|
Loreley — focal point of the 'romantic' Rhine
Over millions of years the river Rhine has carved its riverbed deeply into
the slate mountain range to pass those obstacles on the way to the North Sea.
Due to the hard rocks of this mountain range the river does not flow straight,
as passing or permeating through the rocks proved an almost hopeless task
for the water in many places. Instead, the Rhine was forced to use every weakness
of the stone to make its way. Shortly after
Oberwesel
the riverbed gets very narrow, as it is squeezed to half of its original width
here. As a result, the water flows more quickly to allow the normal quantity
through. Furthermore, the massive rocks force the river to flow in an S-curve
here, and on the second bend of that S-curve is the Loreley rock, a rock that
has fatally determined the fate of many sailors. This is partly due to the
difficult shipping conditions here, but also because legend tells us that
here a beautiful young woman combed her long blond hair with a golden comb,
and her singing enchanted the sailors so much that their ships crashed on
the rock.
It comes as no surprise, then, that this legend has made the Loreley,together
with the fortress ruins and medieval towns of the Middle Rhine, a symbol of
the "romantic Rhine". Heinrich Heine's poem about a beautiful virgin named
Loreley, set to music by Friedrich Silcher, has even become known as a folklore
song. Nowadays thousands of visitors come here from all over the world to
experience the unique landscape (a UNESCO World Heritage site) which is best
appreciated on a "romantic" boat trip.
|
|
The narrow passage of the Rhine at the Loreley Rocks with its difficult currents
and dangerous whirlpools has been the fate of many a ship in former times.
|
|