Between Bingen and Koblenz the Rhine squeezes through a narrow slate valley for around 65 kilometres, and at almost every bend in the river stands a castle, a fortress ruin or a toll tower. The Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2002, is considered the landscape with the highest density of castles in Europe: some 40 fortifications line up here, interspersed with steep vineyards, half-timbered towns and the busiest shipping route on the continent.
This article leads you to the valley's key sights – from the Loreley rock via the never-destroyed Marksburg to the toll castle of Pfalzgrafenstein in the middle of the river – and makes a detour to the Moselle, where Burg Eltz has stood in the woods of the Elzbach valley since the 12th century. Add to that the practical side: how to travel the valley by boat, train or car, where the Riesling tastes best and which towns make a good base.
The Upper Middle Rhine Valley: Europe's Densest Castle Landscape
Why are there so many castles here, of all places? The answer is sober: money. In the Middle Ages the Rhine was the most important trade route between the Low Countries and northern Italy, and whoever owned a rock above the river could levy tolls. Archbishops, counts palatine and dynasties such as the Katzenelnbogen family built their toll stations within sight of each other – on average one fortification every two and a half kilometres. Many were razed in the War of the Palatine Succession at the end of the 17th century; in the 19th century Rhine Romanticism rediscovered the ruins and converted some of them into residential palaces.
The World Heritage area stretches from Bingen and Rüdesheim in the south to Koblenz in the north, where the Moselle flows into the Rhine. The river describes tight curves here, and in places the valley is so narrow that only the railway line, the riverside road and a single row of houses fit between the water and the rock face. There are no bridges between Mainz and Koblenz – to change sides you take one of the car ferries, for instance between St. Goar and St. Goarshausen or between Bingen and Rüdesheim.
The Loreley: Rock, Legend and Viewpoint
Near St. Goarshausen the Loreley rock rises 132 metres above the Rhine. At its foot the river is narrower and deeper than anywhere else between Switzerland and the North Sea, the current is treacherous, and for centuries ships were wrecked here on the reefs. Out of this real danger grew the legend of the beautiful maiden who sits on the rock, combs her golden hair and lures boatmen to their doom with her song. Heinrich Heine made her world-famous: his poem of 1824, set to music by Friedrich Silcher, remains part of the canon of German song to this day.
On the plateau above the rock there is now a cultural and landscape park with a visitor centre and a viewing platform directly above the cliff edge. The view runs upstream and downstream across the double bend of the Rhine, over to Burg Katz and the rooftops of St. Goarshausen – in clear weather one of the best places to understand why this valley so preoccupied the painters and poets of the 19th century. You can get up there by car, by bus from St. Goarshausen or on foot via the stepped path from the town, part of the Rheinsteig trail.
The Castles of the Middle Rhine
You could spend weeks visiting castles in the Middle Rhine Valley. If you only have a few days, it is best to concentrate on four sites that together show the full range: an intact hilltop castle, a vast fortress ruin, a toll castle in the river and a pair of castles best admired from the deck of a boat.
Marksburg: the Undestroyed One
High above Braubach stands the Marksburg – the only hilltop castle on the Rhine that was never destroyed. While the French, the Swedes and the passage of time did thorough work all around, it remained inhabited and intact for over 700 years. Today it is the seat of the German Castles Association and can only be visited on a guided tour, which is well worth it: you climb through the riders' stairway and gun batteries, see the castle kitchen, the knights' hall, the ladies' chamber and a collection of weapons, and learn along the way what life in a medieval castle actually looked like – considerably less comfortable than Rhine Romanticism painted it. Tours run daily; admission is around 10–13 €.
Burg Rheinfels: Fortress Ruin above St. Goar
Burg Rheinfels above St. Goar was once the largest fortress complex on the Middle Rhine. Founded in 1245 by Count Diether V of Katzenelnbogen, it grew over the centuries into a sprawling system of bastions, casemates and underground mine galleries. In 1797 French revolutionary troops blew the complex up, yet even as a ruin it is impressive: you wander through cellar vaults and along battlements, and part of the tunnels can be explored by torchlight. From the clock tower the view stretches along the Rhine as far as the Loreley. Allow one and a half to two hours for the circuit; sturdy shoes are a good idea.
Pfalzgrafenstein: the Toll Castle in the River
The most unusual castle in the valley stands not above the Rhine but in the middle of it: Burg Pfalzgrafenstein, known simply as "the Pfalz", was built in the 14th century on a rocky reef off Kaub and served a single purpose – collecting tolls. It sits in the river like a stone ship painted white and red, its pointed bow built against the current. No attack ever took it, no flood ever destroyed it. You can cross over on a small passenger ferry from Kaub; inside await spartan guardrooms, a dungeon and the best possible impression of how lonely duty on a toll station in the river must have been. The ferry does not run during high water or ice drift – check the operating times beforehand.
Burg Katz and Burg Maus
Above St. Goarshausen sits Burg Katz, built by the Counts of Katzenelnbogen; a few kilometres downstream near Wellmich stands Burg Maus, built for the Archbishop of Trier. The names are a piece of medieval propaganda: the Katzenelnbogen family reckoned their castle would devour the smaller rival the way a cat devours a mouse. Both are privately owned today and not open for regular visits – but that hardly matters, since they show their best side from the outside anyway. Seen from a boat or from the opposite bank, they form, together with the Loreley, the classic backdrop of the valley.
Burg Eltz: the Original in the Elzbach Valley
For the region's most famous castle you have to leave the Rhine. Burg Eltz stands a good 30 kilometres to the west in a side valley of the Moselle, on a rocky spur in a loop of the Elzbach stream, with nothing but forest all around. It is precisely this location that saved it: far from the major military roads, it was never conquered and never destroyed. It has belonged to the same family since the 12th century – the Counts of Eltz live here today in the 33rd generation – and its silhouette of towers, oriels and half-timbered superstructures looks like the ideal image of a knight's castle, yet it is reality grown over more than 850 years.
