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Bacharach on the Rhine
The center of the village of Bacharach with its remarkable half-timbered
houses, lies behind medieval ring walls. It is towered over by the high gothic
Werner chapel which was begun in the year 1287, and has a trefoil (clover
leaf) floor plan. Apparently the building was considered atonement for the
murder of a boy from Oberwesel, whose body washed up in that same year. After
halting progress and several interruptions, the work on the chapel started
again on a large scale, but never finished.
The Werner chapel is counted to the finest structures of Rhenish gothic style
with Strassburger tracery. It can probably be traced back to master builders
from Cologne.
Especially worth seeing as well, is the "Old House" built in 1568 at the
market square, with its half-timbering and corner windows, oriels and
gables.
Stahleck castle, one of the most famous medieval Rhine castles, lies above
Bacharach. It is the former seat of a Rhenish count palatine. It has been
rebuilt upon its original foundation walls among vineyards. There is a legend
here that in the year 1194, love triumphed over the endless rivalries between
the Welfen and Staufer dynasties when the niece of Emperor Barbarossa married
the son of Henry the Lion, against the will of her father.
Photo: Stahleck Castle is one of the most famous Rhine castles of the Middle Ages.
It was here that love once triumphed over the endless rivalries between the Welfen
and Staufer dynasties, when in 1194 Agnes von Stahleck, the niece of the then Emperor
Barbarossa, secretly married the son of Henry the Lion against the will of her father.
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