43 ReviewsThe Old Town of Koblenz is a delight to stroll. There is a wonderful main square where you can choose from many restaurants and cafes to enjoy a meal, or a coffee and to people watch at the same time....
14 Reviews Well, it isn’t a real beach next to the ocean but you can have sand, beach chairs, cold drinks, and beach volleyball next to the Rhein River when the weather is warm in Mainz. An area between the...
43 ReviewsRömer Express, the little tourist train, runs daily nearly the whole year round. It departs from in front of Porta Nigra. The tour takes 35 min, and recorded information is given in English, French,...
25 ReviewsThe point of land where the Rhine and Moselle flow together got its historical name "Deutsches Eck" (German Corner), in 1216.
The German Corner has flags flying of the German states, as well as the...
21 Reviews St. Ignatius Church is just down the street from the old town of Mainz. Named after St. Ignatius of Antioch (ca. 110), its façade is easily recognizable as the pinkish sandstone is different from the...
28 ReviewsTrier's cathedral of St Peter is an ancient construction indeed, its origins dating back to Roman times.
After the conversion to Christianity of Emperor Constantine, Roman Trier (then called Augusta...
17 ReviewsAfter viewing the Flower show, then it was time to see 'Ehrenbreitstein” Fortress, Europe’s second largest preserved fortress, built between 1817 and 1828 in its present-day design.
Recent...
12 ReviewsIn the center of the Domplatz, or the market place by the cathedral, is a tall, thick column sitting within a bronze base that has shields on it. For quite a while, we thought that this must be a...
17 ReviewsAlthough the Haupmarkt had no market stalls on my cold february mid-week morning, and although there weren't many people around...I rather liked it like that.
I'm sure it's a very busy place when...
7 ReviewsKurfurstliches Schloss, I wonder which is the front and which is the back, both side's look as good as each other!
Well, we looked at what I call the front of the Schloss, then went around the back to...
17 Reviews “This Cathedral, towering in all its might and grandeur above the Rhine plain, would have remained in my memory, even if I had never seen it again.” – author Anne Seghers.
Begun in 975, the Dom is...
20 ReviewsEntering the Amphitheater you will walk through the ruins of the entrance gate. This was used as a quarry in the Middle Ages. The arena itself (built in the last third of the 2nd century) is...
9 ReviewsThe nave of Liebfrauenkirche or the Church of Our Lady was built in Gothic style in the 13th century, whilst the choir was added in the 15th century.The Romanesque towers however, were not added till...
17 ReviewsNot far from the theater is the Gutenberg Museum, documenting the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around the middle of the fifteenth century. Gutenberg was a native of Mainz and...
11 ReviewsThe Electoral Palace (the marker points at the Constantin Basilica which is wall-to-wall with the palace) is regarded as one of the most beautiful rococo palaces in the world. Especially beautiful is...
10 ReviewsThe Higher Regional Court of Koblenz is another lovely building to view, as is the Courthouse.
Both buildings were built between 1902-1910. Luckily, this building didn't suffer any damage through-out...
3 Reviews This little section in the Altstadt is my favorite place in all of Mainz – the Kirschgarten ("cherry orchard") – with its old half-timbered buildings and Baroque style fountain. I rarely miss a...
13 ReviewsIf there is one building in Trier which will give you an idea of the impressive building skills of the Roman Empire it is the Konstantinbasilka. It is simply vast and, I believe, is the largest...
4 ReviewsOK, to continue our tour down the Rhine we left Koblenz by following the... Mosel :-S
We were headed for a place called Rhens am Rhine, 3km from Koblenz and obviously the best way to get here is to...
6 Reviews The memorial to Mainz’s favorite son can be found on Gutenbergplatz, across from the Theater and along Ludwigstrasse where he stands looking over the town he was born in. You can easily find it just...
18 ReviewsIf nothing else, the Kaiserthermen give you a real idea of just how important Trier was during Roman times.
Building work for the Kaiserthermen ('Imperial Baths') began around 300AD. It was a massive...