The castle can be visited from April to early November; the guided tour takes in the armoury, the knights' hall and the original furnished living quarters, while the treasury with its gold and silver work can be visited separately. The finest approach is the footpath from Moselkern: from the railway station of this wine village, a fully signposted trail leads through the quiet Elzbach valley, and from the walkers' car park at the Ringelsteiner Mühle it is another 35 minutes or so before the castle appears between the trees – one of the best first sightings any German castle has to offer.
Stayhaus tip: Try to reach Burg Eltz when it opens in the morning. From late morning the coaches arrive and queues form before the tours. If you set out early on foot from Moselkern, you will have the path through the Elzbach valley almost to yourself.
Boat, Train or Car: Getting around the Valley
The classic way to travel the Middle Rhine Valley is by boat. From spring to autumn the Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD) line connects the towns between Rüdesheim and Koblenz on scheduled services; the core stretch between Rüdesheim and St. Goar is the most rewarding, passing Bacharach, the Pfalz off Kaub, Oberwesel and the Loreley. Downstream the boat is noticeably faster than upstream – depending on direction, allow around one and a half to three hours for the Rüdesheim–St. Goar leg.
The train is the fast alternative and an experience in itself. On the left-bank line between Koblenz and Mainz, the Mittelrheinbahn runs hourly and stops at Boppard, St. Goar, Oberwesel and Bacharach, among others; the journey runs within sight of the river almost the entire way. On the right bank a second line serves St. Goarshausen and Kaub. In this way almost every castle can be reached without a car, and you need not worry about parking in the narrow old towns. The car only comes into its own on the Moselle, where rail connections are thinner – for instance for combining Burg Eltz, Cochem and the great river loops.
Stayhaus tip: Combine boat and train into a loop: take the KD boat downstream from Rüdesheim or Bacharach to St. Goar, visit Burg Rheinfels there, and return on the Mittelrheinbahn in a matter of minutes. That way you see the valley from the water without spending half the day on board.
Riesling, Wine Festivals and Straußwirtschaften
The Middle Rhine is one of Germany's smallest wine regions but one of its most distinctive: the vines grow on steep slopes above the river, held in place by dry-stone slate walls, and the leading grape by a wide margin is Riesling. The slate soil gives it a mineral, often slightly smoky note; sites such as the Bopparder Hamm – the largest contiguous steep vineyard in the valley – or the slopes around Bacharach produce wines that hold their own effortlessly against those of the Moselle and Rheingau. On the Moselle itself, around Cochem for example, the famous terraced vineyards come into play as well.
The closest you can get to the winemakers is in a Straußwirtschaft: for a few weeks each year, wine estates serve their own wine in the courtyard or cellar, accompanied by simple food – Spundekäs cheese spread, cold winemakers' platters, tarte flambée. A green bouquet or besom hung above the door shows that it is open. In September and October one wine festival follows another, from Bacharach via Oberwesel to St. Goar; then Federweißer new wine and onion tart are served and the villages fill up noticeably. If you prefer things quieter, come in early summer.
Where to Stay: Choosing the Right Base
For a weekend a single base is enough, as distances in the valley are short. The choice of town does shape the character of the trip, though – an overview of the tried-and-tested bases:
| Town | Location | What speaks for it |
|---|---|---|
| Bacharach | Left bank of the Rhine | Half-timbered lanes, town wall, ruin of the Werner Chapel, many wine estates; one of the most atmospheric towns in the valley |
| Oberwesel | Left bank of the Rhine | Almost completely preserved town wall with towers, Schönburg castle above; quieter than its better-known neighbours |
| St. Goar | Left bank, opposite the Loreley | Burg Rheinfels, KD boat pier, ferry to St. Goarshausen; the most central starting point for the Loreley and a castle circuit |
| Boppard | Left bank, on the great Rhine loop | Chairlift to the Vierseenblick viewpoint, Bopparder Hamm vineyards, good rail and boat connections towards Koblenz |
| Cochem on the Moselle | Moselle valley | Reichsburg castle above the town, good base for Burg Eltz and the Moselle loops; easy to combine with the Rhine valley |
If you prefer to stay in a city with a larger choice of hotels and make day trips, choose Koblenz at the northern end of the valley – or go straight for Cologne, from where trains reach Boppard in about an hour. The choice there is wider and often cheaper than in the small Rhine villages, especially on wine-festival weekends: you will find budget hotels in Cologne on Stayhaus as well as hotels across Germany – from wine hotels with Rhine views to city hotels for the journey in.
Practical Information
Getting there: The Middle Rhine Valley lies between two major hubs. From Frankfurt am Main and its airport you can reach Rüdesheim or Bingen in around an hour; from Cologne, Koblenz is about an hour away by train, Boppard a little more. Both cities work well as the first or last stop of the trip.
Best time to visit: May to early October, when boats and castles are in full operation. The wine festivals are concentrated in September and October. Burg Eltz closes from early November to the end of March; the Marksburg is open year-round.
Tickets and costs: Castle admissions are mostly around 8–15 € per person, boat passages on the core stretch around 15–30 €. For train travel in the valley a regional day ticket pays off; the Rhine ferries cost foot passengers a few euros.
On foot: For walkers, the Rheinsteig (right bank) and the RheinBurgenWeg (left bank) are two long-distance trails linking almost all the castles mentioned here. Individual stages such as Kaub–St. Goarshausen via the Loreley make a good day hike, with the train for the return leg.
