The Castles of the Rhine River
Categories: Family and Kids, Sightseeing, Cultural and History
Most castles that dominate the beautiful landscape along the Rhine river date back to the Middle Ages where they were built with one simple goal in mind: to protect the lands from intruders and predatory neighbors. Today, we tend to visit the area for its beauty and for the romantic looks of these ancient castles as well as the stories behind them. Each is unique in its own way.
In the Middle Ages though, the Rhine Valley was of great strategic importance and a line of communication. Merchants would ship along the Rhine to get all the way to Italy and ship their goods back and forth on the river. To own a castle along the river was of immense importance to those who were powerful and got them in great positions. The owners of these castles were able to overlook their territory and regulate the traffic flow in their area as well as leverage tolls on merchants. Due to this there is a large number of castles between Mainz (Mainz vacation rentals | Mainz travel guide) and Bonn (Bonn vacation rentals | Bonn travel guide) along the Rhine river and particularly in the narrow gorge that connects Bingen (Bingen vacation rentals | Bingen travel guide) and Koblenz (Koblenz vacation rentals | Koblenz travel guide) were the river only has a length of 35 miles. Here you can find the largest cluster of castles in a river valley in the world.
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Nearby Destinations Where You Can Find Nice Germany Vacation Rentals
Koblenz
The history and sites of Koblenz, located where the Moselle flows into the Rhine, stretch back to Roman times. No visitor to Koblenz should skip a tour of the Saalburg—the most fully-reconstructed Roman fortress in Germany.
Related: Koblenz travel guide
Wetzlar
Wetzlar, in central Hesse, features an amazingly well-preserved and restored Old Town (Altstadt), with historic plazas, a 13th century Cathedral (Dom) and scores of half-timbered houses. Choose one of several vacation homes in the Old Town itself!
Related: Wetzlar travel guide
Waldgirmes
Waldgirmes is a small, charming village near Frankfurt in the midst of lush meadows and beautiful forests. It is located in central Hesse, from where all kinds of activities are possible: watch the castles go by on a Rhine river cruise, paddle on a canoe…
Related: Waldgirmes travel guide
Braunfels
Even just a simple walk past Braunfels' market place and into the outer rings of the castle walls will amaze you since it takes you back to medieval times.
Related: Braunfels travel guide
Browse Related Photos (Interactive Slideshow)
The pictures shown are part of our Live Like a German Travel Guide to Germany group on Flickr. If you have great Germany pictures please consider joining that group and sharing them on Flickr. If you tag them with rhine river (and they got approved) they will also show up in the slide show above.
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