Mouse Tower, Bingen am Rhein, Germany

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.

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Mark McLain (9 months ago)
As has been noted, the Rhine River is very low during the fall of 2018 allowing folk to walk out to what is normally an island. The Mouse Tower was the toll station for the larger ruined castle of Burg Ehrefels directly over above on the north side of the Rhine. You can tour inside the Tower with guides from the city of Bingen which costs something like 10+ euros. The tower and the castel were both controlled by the Bishop of Mainz. The Mouse Tower got its name from 'Mausheturm' toll tower. Legend has it that one Bishop of Mainz - Hatto II - was eaten alive by mice out here after treating the locals in a rather rude manner. You can walk out here from the Park am Mauseturm in the fall if the water is low enough. Otherwise, you book your passage through the City tourist bureau.

Markus Bechthold (9 months ago)
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Volker Klein (10 months ago)
Low water 2818/10/26

Jens Thomas (2 years ago)
Very picturesque tower when cruising by on a ship.

E&C Cox (2 years ago)
Always a beautiful sight from either side of the Rhine or from a boat. I don't know if there are any tours that take you to the little island.

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Het Steen

Het Steen is a medieval fortress in the old city centre of Antwerp. Built after the Viking incursions in the early Middle Ages as the first stone fortress of Antwerp, Het Steen is Antwerp's oldest building and used to be its oldest urban centre.

Previously known as Antwerpen Burcht (fortress), Het Steen gained its current name in around 1520, after significant rebuilding under Charles V. The fortress made it possible to control the access to the Scheldt, the river on whose bank it stands. It was used as a prison between 1303 and 1827. The largest part of the fortress, including dozens of historic houses and the oldest church of the city, was demolished in the 19th century when the quays were straightened to stop the silting up of the Scheldt. The remaining building, heavily changed, contains a shipping museum, with some old canal barges displayed on the quay outside.

In 1890 Het Steen became the museum of archeology and in 1952 an annex was added to house the museum of Antwerp maritime history, which in 2011 moved to the nearby Museum Aan de Stroom. Here you’ll also find a war memorial to the Canadian soldiers in WWII.

There are some beautiful plaques on the back side of the Steen Castle at Antwerp. Canadian visitors will especially want to see the plaques thanking the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry for their part in the liberation of Antwerp, in 1944.

At the entrance to Het Steen is a bas-relief of Semini, above the archway, around 2nd century. Semini is the Scandinavian God of youth and fertility (with symbolic phallus). A historical plaque near Het Steen explains that women of the town appealed to Semini when they desired children; the god was reviled by later religious clergy. Inhabitants of Antwerp previously referred to themselves as 'children of Semini'.

At the entrance bridge to the castle is a statue of a giant and two humans. It depicts the giant Lange Wapper who used to terrorise the inhabitants of the city in medieval times.

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