Middle Rhine
Middle Rhine (Mittelrhein) | |
---|---|
Ahrweiler, Bonn, Koblenz, Mainz-Bingen, Mayen-Koblenz, Neuwied, Rhein-Hunsrück, Rhein-Lahn, Rhein-Sieg, Rheingau-Taunus | |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Rhine knee at Bingen am Rhein, continuation of the Upper Rhine |
• coordinates | 49°58′11″N 7°53′21″E / 49.96972°N 7.88917°E |
• elevation | 89 m |
Mouth | |
• location | Between Bad Godesberg and Bonn-Oberkassel, continues as Lower Rhine |
• coordinates | 50°42′20″N 7°9′46.2″E / 50.70556°N 7.162833°E |
• elevation | 61 m |
Length | 130 km (81 mi) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• left | Ahr, Moselle, Nahe, Nette |
• right | Lahn, Wied |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Karte_Mittelrhein.png/220px-Karte_Mittelrhein.png)
Middle Rhine (German: Mittelrhein, pronounced [ˈmɪtl̩ˌʁaɪn] ; kilometres[a] 529 to 660 of the River Rhine)[2] is the name of the section of the Rhine between Bingen and Bonn in Germany. It flows through the Rhine Gorge (Oberes Mittelrheintal), a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river at about its original level, and the surrounding lands raised. This gorge is quite deep, about 130 metres (430 ft) from the top of the rocks down to the average water-line.
The Middle Rhine is one of four sections of the Rhine between Lake Constance and the North Sea (the others being the High Rhine, Upper Rhine and Lower Rhine) . The upper half of the Middle Rhine (Rhine Gorge) from Bingen (Rhine-kilometer 526) to Koblenz (Rhine-kilometer 593) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a striking cultural landscape with more than 40 castles and fortresses from the Middle Ages, unique terraced vineyards, and many wine villages.[3] The lower half, from Koblenz (Rhine-kilometer 593) to Bonn (Rhine-kilometer 655), is famous for the formerly volcanic Siebengebirge, with the Drachenfels volcano. Both parts together are known as "the romantic Rhine".
The Middle Rhine Valley has been a major tourist attraction since the 19th century. It is also home to some 450,000 people. The valley owes its special appearance to both its natural shape and human alterations. For two
The vineyards along the Middle Rhine form a wine-growing region of the same name.
Geography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Koblenz_im_Buga-Jahr_2011_-_Deutsches_Eck_01.jpg/220px-Koblenz_im_Buga-Jahr_2011_-_Deutsches_Eck_01.jpg)
Location
The name
The
Transport
There are major railway lines on both sides of the river: the West Rhine Railway on the left and the East Rhine Railway on the right. Major roads are the federal roads B9 and B42, and the Rhine itself is a major international waterway.
Towns and cities
The most important cities on the left bank are Bingen,
Tributaries
Larger tributaries on the left include Nahe, Moselle and Ahr; on the right Lahn and Wied.
Castles, fortresses and palaces
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Burg_Stahleck.jpg/220px-Burg_Stahleck.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5e/Marksburg.jpg/220px-Marksburg.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6d/Schloss_Stolzenfels_01_Koblenz_2015.jpg/220px-Schloss_Stolzenfels_01_Koblenz_2015.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Airfocus20120928_053PDJL.jpeg/220px-Airfocus20120928_053PDJL.jpeg)
The most outstanding castles are the
The following castles are found along the Middle Rhine, in downstream order:
History
Prehistory
The terraces of the Middle Rhine Valley have been inhabited since the early Iron Age. Evidence of this are the barrow fields around the city forest of Boppard and in the forest of Brey and the ring walls on the Dommelberg in Koblenz and on the giant hill at St. Goarshausen. On the western border of the Middle Rhine region, there are also traces of a Celtic settlement, with the grave pillars of Pfalzfeld and the Waldalgesheim chariot burial. In the 4th century BCE, the area had come under the influence of Mediterranean civilizations. The north-south link between mouth of the Nahe and the Moselle estuary rich already in use in pre-Roman times. The Roman development of the route overlaps in large sections with the route of the modern Bundesautobahn 61
Roman period
The Romans settled in the area of the Middle Rhine from the mid-1st century BC to about 400 AD. An important factor was the construction of the Roman Rhine Valley Road between the provincial capitals Mainz and Cologne along the left bank of the Rhine, both on the plateau (northbound from Rheinböllen) as on the left bank in the Valley (the route of the modern highway Bundesautobahn 9). The Rhine was the border of the Roman Empire, which is why the road had to be constructed on the left bank, just inside the Empire.
