"Very German Place in the Heart of the... " a Koblenz Travel Page by RhineRoll

Koblenz owes both ints existence and its name to a geographical trait: This is where the rivers and valleys of the Moselle (Mosel) and the Rhine (Rhein) meet. Such places have always had a high strategic importance and it is no surprise that the Romans were the first ones to really leave their mark on the area. They called their fortress "castellum ad confluentes" --- castle/fort at the merging (rivers). It only took 2000 years for the word "confluentes" to become Koblenz. And even 2000 years later, Koblenz is still a garrison city, even though the strategic importance has shifted away from military to touristic considerations -- This is a great place to visit and an excellent base to explore the wonderful river valleys around the city.

Koblenz is very easily reached by car and train. It takes less than 1 hour to get here from Cologne and Frankfurt.

The headland where the Mosel flows into the Rhine is called "German Corner" (Deutsches Eck) and it contains a large statue of Prussian Emperor Wilhelm I who unified Germany in the 19th century and who extended the military forts in and around Koblenz against a presumend French counterattack. The 37 high statue was blown up by the Americans after World War II because it was seen as a symbol of German (Prussian) militarism, but soon replaced with an identical replica that's been there ever since.

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress sits on a cliff, some 120 metres above the Rhine and the city. In its long history, it went through various stages of build, reaching its biggest extension under Prussian rule in the 19th century. Today, it contains a couple of museums, various monuments and (most importantly) one of Germany's nicest and most popular youth hostels. Great view on Koblenz and the surrounding area.