Burg Rheinfels
History
In 1245, Burg Rheinfels was built by Diether V. von Katzenelnbogen along the west bank of the River Rhine near the village of St. Goar to collect tolls, and it served as the primary residence for Counts of Katzenelnbogen. It was only a short time before the castle was unsuccessfully besieged between 1255 and 1256 by an army of the Rhenish League of Cities in response to price increases in Rhine tolls. The siege lasted more than two years.
The Gerstenberg Chronicle stated:
"In the Yeare of Oure Lorde 1255, the Poweres of the Rheynsh cyties with their Masters and other friendes, and possessed of a gode General set off and destroyed the Robber Barons' Castles which had caused so much trouble in the Holy Roman Empire and rose up against us. In this, they desired to do away with the unjust levie of tolls on the Ryne wherein more than LX cyties were Partie to an Alliance. In the same Yeare, they rose up against the Graf von Katzenelnbogen, his castle, called Rynefels, and remained encamped there a whole Yeare and XIV Monthes, but neither could take or destroye the castle."
After the failed siege, Rheinfels was considered impregnable. Around 1360, Count Wilhelm II expanded the core of the castle, and across the Rhine, Burg Katz, built between 1360 and 1371, allowed the counts to collect a double toll at St. Goar. The round keep dates to the 14th century, and in the 15th century, under Count Philipp the Elder of Katzenelnbogen, it was raised and extended as a butter barrel tower to 54 meters, the highest known keep of a German castle.
The ruined residential buildings inside the castle.
On July 28th, 1479, Philipp the Elder died at Burg Rheinfels, and the male line of the House of Katzenelnbogen ended with him. Burg Rheinfels passed to Heinrich III of Hesse, the husband of his daughter, Anna. In 1497, Archbishop Johann of Trier besieged the town of Boppard with 12,000 men equipped with the most modern firearms, and Landgrave Wilhelm III of Hesse placed 200 cavalrymen and 400 infantrymen at the archbishop's disposal. To convince himself of the effectiveness of such a siege, Wilhelm observed the proceedings from a nearby hill. The enormous destruction produced by the newly invented artillery urged him to furnish Rheinfels with stronger defenses, and he began at once to build a complex of outer defenses beyond the Halsgraben, the deep ditch, in the area known as Biebernheimer Felde, which in the following centuries was extended to become the fortress of Rheinfels. The former castle was fitted with sentry walks and outer ramparts, so that it, too, was finally incorporated into the fortress proper.
At the time of the Reformation, Philipp I, "the Generous," reigned in Hesse. He allied himself early with Luther, and on October 21st, 1527, he ordered an end to pilgrimages and the removal of pictures from churches.
In 1568, Philipp II of Hessen-Rheinfels inherited the castle from his father, Philipp the Generous, and a period of splendour began at court. Philipp had the fortress rebuilt as a splendid Renaissance castle, and the south wing was altered in the way that Dillich describes it in his plans from 1608: a superb frontage facing the Rhine, with decorative little towers, bays, and niches from south to north along the building, red and violet half-timbered work, and varied roofs, towered over by an immense keep that, at 120 feet in height, was crowned by a turreted platform and, above that, a further 30-foot superstructure that also had turrets. In 1587, a huge barrel holding about 200,000 liters of wine was erected in the Great Cellar for the soldiers stationed at Rheinfels.
In 1626, the castle was besieged by Ferdinand of Bavaria and surrendered to Hessen-Darmstadt. From 1657 to 1674, Ernst I of Hessen-Rheinfels-Rotenburg turned Rheinfels into a fortress against France, and the Hohe Batterie, or High Battery, was added around 1660.
Stone cannonballs displayed in the castle grounds.
In December 1692, the castle was unsuccessfully besieged by a French army under Marshal Tallard, comprised of 28,000 soldiers, while about 3,000 defenders under Georg Ludwig von Schlitz, called von Görz, held the fortress. A relief army approached in January 1693, and the French withdrew. In 1758, during the Seven Years' War, the castle was handed over to the French without a fight. The French returned on November 1st, 1794, and seized the castle without resistance after its commander left the fortress. The French briefly occupied Burg Rheinfels before destroying the outer defenses in 1796 and the palace and keep in 1797.
In 1812, remains of the castle were auctioned as French state property and purchased by Peter Glas, a businessman from St. Goar who sold shiploads of stone in addition to doors and window frames that would be used in the construction of Ehrenbreitstein Fortress near Koblenz.
The ruins were purchased roughly three decades later, in 1843, by Prince Wilhelm of Prussia. In 1925, the House of Hohenzollern bequeathed the castle to the town of St. Goar, agreeing they would preserve the ruins for posterity. A hotel has stood beside the castle since 1973, and in 1998, the town leased the ruins to the hotel. In 2019, a court dismissed a claim by the Hohenzollern family to have the castle returned, and in 2020, the family accepted St. Goar's ownership.
Castle Highlights
Burg Rheinfels and its massive stone walls represent the largest castle along Middle Rhine Valley between Mainz and Koblenz despite its ruinous state. As a result of its vastness, the best views of the castle may be attained from the River Rhine or the bank opposite the river. The interior of the castle may be visited via two different self-guided tours. With its very tall ramparts and little remnants of interior buildings, it can be challenging to distinguish parts from one another. I highly recommend picking up a map and guide upon entering the castle to avoid getting lost. The entrance gate and Clock Tower, built around 1300, with its giant wooden doors viewed at the beginning of the tour, constitute the castle's single ingress and egress point.
Inside the castle history museum.
The chapel and adjacent vestry remain intact after over seven centuries and currently serve as a local history museum. The Great Cellar, built in the 15th century, may also be visited. Its walls, four meters thick, were used to store wine and food supplies. Burg Rheinfels can be explored in half a day. While Burg Katz and Burg Maus are located directly across the River Rhine from Burg Rheinfels, neither is open to the public. The closest castle on the west bank of the Rhine open to visitors is Burg Schönburg, located down the B9 towards Bingen.
Burg Rheinfels seen from the River Rhine.
The castle is closed for renovation work, and the castle's website gives no firm reopening date, only mentioning the end of November 2026. After it reopens, the circular route has been adapted, so follow the signs. In winter, it is open Friday to Sunday, from 10am to 3pm, and in the high season, from March 9th, it is open daily. A shuttle runs from St. Goar up to the castle, or you can walk up. The Burgschänke "zum Landgraf," a tavern with a terrace, is within the castle, and the hotel is beside it.
