Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
•Backoutside,climbthemodernstairstotheleft
(
lookforthe
zumAusgang
sign
)
.Askinny,
dark passage leads you into the...
Big Cellar:
This
Grosser Keller
was a big pantry. When the castle was smaller, this
wastheoriginal moat—you canseetheroughlowerpartsofthewall. Theoriginal floorwas
13 feet deeper. The drawbridge rested upon the stone nubs on the left. When the castle ex-
panded, the moat became this cellar. Halfway up the walls on the entrance side of the room,
square holes mark spots where timbers made a storage loft, perhaps filled with grain. In the
back, an arch leads to the wine cellar (sometimes blocked off) where finer wine was kept.
Part of a soldier's pay was wine...table wine. This wine was kept in a single 180,000-liter
stone barrel (that's 47,550 gallons), which generally lasted about 18 months.
The count owned the surrounding farmland. Farmers got to keep 20 percent of their pro-
duction. Later, in more liberal feudal times, the nobility let them keep 40 percent. Today, the
German government leaves the workers with 60 percent...and provides a few more services.
• You're free. Climb out, turn right, and leave. For coffee on a terrace with a great view,
visit Schlosshotel Rheinfels, opposite the entrance.
Optional Detour—Into the Small Mine Tunnels:
Tall people might want to skip this
foray into low, cramped tunnels (some only three feet high). In about 1600, to protect their
castle, the Rheinfellers cleverly booby-trapped the land just outside their walls by build-
ing tunnels topped with thin slate roofs and packed with explosives. By detonating the ex-
plosives when under attack, they could kill hundreds of invaders. In 1626, a handful of un-
derground Protestant Germans blew 300 Catholic Spaniards to—they figured—hell. You're
welcome to wander through a set of never-blown-up tunnels. But be warned: It's 600 feet
long, assuming you make no wrong turns; it's pitch-dark, muddy, and claustrophobic, with
confusing dead-ends; and you'll never get higher than a deep crouch. It cannot be done
without a light (candles and flashlights available at entrance). Be sure to bring the castle
map, which shows the tunnels in detail.
To tour the Small Mine Tunnels, start at the red signpost at the crossbow slits (de-
scribedearlier).Followthemodernstairsontherightleadingdowntothemine(
zudenMin-
engängen
sign on upper left). The
Fuchsloch
(foxhole) sign welcomes you to a covered
passageway. Walk level (take no stairs) past the first black-steel railing (where you hope to
emerge later) and around a few bends to the second steel railing. Climb down.
The“highway”inthisfoxholeisthreefeethigh.Theceilingmaybepaintedwithawhite
line indicating the correct path. Don't venture into the narrower side aisles. These were once
filled with the gunpowder. After a small decline, take the second right. At the T-intersection,
go right (uphill). After about 10 feet, go left. Take the next right and look for a light at the
end of the tunnel. Head up a rocky incline under the narrowest part of the tunnel, and you'll
emerge at that first steel railing. The stairs on the right lead to freedom. Cross the field,
