Franciscan friary (1680-84). Kamp has picturesque old half-timbered houses and a Late Gothic church which belonged to a convent of Franciscan nuns.

Kaub, once a customs collection point and pilot station, is on the Middle Rhine, with well-preserved medieval walls. A statue of Field Marshal Blücher commemorates the crossing of the Rhine by the Silesian army on New Year's night 1813/14. There is a small Blücher Museum.

Königswinter is a popular resort at the foot of the Siebengebirge. A rack railroad runs up to the summit of the Drachenfels, on which stand the ruins of a castle built in 1147 and destroyed in 1634. There are good views, extending as far as Cologne.

On the Petersberg is the former Petersberg Hotel, now a government guesthouse.

The Castle Drachenburg, finished in the 19th C., has a wonderful view of the Rhine Valley. In legend, the hero Siegfried is said to have slain the dragon Fafnir for the Rhinegold at this location.

At the mouth of the Wisper valley (in which there are a number of old castles) is Lorch. The parish church of St Martin has a finely carved high altar (1483). There are a number of aristocratic mansions, notably the Hilchenhaus (16th century). Above the little town stands Burg Nollig (private property).

The modern city of Ludwigshafen lies on the left bank of the Rhine, immediately opposite the town of Mannheim in Baden. It is internationally known as the headquarters of BASF, the Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik.

In the city center, at Berliner Strasse 23, is the Wilhelm Hack Museum, with a colorful facade by Joan Miró, which contains the municipal art collection (20th C. European painting; Late Roman, Frankish and medieval art).

Beyond Bingerbrück, in the middle of the Rhine, can be seen the Mäuseturm, a 13th C. toll-collecting post, where legend has it that Archbishop Hatto was eaten by mice.

Looming over Niederheimbach is the massive tower of the Heimburg (private property), which was destroyed in 1639. In the Rhine lies the Lorcher Werth, a long narrow island. Above the town is the Märchenhain (Fairytale Grove), with groups of figures.

The Pfälzer Wald (Palatinate Forest) is an upland region of Bunter sandstone on the left bank of the Upper Rhine, immediately north of the Vosges. With an area of some 1,350sq.km/520sq.mi, it is one of the largest expanses of forest in Germany: even the towns of Kaiserslautern and Pirmasens are almost completely ringed by forest.

The hills rise very gradually from the Saar basin in the west and then fall steeply down to the Rhine plain in the east. At the east end, in the Haardtgebirge, are the highest peaks (Kalmit, 673m/2,208ft). Here the hills are crowned by numerous ruined castles.

Remagen, a town of Celtic origin, takes its name from the Roman fort of Ricomagus. At the lower end of the town is the neo-Romanesque parish church of Saints Peter and Paul, with the nave of the original 11th C. Romanesque church forming its porch. Below the terrace on which the church stands and near the Town Hall are remains of the Roman fort. The tower of the Remagen bridge, which collapsed in 1945, houses a Peace Museum.

The Rolandsbogen, 105 m/345 ft above the Rhine, is a remnant of the castle of Rolandseck, destroyed in 1475. There is a magnificent view of the Siebengebirge.

Sinzig, the Roman Sentiacum, lies 2 km/1.25 mi from the Rhine in the fertile "Golden Mile" near the mouth of the Ahr. An old stronghold of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa now houses the Heimatmuseum. There are remains of town walls. On higher ground is the Late Romanesque parish church of St Peter (13th C.).

From the old village of Trechtingshausen two castles, both open to the public, can be visited - Rheinstein (13th C.; extended 1825-29) and Reichenstein (11th C.; destroyed 1282, rebuilt about 1900).