Traces of significant road construction have been identified near
The Romans used the Rhine for shipping. In the 1st century CE, bridges were constructed at Koblenz across the Rhine and the Moselle. In 83—85 a
In the 5th century, the
At the end of the 5th century, the
Middle Ages
The Roman settlements, especially the fortified cities in the Middle Rhine Valley, were taken by the Franconian Kings as Crown possessions. Almost all of the territory between Bingen and Remagen, including the cities of Bacharach, Oberwesel, St. Goar, Boppard, Koblenz and Sinzig, were in royal ownership. The
The grandsons of
Late Middle Ages
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Mittelrheintal_Oberwesel_2009.jpg/600px-Mittelrheintal_Oberwesel_2009.jpg)
The late Middle Ages were marked on the Middle Rhine by the territorial fragmentation. In addition to the spiritual Electors of Cologne, Mainz and Trier, the
These castles are interesting examples of late medieval military architecture. They were partly influenced by developments in France, Italy and the Crusader states. The Counts of Katzenelnbogen in particular, excelled as castle builders. They built the Marksburg, Rheinfels Castle,
Boppard and Oberwesel resisted of integration into a modern territorial state for a long time. Boppard fought battles for the freedom of the city in 1327 and 1497. The grave stone in the popular "wide-track bully" type in the Carmelite church of Boppard of the knight Sifrid of Schwalbach, who fell in 1497, is a testimony to this struggle for local liberties which erupted for the last time in the Palatine Peasants' War of 1525. The City Castle of Boppard, built by Baldwin of Trier in 1340, however, is a monument of the suppression of urban autonomy by territorial princes.
Since the territories of the four Rhenish electors lie close together on the Middle Rhine, these cities have been the venue for countless historically important events, such as
Modern Period
Landgrave by Philip the Magnanimous of Hesse introduced the doctrine of the
The Thirty Years' War broke out in 1618 from the struggle between the Catholics and the Protestants and the political tensions in the German Empire. France, Spain and Sweden intervened. When peace was established in 1648, the country was economically ruined with and half the population having died from the fighting, disease or famine.
During the 17th century, the Middle Rhine was increasingly the scene of a long-lasting conflict between Germany and
After the French Revolutionary Wars, the left bank of the Rhine was annexed by the French Republic and later the French Empire. Prefect Lezay-Marnésia, who resided in Koblenz began restoring the road on the left bank, which had not been maintained after the Romans had left and had fallen into disuse. He also promoted fruit production in the Middle Rhine (for example, cherry growing in Bad Salzig, like it was practiced in Normandy). This partly replaced the viticulture, which had declined sharply at the end of the 18th century.
19th century
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Koblenz_im_Buga-Jahr_2011_-_Festung_Ehrenbreitstein_45.jpg/220px-Koblenz_im_Buga-Jahr_2011_-_Festung_Ehrenbreitstein_45.jpg)
The French included the Middle Rhine area in the department of Rhin-et-Moselle, with its seat in Koblenz. The new government replaced the German princes with French secular rulers, abolished the feudal system, seized land from the church and nobility in order to resell it and introduced French-style legislation.
On New Year's Day 1814, an army under general
Steamships were introduced on the Rhine from about 1830. Railway lines were constructed from 1857. Neither innovation led to industrialization in the narrow Rhine valley. As late as 1900, viticulture dominated the economic structure of the Middle Rhine, with its small cities and agriculture.
20th century
After the end of the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Besch%C3%A4digte_Br%C3%BCcke.jpg/250px-Besch%C3%A4digte_Br%C3%BCcke.jpg)
After the appointment of Hitler as Chancellor on January 30, 1933 the enthusiasm on the Middle Rhine was great. In many places, Hitler was named an honorary citizen. Jewish and other non-Christian officials were replaced by party functionaries. The Jews, who had played a significant role in small town business were robbed and driven out, some of them murdered.
The Battle of Remagen during the Allied invasion of Germany resulted in the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine and shortened World War II in Europe. Damage during the battle caused the bridge's collapse on March 17, 1945, but only after the Allies had gained a foothold on the eastern side of the bridge. By March 21, Allied forces had ended the war's hostilities on the Middle Rhine. Because of the battle's outcome, Hitler ordered a court-martial that sentenced to death five officers that had been involved in defending the bridge.[5]
The French again took up the administration of the territory in its occupation zone. At end of 1946, the Americans created the State Hesse in their occupation zone; six months later the French founded of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate. Although some areas were combined in the new states that historically do not belong together, a sense of togetherness quickly appeared. The desire for state boundaries more in line with historical territorial boundaries, however, never ceased entirely.
UNESCO World Heritage Site "Upper Middle Rhine Valley"
The "cultural landscape of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley" is the narrow Rhine Valley from [Bingen and Rüdesheim to Koblenz. On 27 June 2002, the
Criteria for a cultural landscape
Recognition as a "cultural landscape" requires under the terms of the criteria an integrated landscape space that has a certain uniqueness and where humans experience an unusual configuration. In the
Transport planning
When the world cultural heritage status was granted, UNESCO pointed out that the noise generated by traffic (in particular, the railway lines) is a problem. Concrete measures but were neither recommended nor required. Nevertheless, the Rudesheim section was scheduled to be routed through a tunnel (construction began in 2011).
The Rhineland-Palatinate state government plans to construct a new Middle Rhine Bridge near St. Goar and St. Goarshausen. This should be coordinated with UNESCO. On 29 July 2010, UNESCO announced in this regard that before further planning of a bridge, a master plan is to be presented to demonstrate the need for new bridge and compatibility with World Heritage status. Only further consultations can reveal whether problems similar to those in the former World Heritage Site Dresden Elbe Valley can be avoided.[6] Various explanations by the state government notwithstanding, reports that consent of UNESCO had been granted after discussions is Brasília, turned out to be premature. According to the UNESCO commission, a decision could be reached in the summer of 2011 at the earliest.
The
Castles
With a few exceptions, the
The weakening of imperial power began in the 12th century and the power of the Princes grew.
Between 1220 and 1231, several important rights (regalia) were transferred to the spiritual (Confoederatio cum principibus ecclesiasticis) and temporal (Statutum in favorem principum) princes of the empire. From 1273, the Emperor was elected by the Electors; in 1356 imperial fiefs became territorial states. This was also the period when most castles were constructed. Four of the seven Electors held territories in the Middle Rhine Valley. The political landscape was a patchwork, as the parts of these territories were not connected. initially, the castles served to secure territory. In the late 12th century, the princes discovered customs revenue as a source of income and some castles were built to control customs. Castles were also built outside cities to keep the aspirations to freedom of the city dwellers in check.
By the end of the 14th century,
With the advent of Rhine romanticism after 1815, many castles were rebuilt.
Viticulture
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Bopparder_Hamm.jpg/400px-Bopparder_Hamm.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Mittelrhein_Rheinbrohl.jpg/220px-Mittelrhein_Rheinbrohl.jpg)
The Middle Rhine geographical region is largely identical to the geographical region to the Middle Rhine wine region, as defined by the German
The Romans introduced viticulture into the Region. That is, they introduced it into the Moselle valley; it spread into the Middle Rhine Valley during the Middle Ages. This development took place in four phases from the 11th to the end of the 14th century. An essential element of this development was the new technique of terrace viticulture. Vines are grown on terraces sloping from 25° to 30° and more.
The climate favours wine production, as both the Rhine and the slate and greywacke weathered soils function as a heat storage that helps prevent large temperature fluctuations. Additionally, the steep slopes function to drain cold air from the valley. This is particularly beneficial for the late-ripening Riesling, which as of 2010[update] was grown on about 68%[7] of the total area under viticulture. The terraced vineyards used to be much smaller. The current situation has emerged only after a land consolidation in the 1960s. Unfortunately, with the disappearance of the old stone walls, a valuable habitat for microorganisms was lost. Some old style terraces are still in use in the Middle Rhine Valley. They continue to use the old technique of binding each vine to a separate pole.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Wein_am_Rhein.jpg/220px-Wein_am_Rhein.jpg)
In the Middle Ages, wine was the only non-germinated storable drink for the common people, as beer was often expensive and of poor quality, water in urban areas was usually polluted and coffee and tea were still unknown. A regional speciality of the four valleys around Bacharach is Feuerwein, a specially treated wine that was traded far to the North. It now again being manufactured at Posthof in Bacharach. It was one of the dominant items of trade in the Middle Ages, fostered by the Rhine as the most important waterway, and existing Roman roads. It was valued by landlords, as growing wine appreciated the value of their land. The legal, social and economic situation of the workers improved as more and more workers with critical skills were needed. In the late Middle Ages, the economy flourished and the majority of the population was dependent on wine growing. After the dissolution of many Lordships, land ownership fragmented and the land was divided into many small parcels.
By the end of the 16th century this industry was booming. The
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Mittelrhein_Hammerstein_Brohl.jpg/220px-Mittelrhein_Hammerstein_Brohl.jpg)
About 58% of the vineyard area that existed in 1900 has since become a wasteland; another 16% lies fallow 40 to 80% of the time. Some 480 hectares (1,200 acres) remains and the trend is decreasing: in 2006, only 380 hectares (940 acres) of that 480 hectares was actually used to grow grapes. The wastelands are overgrown with bushes and, over time, they revert to being forests. This is a big problem. If we want to retain the character of the landscape, we will have to find new uses for the terraces, or at least maintain them and keep them open. The
Tourism
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Mittelrheinbr%C3%BCcke.jpg/220px-Mittelrheinbr%C3%BCcke.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Loreley_von_Spitznack.jpg/220px-Loreley_von_Spitznack.jpg)
Young British aristocrats on their Grand Tour to Italy discovered the Middle Rhine in the 18th century. With the German romance of the Middle Rhine in Germany was also a dream destination. Tourism, which had been induced by the Rhine romanticism, in turn promoted, which was provided by the Köln-Düsseldorfer company, which was founded in 1827, and the construction of the West Rhine Railway between the 1840s and 1870s. This brought a new economic boom to the Middle Rhine area, which continued well into the 20th century. The only paddle steamer still remaining on the Rhine is the Goethe, running between Koblenz and Rudesheim.
German and foreign tourists never quite lost interest in the Middle Rhine. Interest, however, decreased noticeably since the 1980s. In an attempt to make the Middle Rhine more attractive in the 21st century, two new long-distance trails, the Rheinsteig on the right side of the Rhine and the Rheinburgenweg Trail on both sides of the Rhine, were opened which allow a particularly intense experience of the cultural landscape. Cyclists can ride the entire Middle Rhine Valley between Bingen and Bonn on the Rhine Cycle Route. On the left bank, this provides a continuous bike path along the river, separate from any roads accessible to cars. On the right bank, there are still some small gaps where cyclists have to use regular streets.
The Rhine is one of the busiest waterways in the world. The Middle Rhine Valley is the gap in the Rhenish Slate Mountains and forms a bottleneck due to its tight curves and shallows. To improve the safety of shipping, the Middle Rhine Warning System was created which uses light signals to guide ships through the dangerous passages.
Events
- Rhine in Flames Great Fireworks in several cities in the Valley, in May, July, August and September
- Culinary summer night in August in Bacharach, Beginner Wine Festival, and in October in Posthof Bacharach
- Middle Rhine Marathon from Oberwesel to the German Corner in Koblenz
- Tal Total on the last Sunday in June, car-free valley between Bingen/Rüdesheim and Koblenz/Lahnstein
- Rhine on Skates, last Saturday in August, guided
See also
- Rhine
- Rhine Gorge
- Rhineland
- Mittelrhein (wine region)
- Upper Rhine
- Lower Rhine
- Köln-Düsseldorfer
- List of rivers of Germany
Notes
- ^ The kilometrage of the River Rhine begins at the Old Rhine Bridge in the city of Konstanz (Constance) and ends at the Hook of Holland at the North Sea.[1]
Footnotes
- ^ "Rheinkilometrierung [Rhine kilometrage]" (in German). Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ "Der Mittelrhein [The Middle Rhine]" (in German). Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ a b c "Upper Middle Rhine Valley". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- ^ "A practical princess in a modern world".
