Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
To
hike
up to the castle, you can simply follow the main road up through the railroad
underpass at the top end of the pedestrian street. But it's more fun to take the nature trail:
Start at the St. Goar train station. Take the underpass under the tracks at the north end of
the station, climb the steep stairs uphill, turn right (following
Burg Rheinfels
signs), and
keep straight along the path just above the old city wall, which takes you to the castle in 10
minutes.
Background:
Burg Rheinfels
was
huge—for five centuries, it was the biggest castle on
the Rhine. Built in 1245 to guard a toll station, it soon earned the nickname “the uncon-
querable fortress.” In the 1400s, the castle was thickened to withstand cannon fire. Rhein-
fels became a thriving cultural center and, in the 1520s, was visited by the artist Albrecht
Dürer and the religious reformer Ulrich Zwingli. It saw lots of action in the Thirty Years'
War (1618-1648), and later became the strongest and most modern fortress in the Holy
Roman Empire. It withstood a siege of 28,000 French troops in 1692. But eventually the
castle surrendered to the French without a fight, and in 1797, the French Revolutionary
army destroyed it. For years, the ruined castle was used as a source of building stone, and
today—while still mighty—it's only a small fraction of its original size.
Self-Guided Tour:
Rather than wander aimlessly, visit the castle by following this
tour. We'll start at the museum, then circulate through the courtyards, up to the highest
lookout point, and down around through the fortified ramparts, with an option to go into the
dark tunnels. We'll finish in the prison and big cellar. The basic route below can be done
without a flashlight or any daring acts of chivalry. (To go through the tunnels, bring a light
or buy candles at the castle museum.)
Pick up the free map and use its commentary to navigate from red signpost to signpost
through the castle. My self-guided tour route is similar to the one marked on the castle map.
That map, the one in this topic, and this tour all use the same numbering system. (You'll
notice that I've skipped a few stops—just walk on by signs for
Darmstädter Bau, St-
ables,
and
Gunsmiths' Tower.
)
• The ticket office is under the castle's clock tower, labeled
Uhrturm.
Walk through
the entranceway and continue straight, passing several points of interest (which we'll visit
later), until you get to the museum.
Museum and Castle Model:
The pleasant museum, located in the only finished room
of the castle, has good English descriptions and comes with Romantic Age etchings that
give a sense of the place as it was in the 19th century (daily mid-March-Oct 10:00-12:30 &
13:00-17:30; closed Nov-mid-March).
