Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Immediately opposite Kaub (where the ferry lands, marked by blue roadside flags) is a
gaping hole in the mountainside. This marks the last working slate mine on the Rhine.
Km 544—“The Raft Busters”:
Just before Bacharach, at the top of the island, buoys
mark a gang of rocks notorious for busting up rafts. The Black Forest, upstream from here,
was once poor, and wood was its best export. Black Foresters would ride log booms down
the Rhine to the Ruhr (where their timber fortified coal-mine shafts) or to Holland (where
logsweresoldtoshipbuilders).IftheycouldnavigatethesweepingbendjustbeforeBachar-
ach and then survive these “raft busters,” they'd come home reckless and horny—the Ger-
man folkloric equivalent of American cowboys after payday.
Km 543—Bacharach and Stahleck Castle (Burg Stahleck):
Cross to the other side
of the train. The town of Bacharach is a great stop (described on next page). Some of the
Rhine's best wine is from this town, whose name likely derives from “altar to Bacchus.”
Local vintners brag that the medieval Pope Pius II ordered Bacharach wine by the cartload.
Perched abovethetown,the13th-century BurgStahleck isnowahostel. Return totheriver-
side.
Km 541—Lorch:
This pathetic stub of a castle is barely visible from the road. Check
out the hillside vineyards. These vineyards once blanketed four times as much land as they
do today, but modern economics have driven most of them out of business. The vineyards
thatdosurviverequiregovernmentsubsidies.Noticethesmallcarferry,oneofseveralalong
the bridgeless stretch between Mainz and Koblenz.
Km 538—Sooneck Castle:
Cross back to the other side of the train. Built in the 11th
century, this castle was twice destroyed by people sick and tired of robber barons.
Km534—ReichensteinCastle
and
Km533—RheinsteinCastle:
Stayontheotherside
of the train to see two of the first castles to be rebuilt in the Romantic era. Both are privately
owned, tourable, and connected by a pleasant trail. Go back to the river side.
Km 530—Ehrenfels Castle:
Opposite Bingerbrück and the Bingen station, you'll see
the ghostly Ehrenfels Castle (clobbered by the Swedes in 1636 and by the French in 1689).
Sinceithadnoviewoftherivertraffictothenorth,theownerbuiltthecutelittle
Mäuseturm
(mousetower)onanisland(theyellowtoweryou'llseenearthetrainstationtoday).Rebuilt
in the 1800s in Neo-Gothic style, it's now used as a Rhine navigation signal station.
Km 528—Niederwald Monument:
Across from the Bingen station on a hilltop is the
120-foot-high Niederwald monument, a memorial built with 32 tons of bronze in 1877 to
commemorate “the re-establishment of the German Empire.” A lift takes tourists to this
statue from the famous and extremely touristy wine town of Rüdesheim.
From here, the Romantic Rhine becomes the industrial Rhine, and our tour is over.
