GERMANY | The Loreley Valley, Germany Travel Guide
Sunday, December 22, 2024
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Burg Rheinfels
Schlossberg Straße,
The Loreley Valley
Rhineland-Palatinate
Germany
06741-383
Type: Historical Interest
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The Loreley Valley
Rhineland-Palatinate
Germany
06741-383
Type: Historical Interest
Comments ( 0 )
Rating (0 Votes)
High above St Goar are the castle ruins of Burg Rheinfels, the mightiest fortress ever constructed on the banks of the Rhine. The original was built by Graf Dieter V von Katzenelnbogen in 1245. On completion, he did the obvious thing and increased toll charges. In response, 26 Rhine towns raised an army of 8,000 men and 1,000 knights, encircled the fortress for a year and 14 weeks before retreating in defeat.
When the Katzenelnbogen family died out in 1479, the castle came into the hands of the Hessen family, who continued building work and constructed the mine tunnels, which allowed enemies to be surprised from below ground. These tunnels can still be visited, but require a flashlight. The French failed to conquer the castle in 1692 when a force of 18,000 with 10,000 backups faced a garrison of 3,000.
Despite 10 days of artillery bombardments, the French had to retreat, with 4,000 dead and 6,500 wounded – eight times more than the Germans. A century later, in 1794, the coward commander fled before the advancing French army and the castle fell without a shot being fired. It was systematically blown up in following years, but reconstruction commenced in 1818.
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