Land Rheinland-Pfalz Off The Beaten Path Tips by globetrott Top 5 Page for this destination

Ruedesheim am Rhein - das Niederwalddenkmal

Niederwalddenkmal is a monument that was built high above the town of Ruedesheim in order to commemorate the end of the war of 1870/71 between France and Germany. The architects Johannes Schilling and Karl Weisbach needed 6 years for the construction of the giant monument, and even Kaiser Wilhelm I. came for the inauguration . The basement of the monument is 25 meters high and the goddess Germania 12,5 meters high, her sword is 7 meters... around the monument you will see all coats of arms of the german empire.
Below the monument you may walk down the hill again, walking through great garden-terraces and ejoy the view of the Rhine-valley !

You may drive up to Niederwalddenkmal with your own car, by public bus or you may take the small cable-car from Ruedesheim. Also the "Ruedesheim-Vinyard-express" will take you there.

Assmannshausen - north of Ruedesheim

The small village of Assmannshausen is well worth a visit, as it shows lots of great half-timbered houses .
The streets are rather narrow, and parking inside the village is almost impossible, but you may park at the river and walk a few hundred meters to see these great buildings.From Assmannshausen you may also drive up the hill in order to get to the Niederwalddenkmal and the great panorama-view over the Rhine ( or you take the chairlift from Ruedesheim in order to get there!)
Assmannshausen is about 5km downstream from Ruedesheim at the right bank of the river Rhine.

Ediger-Eller in the Mosel-valley

Ediger-Eller is another lovely village in the Mosel-valley, situated about 25km upstream from Cochem. You will drive through Ediger-Eller on your way to Bernkastel-Kues and I think it is well worth a short stop-over. Already from the street you pass through you will see several beautiful halftimbered houses and plenty of places, where you may sit in a garden-restaurant and taste the famous local Mosel-wines.
All of these small villages are not yet overrun by tourists like Cochem and Bernkastel, and prices in restaurants and hotels are much below the ones in Cochem and Bernkastel.

Castle Sternberg / Sterrenberg in Kamp-Bornhofen

From castle Liebenstein - high above Kamp-Bornhofen in the Rhine-valley - you may walk within only 15-20 minutes to castle Sternberg ( also sometimes called castle Sterrenberg).

My picture shows the quite unique innercourt of the castle, that is privately owned, but open to the public.I was there early in the morning, 2 hours before the restaurant would have opened, and I was able to walk around anyway and take my pics .
This castle is also a great place to have lunch or dinner and enjoy the great panorama of the Rhine-valley !

Siegfried's Mechanisches Musikkabinett

Siegfried's Mechanisches Musikkabinett in Ruedesheim is one of the biggest collections of automatic music-instruments and musicboxes in europe. Go inside, even when you will have not enough time to see the museum, the exhibits shown on my page are shown in the entrance hall, BEFORE you get to the cashier.
Siegfried's Mechanisches Musikkabinett inside of Broemserhof ,a lovely castle with a half-timbered facade, not far away from Drosselgasse.
I did not dare to put in some coins, but I may imagine that most of the machines are still working fine that way, and performances of these musicboxes are also part of every guided tour through the museum.
The entry fee is 5,50 Euros and 3 Euros for students and children.
Adress: Im Brömserhof, Oberstraße 29, 65385 Ruedesheim
E-Mail: mechanischesmusikkabinett@t-online.de,

Other Contact: %B%CB%S4Fax: +49(0) 67 22 /45 87

Phone: +49(0) 67 22 /4 92 17

Website: http://www.siegfrieds-musikkabinett.de

Burg Lahneck

Burg Lahneck is a really interesting castle, built high above the place, where the river LAHN flows into the Rhine.
The castle dates back to 1245 and you may visit it with a guided tour only. Tours are daily 10.00a.m. - 05.00 p.m. between easter and end of October.
Unfortunately I did not go inside, as for the next tour I would have to have waited 1,5 hours :-((
Just a few meters from the castle, you may see a great restaurant with a lovely terrace facing the Rhine-valley and with a great view on castle Kapellen-Stolzenfels. There is also a camping-site close to Burg Lahneck.

Website: http://www.burglahneck.de/index.html

Ehrenfels castle

The ruins of Ehrenfels castle are about 80 meters above the Rhine, not far from Ruedesheim and the Maeuseturm. The castle was first mentioned in a document in 1573 , but it is certainly much older than that. The river Rhine was a perfect place to build a castle and live on the toll, the merchants had to pay, when sailing on the Rhine.
This castle was built by the family von Bolanden, who owned several big castles along the river Rhine.

The Roman museum in Remagen

Already the old Romans setteled along the river Rhine and built their fortifications there, and that way the former Roman castello Ricomagus became the town of Remagen, as we know it today. Parts of the medieval townwalls are still to be seen at some places in Remagen, mainly in Milchgasse and most of them remained almost unchanged, as they became part of the buildings built behind of it.
The "Roemisches Museum" / Roman Museum in Remagen is just a few steps from the church and about 100 meters from the Rhine-promenade..
At this very place the old Romans built a house with several columns, on top of some of these remains a chapel was built in the 15th century and the building was finally given to the city of Remagen as a donation.

It is a museum today, open 03.00p.m.-05.00p.m.
every wednesdays till sundays.
or for groups upon appointment : Tel: +49(0)2642 201-59

Phone: +49(0)2642 201-59

The Krypta of the cathedral in Speyer

The Krypta is certainly one of the highlights, when visiting the cathedral of Speyer.
Plenty of bishops, kings and noblemen are buried there. In one of the side-niches you will also find the tomb of Edith Stein ( 1891 - 1942 )
she was born jewish and converted to christianity and became a Carmelite nun. She was sent to the KZ and was finally killed there in 1942.
You may walk down the Krypta on your own freely and without restrictions. Photography is no problem eighter, as long as you don't do it during the church-service.Guided tours of the cathedral are available upon reservation !

Tel 06232 - 102 118 until 12.00 noon !
or by Fax: 06232 102 119

Other Contact: %B%CB%S4Fax: 06232 102 119

Phone: 06232 - 102 118

Speyer - Historisches Museum der Pfalz

Just about 200 meters from the lerge cathedral in Speyer you will see this interesting regional museum, the building looks great already from outside.
While I was in Speyer, there was a special exhibition "100 years Playmobil" - but besides such special exhibitions the museum shows also the precious treasuries of the cathedral, a wine-museum and a museum about the history of Speyer beginning with the stone-age untill nowadays.
Even when you do not intend to see the exhibitions of Historisches Museum der Pfalz , it certainly makes sense to take a closer look at the beautiful facade - especially the one above the main-entrance.
Click on my picture and enjoy this great relief with golden inscriptions and ornaments.

The museum is open daily except Monday !
10.00 a.m. - 06.00 p.m.
The entrence-fee is 7 Euros
Guided tours are possible upon appointment :
make a reservation :(0 62 32) 62 02 22

Other Contact: %B%CB%S4info@museum.speyer.de

Phone: +49(0) 62 32) 1 32 50

Website: http://www.museum.speyer.de