Category Archives: Koblenz Seilbahn

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, Koblenz Seilbahn

Riding high above the Rhine in Koblenz

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After lunch the Ramblers headed out again along the Moselle to the German Corner and then along the Rhine until we came to the entrance to the Seilbahn or cable car. Today we had a good bit of free time to wander the city on our own. probably because it was easy to get around.  I’m not really fond or heights or of climbing into a moving cable car but after we bought our tickets (8.9 Euros) we had to wait in a fairly short line until it was our turn to climb aboard.

The cable cars are quite large but they are constantly moving so it is tricky to climb aboard. Wouldn’t like to be in one with 34 other people.

The cars are fairly large and  perhaps a dozen people climbed aboard each one while it moved through the loading area.  I later found out that each car was built to hold a maximum of 35 adults, but we were glad that this was not the case today. Photography would have been almost impossible and boarding would have been tricky during the brief time available.

If some of the folks at the head of each group board slowly, those who follow are forced to scramble aboard. There was an attendant and I imagine he could have held back the car if a person hadn’t quite gotten aboard. The Ramblers  are not as quick as we used to be but the klutzy Rambler (me) had time to study the procedure so all went smoothly.  Before long we were heading upwards in our ride over the Rhine. Incidentally the cable car glides along at a speed of about a yard a second in a continuous loop.

Before long our car was dangling over the Rhine, it was possible to see for miles.

We were surprised to find out that the Seilbahn had been built in 2010, not so long ago, to accommodate visitors to the massive Bundesgartenschau, a huge national floral and architectural exhibition held every two years in cities around Germany. In 2011, it was Koblenz’ turn to host the show and the Seilbahn was built to ferry the huge crowds quickly across the Rhine to the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress which held some of the exhibits. Although the flower show is long gone, the cable car is still very popular. The ride alone is worth the fare, as the view over the Rhine and Moselle is amazing. I totally forgot my fear of heights in my enjoyment of the view. Yet I was glad we hadn’t landed in car #17 which has a glass floor.

You can see the mighty Rhine and the smaller Moselle going off to the left. A river cruiser motors by on the Rhine.

The 9.9 Euro fare is for a round trip, but we had to get out at the fortress side which meant scampering out, and then had to get in again for the return trip. Oh well, it was worth it. To the Ramblers, the fortress was something of a disappointment even though it is a UNESCO site. It was huge, no doubt, but there was not much to see on exterior.The best view, although a fleeting one, was from the cable car. Plus, although there had been a fortress on this spot since Roman times because of its location, the current structure was built in the 19th century by Prussia to replace one destroyed by the French in 1801.

The Ehrenbreitstein Fortress perches right on the edge of the cliff, the best view is from the Seilbahn.

We noted that there was a sidewalk which ran along side leading to a parking lot at the far end so it is possible to view the fortress without riding the cable car. All the exhibits are on the inside and we had not bought a combination ticket which included admission. No matter, we strolled around for a while, and were not tempted to go inside because it was such a beautiful day to be outside. So back to the cable car and another exciting view and then we walked along the Rhine before heading back to the River Queen.

Not much to see from the outside, but it a huge place.

We hoped to locate the small hotel we had stayed at before we took our first Rhine cruise twenty years ago. Could we recognize it? For this, I relied on the senior Rambler as he has a great visual memory, having worked as a graphic artist for many years. He did not fail us as we are pretty sure that our little hotel restaurant is still going strong. He also has a great memory for meals that he enjoyed and still talks about the second-best sauerbraten he had eaten in their restaurant. I, of course, make the best version of the dish. LOL

We stayed here in 1998, and our little hotel restaurant is still going strong.

Unlike some places we have visited, it is almost impossible to get lost in Koblenz, as there is no thick wall of tall buildings lining the river. There are hotels of course, because this is a popular base for holidays but none of the buildings is very tall.  Since the river bank rises as one walks inland, it is easy to see the second and third row of buildings not to mention the towers of St. Castors.

Many small hotels line the banks of the Rhine, these were more modern and weren’t here in 1998. They also looked appealing but we still preferred our choice.

It did look like a fun place to stay for a few days with many wine villages and quaint villages in the nearby Rhineland Countryside. Not to mention that Koblenz is noted for its excellent shopping. Evidently many tourists come here mainly to shop! We arrived back at our ship in plenty of time for the all aboard call, and the River Queen then set sail for Alken at 7:00 PM. We chose a table with a river view so we could watch the scenery along the Moselle as we enjoyed our dinner.

Deutsches Eck, Ehrenbreistein Fortress, Gorch Foch 1, Koblenz Seilbahn, Kolner Shanty Choir, Ludwig Museum, St. Castor's Church

The German Corner where the Rhine and Moselle meet.

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Although we had a busy day in Koln, we were treated to a guest performance that night. The Kolner Shanty Choir came aboard at 9:00 PM, before our ship sailed for Koblenz. The Choir is a jolly group of men in seafaring garb whose mission is to support the restoration of a German sailing vessel, the Gorch Foch 1 and having a good time. The 3 masted barkentine was built in 1933 and named after Johann Kinau, a German who wrote about seafaring life between the wars and was lost at sea during the Battle of Jutland. Gorch Foch was his pseudonym.

The Gorch Fock 1 in the 1930’s. Photo from Wikipedia Commons.

