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HEADLESS KNIGHT, SLEEPY NIGHT
Burg Reichenstein Castle Hotel and Restaurant

Want to take a wine tasting tour of German Rhine wines, a bargain romantic honeymoon hideaway, or darn it, you just like castles where headless apparitions clank down the halls in the dead of night. The Middle Rhine which snakes like a wide ribbon of inland sea lane between Mainz and Cologne (or Köln) is where they keep some of Germany’s best kept medieval keeps. There are some 20 of them, some ruins, some preserved, and quaint medieval towns as the river winds lazily toward the North Sea. Around every bend another stone edifice stands watch over the freight barges which motor, day and night, up and down the river past the famous mighty rock called The Loreley (see Boppard on the Rhine) where the long golden-haired siren’s song of legend drew love sick lusty wayward sailors crashing into the rocky shallows.

Each castle has its own story in the long history of Germany’s medieval past and Castle Reichenstein which has been recently featured on an episode of the television series "Ghost Hunters" has one of the most interesting. Burg Reichenstein is one of the oldest, originally built in the 12th Century, and has perhaps the most curious history. From the mid 1200's a family of robber knights would prey on errant merchants carrying goods along the river, then retreat to their fortress on the steep hill above. Eventually defeated in 1282 by their annoyed neighbors and the Hapsburg Prince Rudolf from the next castle down the river, Burg Rheinstein, (See Castle Rheinstein) the father of the clan asked that his 10 sons be spared. Rudolf generously offered that he would spare all of the sons the father could walk past, AFTER his head was cut off. According to legend the robber knight’s will was so strong that as he took his first step and his head was lopped off, his headless body’s powerful legs strode past nine of his sons before finally toppling to the ground.

REICHENSTEIN HOTEL AND RESTAURANT

Burg Reichenstein is well preserved, with the interior reconstructed in the 1800's in a gothic style and has a nice collection of medieval armor on display throughout its many floors. The castle also has a small family owned hotel and restaurant within its walls, situated in a former hunter’s lodge. Prices are very reasonable for a unique stay in a lodging with so curious a past. The rooms while not luxury standard, are comfortable and actually quite roomy for a legitimate castle hotel. The restaurant offers an excellent selection of wines from the surrounding Rhine and Moselle Valley vineyards, and the local veal with a woodland sauce reminded me of the hunter’s past of the lodge! The restaurant is very popular for local weddings, receptions and social events. Understandable with the romance lore and view of the Rhine valley and there is also a beer garden in the summer.

The middle Rhine is reachable from Mainz by car in about 40 minutes through Bingen if you want to drive along its winding cliffs and visit a handful of castles. (See also Mainz) Or take a 40 minute train ride from Frankfurt to Trechtingshausen. The station is across from the drive entrance to Burg Reichenstein’s gate. Take a Rhine boat cruise to view the fortresses from the bargeman’s point-of-view (see River Cruises-KD). The current “burgomeisters” of Burg Reichenstein do not claim it to be haunted by the headless robber knight of its medieval past, but the sound of his heavy footfall on the stairs trying to step past the last son is enough to cause at least a toss or a turn - or is it just the distant hum of a barge heading up river in the dark misty night? © Bargain Travel Europe

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Google Map Middle Rhine-Trechtingshausen

See Also:

More Rhine Castles:
Rhine Castle Map
Burg Ehrenfels and Sooneck
Castle Marksburg
Philippsburg Castle

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