Rheinfels Castle Ruins, Sankt Goar, Germany

Rheinfels Castle construction was started in 1245 by Count Diether V of Katzenelnbogen. After expansions, it was the largest fortress in the Middle Rhein Valley between Koblenz and Mainz. It was slighted by French Revolutionary Army troops in 1797.

The main entrance to the castle complex is a tall square clock or gate tower (~1300 AD) opposite the hotel. A connecting path joins the clock tower to the remains of the living quarters of the Earls of Hessen-Darmstadt (the so-called Darmstadt Building). The Darmstadt building was designed in Tudor style with pointed gables. The connecting path was the site of the former moat of the main castle buildings; part of which is now the large cellar or basement. This large cellar was arched over in 1587-89 in two visible phases. It is the largest self-supporting vaulted cellar in Europe and has a length of 24 metres, a width and height of approximately 16 metres and can accommodate up to 400 people.

The walls are up to 4 metres thick. Previously a 200,000 litres wine barrel was constructed for storage. The cellar was renovated in 1997 and restored to its original condition and now serves as a meeting place for concerts, theater performances, and other shows.

The castle museum is located in the former castle chapel which is the only finished room of the original castle. It is accessed through an internal gate and up the path. The museum contains a model reconstruction of the castle before its destruction giving one a sense of how big the castle used to be. The medieval castle courtyard is found beyond the castle museum building (slightly uphill). This was the center of the medieval castle which contained a bakery, pharmacy, garden, brewery, well, and livestock—which would have allowed it to withstand an extended siege. Remnants of the original 13th-century plaster which was painted white can still be found on some walls.

While much of the castle is a ruin, some of the outer buildings are now a hotel and restaurant.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Abe Shasha (12 months ago)
It is a beautiful castle at the top of a hill just on the way out of town. Amazing venue and great service. It isn’t near the main square or centrum but there is a shuttle bus. We loved the lounge and the views. Rooms were very good. Simple and clean and efficient

Carol Christobek (13 months ago)
Hotel Schloss Rheinfels offers incomparable views of the Rhine Valley! We thoroughly enjoyed our stay, and the hotel made our stay as pleasant as possible. We especially want to thank the hotel staff for carrying our bags to and from the room and navigating the many stairs!

Simon Keim (14 months ago)
The view especially from the main restaurant over the Rhine is spectacular! The service especially in the 2nd smaller restaurant that we chose for a a bit pricey dinner during our one-night stay was good! Overall it's a really nice traditional hotel that you can but don't have to visit!

Kate M (14 months ago)
We had to climb a small hill through the forest with two suitcases because in St.Goar nothing works, there are no taxis and hotel never picked up their phone. My shoulder got really hurt from this climb. After our complaint, hotel did not even offer a free drink as compensation. The view was really nice though.

Dae van Dijk (16 months ago)
Lovely place! Easy to reach and plenty of parkings. We chose the deluxe room in the villa. It was nice and clean with a great view. The wellness was great! We went during dinner time and had the entire place to ourselves. There’s 3 saunas and a nice pool. Breakfast is quite cheap compared to what they offer. However, it felt like on the second day the bread wasn’t fresh, like it were the leftovers from the day before. Be sure to be on time or reserve a table for breakfast during weekends so that you can sit by the window and enjoy the view. Plenty of fun places to explore in a 1 hr radius. Good restaurants in the nearby city Koblenz.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright csakkarin

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Rheinfels Castle Ruins

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