Maasberg Logo
Title
Kulturlandschaft
Trithemius

St. Goar with Loreley

The little town of St. Goar lies on the left bank of the Rhine with it's neighboring town of St. Goarshausen across the river connected to it by a ferry. The best view of the rock of Loreley can be had from here. This rock was immortalized in the ballad by Heinrich Heine about the beautiful Loreley who sat upon the rock combing her golden hair with a golden comb. She brought death and destruction to the sailors who watched her and did not pay attention to the rocky reefs. This story, set to music by Friedrich Silcher, has made Loreley the symbol for the romantic Rhine.

Near St. Goar is the Rheinfels fortress, a part of a perfect blockade of the Rhine flow for the purpose of tax collecting. Another part of the blockade was Neu-Katzenelnbogen on the same side of the river as St. Goarshausen and locally known as 'Burg Katz' (Cat Castle). It was built in the 14th century by Count Johann III von Katzenelnbogen as a counterpart to the nearby archbishop of Trier's Peterseck castle, which immediately was nicknamed "Mouse Castle". The illustration shows 'Cat castle'.

Photo: View from the vantage point near Patersberg ("Dreiseenblick") to Katz Castle (Cat Castle) and the deeply cut narrow part of the Rhine with the Loreley rocks in the background.

vSpacer hSpacer «Cat Castle» and Loreley seen from the viewpoint near St. Goarshausen (Rhine Valley) rFrame
footSpacer
[ Mail to Webmaster ] info@maasberg.ch