The Mouse Tower (Mäuseturm) is a stone tower on a small island in the Rhine. The Romans were the first to build a structure on this site. It later became part of Franconia, and it fell and had to be rebuilt many times. Hatto II, the Archbishop of Mainz, restored the tower in 968. The story of how it came to be called the 'Mouse Tower' comes from a folk tale (Hatto was being eaten alive by mice in a tower). In 1298 the structure became an official customs collection tower. It was destroyed by a French army in 1689, then rebuilt in 1855 as a Prussian signal tower.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 968 AD / 1855
Category: Castles and fortifications in Germany
Historical period: Ottonian Dynasty (Germany)

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Emilian Kavalski (4 years ago)
An interesting historical landmark at the junction of Rhine and Nahe rivers
Carlos Villalobos (4 years ago)
great tower with interesting legend. (google it.. ) best way to see it is parking in Bingen, walking along the trails.
Johannes (5 years ago)
Beautiful and historical place!
Dan Brewer (5 years ago)
Kind of hard to get a good view from either side of the Rhine. The legend is kind of neat though and on the western side of the Rhine is a great park
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Château de Foix

The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.

In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians.