Sankt Goar

A few last pictures of the Rhine Gorge, and then Sankt Goar.

From the boat: the Lorelei, a narrow passage around a bend where boats would often wreck. This led to stories of sketchy lady fae luring sailors to their deaths. If we come back, maybe we'll hike it.

As for Sankt Goar, there was a settlement here when the Romans arrived. People remained after they withdrew. The town got its name after a monk named Goar settled there to minister to the locals and the transient boatmen along the Rhine. After his death, his grave became a site of pilgrimage.

The town passed through the same power struggles many of these towns did. At one point, it was the focal point of a family struggle between brothers who inherited different parts of the Landgravate of Hesse. One besieged the other, with the help of the Holy Roman Emperor, leading to the sack of the town by Spanish troops. In the late 1700s it was over run by French Jacobins, and then Napoleonic forces. It finally went to Prussia in 1815. Yes, the Hohenzollerns again.

Our objective was Rheinfels Castle, mostly ruin, part hotel. We walked around the town a bit and ate some lunch first. I have to say, besides the really bad döner in Mittenwald, this was the worst food we had. Wine was good though.

We'd be coming back to Sankt Goar for the Rhine in Flames festival tomorrow night, though it's apparently going to be much reduced from what it used to be.Read more