9 ReviewsSt. Kastor is a really old Church, as construction began on it in 817, and in 836, it was consecrated.
The current Church is mainly from construction in the 12th century.
On 30th July 1991 Pope John...
3 Reviews The centerpiece to the Schillerplatz are the statues. It is a fun place to go during a walking tour of Mainz. There are at least four statues in this area – one of Friedrich Schiller (German poet and...
11 ReviewsKarl Marx, the well known author of "Das Kapital, was born in this house and spent his youth there up to the age of 17.
Opening hours
April - October:
Mon - Sun 10:00 - 1
5 ReviewsI think you must read in advance to appreciate this place: Lorelei is a common high mount in Rhine's banks, that doesn't mean much to those who didn't know the stories and the legends that it...
As the name suggest, Idar-Oberstein is another of several twin cities in Germany. The town abounds in history, legend and of course its most significant claim to fame, is its reputation as a huge gemstone centre in this area. Here you will find the renowned German Gemstone Museum which is an amazing place. to think that these magnificent stones of every shape colour and size have evolved (with the help of many very talented and dedicated people along the way) into the beautiful stones you see here today truly beggars belief. It is like being in Aladdin's cave vising this museum.There is also a wonderful rock church built into the cliff above the town which has a fascinating legend connected with its origin which, I hope is not true as it is so sad. Ingrid tells the story beautifully on her Idar-Oberstein page which you can check out...
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Historiche Weiherschleife
by Maryimelda
This is one of the last remaining gemstone processing places of its type to be found in the Palatinate.Ingrid and I were so lucky to be the only people there at that time and so were given a wonderfully informative look at the gemstone process in days gone by. A very hospitable gentleman explained the grinding and buffing and polishing techniques to us. He looked so uncomfortable lying on that bench to grind the stones. He was only on it for about a minute or two but informed us that in the heyday of the centre, the workers could be lying there for 8-10 hours a day! No doubt they would have needed to be very fit indeed. I asked him where the raw stones came from and he indicated a mountain not too far away where most of them had been found.
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A museum with a difference....
by Maryimelda
Each morning when I came down to breakfast in the Pension Im Malerwinkel in Bacharach, I would invariably find Ingrid poring over a road map engrossed in planning the day's activities. One morning I was more than a little curious when she announced that today we were going to visit a shoe museum! Well being more than a little partial to quirky museums, I readily hopped in the car and we set off to Hauenstein.Hauenstein is located about 150kms from Bacharach and the drive through the Palatinate is quite lovely. We stopped for morning coffee accompanied by a wonderful "beesting" cake in a little cafe situated in a quiet spot along the way. It was so peaceful and the area around was a lush green, quite dreamlike really.The shoe museum was to me a real eye opener. Nothing is left out and the history is fascinating and the floors are set up just as they would have been in the years that it...
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Tombs of the Counts
by Maryimelda
This is an extremely significant marker located in the monastery at Eberbach. It marks the final resting place of Graf Johann II one of the counts of Katzenelnbogen, who died in 1357. The counts chose Eberbach Monastery as their burial place even though they did not come from the area. The history of the counts of Katzenelnbogen is sadly not available in much detail in English on the Internet and the translations that are available are extremely poor and thus difficult to read. However to all those who can read and understand German, their stories should be of great interest as they were part of a very significant historical era in the area of the Rhine.
Maria Laach Abbey
by brendareed
Maria Laach is a magnificent Benedictine abbey near the Laacher See (Lake Laach) in the Eifel region of the Rhineland-Palatinate. The Romanesque church dates back to the 12th century and has been beautifully maintained and has some stunning newer mosaics in the apse. Under the Benedictine order, the abbey was a center of spirituality and study in the 12th century. It was dissolved in the 1800s and the buildings were given over the Jesuits who continued to study at the abbey until 1892 when the Benedictines returned to Maria Laach. The church was restored under the patronage of Kaiser Wilhelm II.The church itself is well worth a visit (the actual monastery grounds are off limits to visits). Additionally, the area surrounding the church has a guest information center with an informative introductory video, a garden center where visitors can purchase plants tended by the monks, a hotel,...