- ^ Murphy, Brian John. "VE!". America in WWII. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^ Trembling before the Unesco: The Middle Rhine Valley does not want to be Dresden, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 7 July 2008
- ^ "Bestockte Rebfläche der Keltertrauben 1989 bis 2010 nach ausgewählten Rebsorten und Anbaugebieten" [Planted area of wine vineyards from 1989 to 2010 according to selected grape varieties and growing regions] (in German). Bad Ems: Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz. Archived from the original on 31 January 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
- ^ RomanticWine.de/Statistics
- ^ UNESCO documentation of the State Office of Historic Monuments, 2002
- ^ information on the management of "step vineyards" can be found on http://www.mittelrheintal.de or by writing to the Middle Rhine Visitor Center, Posthof, Oberstraße 45, D-55422 Bacharach, Germany
- ^ RomanticWine.de
- ^ Rhine on Skates takes place 10th time in Middle Rhine Valley, Wiesbaden Courier, 27 August 2012
References
- Martin Stankowski: Links + Rechts, der andere Rheinreiseführer, vom Kölner Dom bis zur Loreley. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne, 2005, ISBN 3-462-03573-8
- Wegweiser Mittelrhein. Edited by the Rhenish Association for Conservation and Landscape Protection. 14 volumes, Koblenz: Görres Verl. 1998 ff. The individual volumes are:
- Vol. 1: Axel von Berg: Vor- und Frühgeschichte, 1998, ISBN 3-920388-67-4
- Vol. 2: Horst Fehr: Die Römische Epoche, 2000, ISBN 3-920388-68-2
- Vol. 3: Eduard Sebald: Denkmäler der Romanik, 1999, ISBN 3-920388-69-0
- Vol. 4: Joachim Glatz: Bauen im Späten Mittelalter, 1999, ISBN 3-920388-70-4
- Vol. 5: Martina Holdorf: Burgen und Schlösser, 2nd, update and expanded ed., 2001, ISBN 3-920388-71-2
- Vol. 6: Peter Brommer & Achim Krümmel: Klöster und Stifte, 1998, ISBN 3-920388-72-0
- Vol. 7: ISBN 3-920388-73-9
- Vol. 8: ISBN 3-920388-74-7
- Vol. 9: ISBN 3-920388-75-5
- Vol. 10: Reinhard Lahr: Museums-Landschaft Mittelrhein, 1998, ISBN 3-920388-76-3
- Vol. 11: Franz-Josef Heyen: Spuren der Geschichte, 1998, ISBN 3-920388-77-1
- Vol. 12: Stella Junker-Mielke: ... ich war matt vor Seligkeit. Gärten und Parks, 2003, ISBN 3-935690-20-7
- Vol. 13.1: Michael Huyer: Zur Geschichte der Juden am Mittelrhein, vol. 13.1: Synagogen und andere Kultstätten, 2006, ISBN 3-935690-44-4
- Vol. 13.2: Michael Huyer: Zur Geschichte der Juden am Mittelrhein, vol. 13.2: Jüdische Friedhöfe, 2006, ISBN 3-935690-45-2
- Vol. 14: Bruno P. Kremer & Thomas Merz: Natur und Landschaft am Mittelrhein, 2008, ISBN 978-3-935690-67-6
- Vol. 1: Axel von Berg: Vor- und Frühgeschichte, 1998,
- Franz-Josef Heyen: Der Mittelrhein im Mittelalter, Mittelrhein-Verlag GmbH, Koblenz, 1988, ISBN 3-925180-03-6
- Christian Schüler-Beigang (ed.): Das Rheintal von Bingen und Rüdesheim bis Koblenz – Eine europäische Kulturlandschaft., the central piece of the documentation for request to UNESCO, von Zabern, Mainz, 2002, ISBN 3-8053-2753-6
- Erdmann Gormsen: Das Mittelrheintal – Eine Kulturlandschaft im Wandel, Leinpfad, Ingelheim, 2003, ISBN 3-9808383-2-3
- UNESCO-Welterbe Oberes Mittelrheintal, topographic recreational map 1 : 25000, jointly edited by the State Office for Surveying and Geobasis information Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse State Office of Land Management and Geoinformation, 2nd edition, State Agency for Surveying and Geobasis information Rheinland-Palatinate, Koblenz, 2005, ISBN 3-89637-365-X(set of three maps: Koblenz – Loreley – Rüdesheim/Bingen)
- Bruno P. Kremer: Das Untere Mittelrheintal. Flusslandschaft zwischen Neuwieder Becken und Niederrheinischer Bucht, Rheinischer Verein für Denkmalpflege und Landschaftsschutz, Cologne, 2009 (=Rheinische Landschaften, vol. 59), ISBN 978-3-86526-038-3
- Franz X. Bogner: Das Mittelrheintal aus der Luft, Theiss-Verlag, Stuttgart, 2011, ISBN 978-3-8062-2328-6
External links
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