Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ous stretches of river, the precious cargo could be lowered by cranes from here into ships
to continue more safely down the river. The Rhine has long been a major shipping route
through Germany. In modern times, it's a bottleneck in Germany's train system. The train
company gives hotels and residents along the tracks money for soundproof windows (hotels
along here routinely have quadruple-pane windows...and earplugs on the nightstand).
• Continue walking along the town wall. Pass the recommended Rhein Hotel (hotel is before
the Markt tower, which marks one of the town's 15 original 14th-century gates), descend,
pass another well, and follow Marktstrasse away from the river toward the town center, the
two-tone church, and the town's...
Main Intersection:
From here, Bacharach's main street (Oberstrasse) goes right to the
half-timbered red-and-white Altes Haus (from 1368, the oldest house in town) and left 400
yards to the train station. Spin around to enjoy the higgledy-piggledy building styles.
• To the left (south) of the church, a golden horn hangs over the old...
Posthof:
The postal horn symbolizes the postal service throughout Europe. In olden
days, when the postman blew this, traffic stopped and the mail sped through. This post sta-
tion (now home to the TI) dates from 1724, when stagecoaches ran from Köln to Frankfurt
and would change horses here, Pony Express-style.
Step past the old oak doors into the courtyard—once a carriage house and inn that ac-
commodated Bacharach'sfirst VIPvisitors, and nowhome to a restaurant. Notice the fascist
eagle(from1936,ontheleftasyouenter;aswastikaoncefilleditscenter)andthefineview
of the church and a ruined chapel above.
Two hundred years ago, Bacharach's main drag was the only road along the Rhine. Na-
poleonwidenedittofithiscannonwagons.Thestepsalongsidethechurchleadtothecastle.
• Return to the church, passing the recommended Italian ice-cream café (Eis Café Italia),
where friendly Mimo serves his special invention: Riesling wine-flavored gelato.
Protestant Church:
Inside the church (daily May-Sept 10:00-18:00, April and Oct
10:00-17:00,closedNov-March,Englishinfoontableneardoor),you'llfindGrotesquecap-
itals,brightlypaintedinmedievalstyle,andamixofroundRomanesqueandpointedGothic
arches. The church was fancier before the Reformation wars, when it (and the region) was
Catholic.BacharachliesonthereligiousborderofGermanyand,likethecountryasawhole,
is split between Catholics and Protestants. To the left of the altar, some medieval frescoes
survive where an older Romanesque arch was cut by a pointed Gothic one.
• Continue down Oberstrasse to the...
Altes Haus:
Notice the 14th-century building style—the first floor is made of stone,
whileupperfloorsarehalf-timbered (intheornatestylecommonintheRhineValley).Some
ofitswindowsstilllookmedieval,withsmall,flattenedcirclesaspanes(smallbecausethat's
allthatglass-blowingtechnologyofthetimewouldallow),piecedtogetherwithmoltenlead