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Castles: Trifels Castle
by brendareed
My fascination in wanting to go to Annweiler am Trifels was simple: to see the castle where Richard the Lionheart was held prisoner by Emperor Henry VI of Hohenstaufen in 1193. Richard had been captured near Vienna on his return to France and England after the Third Crusade and handed over to the emperor, who held him until a rather large ransom was paid. As a British history fan, I could not pass by seeing this site. In fact, at the time of my visit I was in the midst of reading a novel by one of my favorite authors about Richard (too bad the sequel will have the part about Trifels Castle).And what a site it is! The setting of the castle on the top of a rock hill (one of three hills, thus the name “Trifels” or “three rocks”) is spectacular. I could easily see how intimidating it would be for anyone to consider a prison escape from this location. While the castle is not the same one as...
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Castles: Burg Eltz
by brendareed
“Eltz castle is simply what a castle should be. Its solitude and the beauty of its situation stimulate the imagination." ~ Georg Dehio, German art historianBurg Eltz (Eltz Castle) is beautifully situated in a valley near the Mosel River with the Eltz, a Mosel tributary, gently winding its way around the castle on three sides. It is probably one of the most picturesque settings for a storybook-like castle in Germany. Thankfully for us, Burg Eltz is one of the few castles in the Rhein/Mosel area that has never been destroyed by enemies.The castle is designed around three family houses – the Rübenach, Rodendorf, and Kempenich houses – that were owned by three members of the Eltz family. In 1268 the castle and its lands were divided between the three brothers. Over time, each line built their own portion of the castle; today this is still clearly marked by the name of the line carved above...
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Towns: Bad Dürkheim
by brendareed
Bad Dürkheim is a wonderful place to start your tour of the Deutsches Weinstrasse (German Wine Road), a beautiful section of Germany’s Rhineland Palatinate that runs in a north-south direction along the Pfalz mountains.Small wine villages dot the road that winds itself through countless vineyards. In the summer, the vineyards turn green and the fruit of the vines is picked in the fall, leading to wine festivals and celebrations.Bad Dürkheim is a larger town than most of the wine villages and is popular with tourists. There is a nice relaxing saline area in the city center where visitors can sit along these salines and feel the cool breeze created by the water, similar to those who came to the baths in Bad Dürkheim many years ago.High above the town is the Kloster Limberg, a ruined monastery that is open for those who want to visit this beautifully maintained ruin. Nearby, Hardenburg...
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Towns: Bacharach
by brendareed
Bacharach is a wine town on the Rhein River, evident by the vineyards on the steep hills surrounding the town. It has a long and proud history dating back to the 8th century. In the heart of the town, half-timbered buildings line the roads; Stahleck Castle looks down upon the town and the river from high above. The castle is now a youth hostel and in the warmer months bursts with happy sounds of young people enjoying their stay in Bacharach. You can spend several hours just hiking on the trails around Bacharach – a full day or more if you want to explore further down the Rhein. The area makes a great day trip or weekend excursion.I have to be honest…Bacharach and I did not get off to a good start. We had just moved to Germany in the middle of winter, picked up our car and headed to Bacharach. At the time it seemed like a good thing to do – get started on all the exploring we wanted to do...
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More lovely towns along the Rhine
by Maryimelda
There seems to be no end to the wonderfully picturesque towns and villages to be found along the Rhine. Personally, I wish i could visit each and every one of them but of course, that's not very realistic in my case.Some I have mentioned already and others I have written separate pages for, but a few of those that spring to mind as being well worth a stop off when cruising down the Rhine are Bacharach, Ruedesheim and Boppard. All of these (and many more besides) will have you happily snapping away as if there was no tomorrow.
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