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AUF
SCHÖNBURG
RHINE CASTLE HOTEL
Oberwesel On The Rhine - Medieval Walls and Wine
Ancient Germanic
and Nordic legends tell of a dwarf, so enamored of the gold shining
in
the rocks through the shimmering waters of the Rhine
River that he steals it from its guardians, the Rhine maidens, forges
it into a ring which ultimately brings down the reign of the great Norse
gods and the ascention of man. The myth of the Rheingold, inspired Wagner
to write his famed operas and J. R. R. Tolkien to pen his fantasy version
of the “Lord of the Rings” begetting the popular Hollywood
movies. If the legend were true, it would have happened in the bends
of the Rhine river near the mighty Loreley rock, where one of the maidens
would sing and cause sailors to wreck on the shoals. It is here, in the
heart of what has been named as a UNESCO World Heritage site of the Middle
Rhine, with castles crowning the banks of the river at nearly every bend
that Rheingoldstrasse weaves along the hills above the river, a favorite
of cyclists.
Oberwesel on the Rhine is a quaint and narrow little village ringed by
medieval walls with ancient stone towers still intact, pressed between
the river and the steep slopes of the hill banks where it makes a sharp
bend just south of the infamous Loreley rock. A castle called Schönburg
(beautiful castle) has been standing watch over Oberwesel for a thousand
years. Since the 12th Century, the Dukes of Schönburg ruled the
lands and town of Oberwesel with the right to levy customs taxes on goods
traversing the river and the old Roman road through the mountains. The
medieval Schönburg castle like many of the castles in the Rhineland-Palatine
(see Castle
Ruins of Frankenstein) was burnt by the French in the wars
of Palatine Succession in 1689 – the 30 years war (see Heidelberg
Castle).
Schönburg
Castle is now a hotel, rebuilt in the 19th Century during the Rhine’s
romantic revival and is one of Germany’s most
romantic lodging establishments, a true authentic castle hotel with
its incredible view of the Rhine and the town below. The hotel has
2 single
rooms and 18 double rooms with 2 luxury suites, furnished with four-poster
beds and balconies facing the Rhine. The castle’s common spaces
are richly furnished in antiques, with its library offering a cozy
hideaway seeming centuries past and a maze of hallways to explore.
The castle’s
restaurant offers elegant dining with courtyard and terrace tables
with picture perfect views of the river, though the weather along the
Rhine
can be as moody as a greedy bi-polar dwarf - "my precious".
The Auf Schönburg Castle Hotel is well suited for exploring the
wine vineyards and mountain trails of the Rhineland and the medieval
Rhine towns of Rudesheim, St. Goar, Bacharach and Boppard (see Boppard
on the Rhine).
The Burg
Hotel and Restaurant Auf Schönburg can be reached by car
along the Rhine River road from Bingen or Koblenz, or the fastest route
through the hills from the A61 Autobahn exits 44 or 45, with a parking
lot for guests and restaurant visitors. By train, the station at Oberwesel
is about a mile from the hotel with a steep climb up the hill - if one
wants the exercise, or take a taxi. Oberwesel is also a stop on the K-D
Rhine Cruise line route (see KD
Rhine River Cruising). Oberwesel is the closest
Rhine River town to the Frankfurt-Hahn airport served by Ryanair and
other discount airlines, about 35 minutes by car, Frankfurt-Main Airport
is about an hour by car or rail.
If the restaurant at Auf Schonburg is too pricey, especially on Sunday
and closed on Mondays, or you look for a room on the spur of the moment
and only the expensive ones are left, a traditional meal and inn rooms
can be found in the center of Oberwesel at the Hotel Restaurant Weinhaus
Weiler next to the town hall Rathaus with the village's pride of giant
wine flagon on the corner, or the half-timbered Römerkrug Hotel
Restaurant across the square, though beware of the parking times and
close proximity of the railroad tracks.
While in Oberwesel, stroll to the far end of the town to see the medieval walls with 16 towers from the 13th Century, some of Germany's best preserved and still protecting from marauders above and the beautiful St Martins Church on a bluff above the Rhine Valley, or the Gothic Liebfrauenkirche on the other end of town below the castle. Every other year at Oberwesel the town is taken over in spring at whitsun (Pentacost Sunday) by the "Medieval Spectaculum" a middle-ages style fair returning the old lost mythical days to the banks of the Rhine. © Bargain Travel Europe
Find
a deal at Burghotel
auf Schonburg
Reviews
and travel deals on the Rhine
River on TripAdvisor
Web Info
Hotel
Schoenburg
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See Also:
MARKSBURG - RHINE KNIGHTS CASTLE
COCHEM’S REICHSBURG - MOSEL IMPERIAL CASTLE
Hotel Review Germany
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