The magnificent sailing ship was taken by the Russians as part of war reparations at the end of WWII. After the fall of the Soviet Union, it fell to the Ukraine which couldn’t afford to repair it. Finally in 2003, the ship was purchased by the Tall Ship Friends and returned  to Germany in very bad condition. The Tall Ship Friends  has since worked to restore the Gorch Foch 1 as a sailing school ship for young people interested in a maritime career. The Kolner Shanty Choir performs to raise money for this cause, and because of a common interest in seafaring.

The Kolner Shanty Choir  obviously enjoyed singing their songs of the sea and we  enjoyed their performance. Here are a few choruses of Anchors Aweigh sung  by the choir on the bank of the Rhine last summer. The Rambler loved hearing the USN standard sung with a German accent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s28zhevk4bE

Immediately afterwards,  the River Queen prepared to sail to Koblenz where we were scheduled to arrive at 8 AM. On time as usual, the River Queen docked on the Moselle, or Mosel, not the Rhine. Koblenz is situated at the point where the Moselle and the Rhine meet, called the corner of Germany or Deutsches Eck. A statue of Kaiser Wilhelm still stands at this point since it was erected in 1897.

The Kaiser surveys his domain from the top of the monument of the German Corner.

For this part of the cruise the River Queen would leave the Rhine and sail along the Moselle until we reached Strasbourg. Then we would turn around and return to the Rhine for the final leg of our cruise.

Our excursion this morning was a walking tour of Koblenz. It is a great town for walking, with largely level terrain, and the gentle walkers loved it. With our English-Speaking German guide, we headed towards the Deutsches Eck and its imposing statue. From there we walked along the Rhine towards the Ludwig Museum and finally St. Castor’s Basilica.

The senior Rambler couldn’t resist this photo op in the courtyard of the Ludwig museum during our tour.

The Ludwig Museum of Koblenz is one of five museums in Germany, founded by  Peter and Irene Ludwig. The Ludwig’s amassed a large collection of contemporary art which they believed should be shared with the public to further an appreciation of modern art. Peter Ludwig and his wife Irene,  used his fortune as the CEO of Ludwig Chocolates to preserve and promote contemporary art, particularly works by French and German artists along with establishing five museums to display them.

Today the Ludwig Museum in Koblenz is supported by generous donations, permanent loans and project funds. Since its opening in December 1992, the museum has defined itself through an active dialogue in modern art mainly with its neighbor, France. In addition, the museum has organized a number of international exhibition projects in Koblenz. Although its art is contemporary, the museum is housed in the  15th century Deutsches Herrenhaus, built as a bailiwick and hospital of the Teutonic Knights.

The Ludwig museum with the twin towers of St. Castor’s in the background.

It is an attractive building, nicely restored,  not far from St. Castor’s Basilica. In between the buildings is a series of patios with benches and a lovely and extensive garden complete with fountain and benches which leads to the Church. It was a pleasure to walk through and a pleasant place to sit if you weren’t interested in church history. Yet St. Castor’s has had a particularly long and interesting history and the core of the building is much older than it looks from outside.

It was a pleasant walk to St. Castor’s through the garden. One of our group decide to wait on the bench during our tour of the church.

Although much has been added and changed on its exterior, the church was actually built between 817 and 836 AD by the archbishop of Trier. At that time, it was situated just outside of the city of Confluentes (Koblenz) which had been founded by the Romans centuries ago. The Romans were long gone now the Carolingian Franks, under Charlemagne controlled the area and most of its inhabitants were Christians.

Approaching St. Castor’s…

Over time, the church was engulfed by the town of Koblenz and  later became part of the monastery of St. Castor. Negotiations to divide the Frankish kingdom of Charlemagne were  held in the church after his death in 842. Following this tradition, it became the preferred meeting place for emperors and kings for several centuries. Many disputes were settled there that caused the boundaries of Europe to shift and eventually evolve into the Holy Roman Empire and later Germany and France. In the 12th century, the church was enlarged, and two towers were built higher. Further changes were made after a battle in 1199damaged the building.

The ceiling is very beautiful and the windows, though not particularly large make the interior very bright.

St. Castor’s took on its present form when a beautiful vaulted Gothic roof and ceiling was added at the end of the 15th century to replace its original flat Romanesque roof.

By the 19th century, St. Castor’s had fallen into disrepair, and just as in Koln, the Prussian government began a restoration of the church. Unfortunately the church was damaged by British bombs and artillery fire in 1944 as Hitler’s forces retreated. Fortunately, the stone building remained largely intact at the war’s end and the slow process of restoration was began in 1948 and completed in 1990.  The church we visited last summer still had traces of its earliest years and much remained from the middle ages. Of all the churches we have visited in Europe, St. Castor’s was one of the most peaceful and encouraged contemplation. I’m sure the medieval monks of St. Castor’s would have been pleased. Our tour ended at the church and we were on our own to wander along the Rhine and perhaps take a ride on the Seilbahn across the Rhine to look at the Ehrenbreistein Fortress which loomed over the hill on the other side of the Rhine. Before she left us, our guide informed us that our President Troomp’s family came from this part of Germany, not sure how she felt about this.

On the way back, we passed this playground and watched the children getting wet in a variety of ways.

The Ramblers decided they would walk back along the river bank to the ship and have lunch, afterwards the Seilbahn beckoned and we also wanted to find the hotel we had stayed at twenty years ago, if we could. We had come to Alsace Lorraine in 1998, when the Rambler was still teaching history at Kennesaw State University,for a Study Abroad program. The senior Rambler came along and it turned out, was a big help keeping track of my students on our field trips. The week-ends were our own and on one we took a day trip on the Rhine, staying overnight in Koblenz. It would be fun to see if the place was still there.