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COCHEM’S REICHSBURG CASTLE
Majestic Jewel of the Mosel River Valley

Perhaps one of the most visually impressive castles of Germany, certainly not the largest, oldest or historically important, but upon approach either along the banks of the Mosel River (Moselle) of western Germany or from above on the winding road from the A 48, the Reichsburg Imperial castle’s cone roof spired tower stands above the walls like a jewel in a crown, perched on a steep sloped hilltop, high above the town of Cochem. The original castle was first built around the year 1,000, as the seat of a Palatine Count Ezzo of Erenfriede. With Palatine infighting coming to a head in 1151, the Hohenstaufen King Konrad III moved from Boppard on the Rhine and seized Cochem Castle from the feuding palatinate counts, making it an Imperial Castle (Reichsburg) of the region under the Hohenstaufers (see Neckartal Castle Guttenburg). The original castle was destroyed in the Palatine Wars of Succession in the 1689 (see Genealogy Museum Kaiserslautern) and seized again by the French under Napoleon in 1794. The castle has been the property of the town of Chochem since the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo (see Battleground Museums Waterloo) and the castle in its current form was reconstructed as a revival of neo-gothic fervor in the 1870’s.

The castle offers tours regular daily tours from March 15 to November 15. Special tourist parties with medieval costumes can be arranged with advance booking. The castle has a small bar-restaurant. The castle can be reached by foot from the Moselle promenade on a trail up the back from the river or up the Schlosstrasse from the center of town stating at the cathedral. By car you can drive up to the upper town and park near the local Grammar School (Gymnasium) .

Cochem is a beautiful quaint town at the heart of the Mosel River valley surrounded by the wine vineyards, famed for the Mosel’s flowery Reisling wines, that cling to the steep slopes of dark slate along the river. The Mosel has less barge traffic than the Rhine, left mostly to the cruise boats which make regular stops and departures from Cochem (see KD Cruises Rhine-Mosel). The Cochem village can get very crowded in the summer months, (this part of Germany gets longer periods of sunshine), popular with German and foreign tourists alike. The town doesn’t have many large hotels, as it is tucked tight along the riverside, but offers many smaller family owned hotels and bed & breakfast type accommodations. It seems nearly every house near the tourist center will have signs of guest rooms for rent (“gastezimmer frei”). You can try your luck showing up. But get there early on weekends and check at the tourist office just on the river road in the town center. By auto, Cochem is about a hour west from Koblenz (where the Mosel joins the Rhine) or 1 ½ hours east from Trier or Luxemburg to the west, 2 hours from Cologne or Mainz. If castle hunting there are several others along the Mosel, the most preserved including Burg Eltz about 15 minutes (with a short hike), Thurant Castle easily reached by road (see Castle Thurant) and Ehrenburg with its unique stonework defenses. From Cochem you can cross the river and drive narrow roads, about an hour direct to Boppard on the Rhine in the midst the middle Rhine castle area (see Castle Marksburg). © Bargain Travel Europe

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See Also:

BURG REICHENSTEIN - RHINE CASTLE HOTEL

STUTTGART - CITY OF FESTIVALS

GERMAN WINE ROAD - BAD DURKHEIM

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