Rheinstein - the fairytale castle

Until now I never thought that I can have a passion for a river, but if it happens that the river is flanked  on the right side and on the left side as well with castles, then I will make a  passion for that river too, for sure. That's what happened with the Rhine river. Actually, this river has fascinated me for some time, since I saw it for the first time, in Mainz. I believe that it is a very interesting  river, which, if it could talk, it  whould tell you stories that happened hundreds of  years ago. And who whould not listen to such stories? I'll be in the first line.

The  Rhine has a very interesting route through Europe, first of all, because the source of the river is in Switzerland and second of all, because it flows into the sea, in Netherlands. It's not the route that you were expecting, am I right? If you want to know something else about it, I will tell you that the Rhine is a natural border between France and Germany. Now, I believe that you want to find out  what is so special about a simple river. Well, there are a lot to see, because on the Rhine you can find many tourist attractions.  It all begins with its source and the Rhine Watterfalls in Switzerland and it ends with the Rhine Delta, in Netherlands.

But my curent obssesion  is about  a special part on the Rhine, 65 km long, between Bingen and Koblenz. Why is this part so special? Because here you can find on the hills bordering the Rhine a chain of castles (more than 40 of them), one more beautiful than another. It is the only place in the whole world where you can find so many grouped castles, and that is the reason why the entire area is a UNESCO World Heritage site. And so you can understand how close they are, imagine that you stay in one of the castles and you can see three more on the other side of the river. So, if you love the castles and the ancient tales, this place will leave you speachless, literally. Until now I saw only four of these castles, but I wish to spend an entire vacation in that area, so I can see each castle and each beautiful place.

When I looked for informations about this place, I only found general articles, where every place was briefly described. I  believe that each place deserves more than two lines and lots of photos, so you can decide that you want to visit it. I wish to see all the castles from the area, so I can tell you too about each one of them.

Today I will present you the Rheinstein castle, which is situated on the left side of the Rhine. If you don't pay attention, it is possible to miss it, because from the road you can see it pretty late, because it is built on a rock just above the road.

The castle is 5 km far from Bingen, at the entrance of Trechtingshausen, on the left side of the Rhine and it is an architectural beauty. It's not  hard at all to find it, because there are a lot of signs, and the castles are so close to each other, that you can't miss them. The road from the parking to the castle it's not long, and the path is a zig-zag one, so it is easy to reach the top. Plus, from time to time, you will stop to admire the view and to take some pictures. At least, that's what I did.

The fascinating Rhinestein castle was built in the 13th century, but it became a  ruin in the 17th century. Around the 1800s it was bought and restored by a member of the prussian royal family. After that, in 1975, it  was bought by the opera singer Hermann Hecher. Until now, the Hecher family is the one that took care of the castle and  opened it for the turists.
In this castle, like in many others, weddings and other events are celebrated, so, if you are tempted by this idea, Rheinstein is a place that you might take into consideration. The location is special, the castle is extraordinary and the view over the Rhine leaves you speechless.
The castle owns the first garden build in the romantic style, from the entire Middle Rhine and I can assure you that it is a fairytale place! When we got there, the garden was prepared for a small reception: the wrought iron chairs, the white tablecloth, the delicate and romantic floral arrangement, the dusty yellow of the wall stones, the shine of the Rhine's watter and the entire view formed a  unique and unforgettable picture.

A corner of the castle's garden

From the garden you can go to the small plateau, where you can find a chapel which is built in a neo- ghotic style. In this chapel you can find the grave of a prussian family member, the only one of this kind on the Middle Rhine.

The interior of the chapel

The stone stairs which lead to the entrance of the castle are bordered with lots of  cheerful and colorful flowers. When you get just in front of the main entrance, you can admire again the Rhine. I could stay there for hours, watching the boats sailing up and down the river.

Two very special places are the terrace with the fountain and the watch tower (where you can get from the terrace). The acces is made throw some very narrow stonestairs, so it can only pass one person at a time. About the watch tower view I won't tell you anything. You can imagine how it is...just fantastic!!! Something else that I personally liked about this castle are the tower rooms. Those served as dining room, library or study room.

The watch tower

Watch tower view

Inside the castle, you will find, on three or four floors, diferent kinds of rooms: the kitchen, the knights hall, the dining room, the  bedrooms, the living room, the prince's floor (the prince Frederick of Prussia, who has set up an entire floor for himself) and the tower rooms. On the last floor, in the tower, you can find another room with a small fireplace and some beautifully carved wooden furniture. Most of the furniture exposed in the castle dates from the 17th-19th centuries, which makes it even more interesting.

The spiral staircase

One of the tower rooms, which served as a dining room

A bedroom

 If you want to come just for a citybreak, at 50 km from the area Bingen- Koblenz  you can find the Frankfurt Hahn airport, where low cost flights are landing. I'm sure that you will find a flight that suits you.

The entire castle is a fairytale, a dream! If you get in the area, you really need to visit it, because it is one of the most beautiful ones from the Middle Rhine, and the entrance ticket is very cheap (5 euros).

What in particular do you like about this castle?
Would you like to do your wedding here (or another special event)?