Top 10 Castles Along the Rhine Valley
The middle Rhine gorge, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002, runs 65 kilometres between Bingen and Koblenz through a landscape of dramatic bends, vine-terraced slopes, and an extraordinary density of medieval castles. More than 40 castles and castle ruins are visible in this stretch of river; no comparable length of river in Europe contains so many. These ten are the most significant. Find them all on the map.
1. Marksburg, near Braubach
Marksburg is the only medieval Rhine castle never destroyed or substantially rebuilt. Continuously maintained since the 13th century, it preserves everything from the original 13th-century keep to 16th-century artillery works. The Deutsche Burgenvereinigung (German Castles Association) has its headquarters here and manages the site to exceptional conservation standards. The ascent from the village of Braubach takes about 30 minutes on foot; the reward is the most authentically preserved castle on the entire Rhine.
2. Burg Eltz, Moselle tributary
Burg Eltz stands not on the Rhine itself but on a bend of the Elzbach, a tributary of the Moselle. The castle, built from the 12th century and never destroyed, is owned by the Eltz family — the same family that has held it since 1157. Eight branches of the family once occupied different sections of the complex simultaneously, each building its own tower; the result is a cluster of towers rising from a single rock that is among the most visually distinctive medieval castles in Europe.
3. Burg Pfalzgrafenstein, near Kaub
Pfalzgrafenstein is a toll fortress on a rocky island in the middle of the Rhine near Kaub, built from 1326. Its pentagonal plan with five flanking bastions represents one of the most geometrically sophisticated medieval fortress designs in Germany. It operated in tandem with Gutenfels Castle on the shore above, which commanded the approach by land; the combination made the Rhine toll at Kaub one of the most effectively controlled in the medieval period.
4. Burg Rheinstein, near Bingen
Rheinstein, on a rocky promontory at the southern end of the Rhine gorge near Bingen, was substantially rebuilt from the 1820s for Prince Friedrich of Prussia as a Romantic castle — one of the earliest and most influential examples of the Rhine castle restoration movement. The Neo-Gothic interiors and the collection of medieval weapons and armour assembled here defined the visual image of the Rhine castle for 19th-century tourism.
5. Reichsburg Cochem, Moselle
Like Burg Rheinstein, Reichsburg Cochem on the Moselle is largely a 19th-century restoration on medieval foundations, rebuilt from 1868 by the Berlin merchant Louis Ravene. The original castle was demolished by French forces in 1689. The restoration is extravagant and visually dominating above the wine town of Cochem; its medieval fabric survives in the lower courses of the towers.
6. Burg Stahleck, Bacharach
Burg Stahleck overlooks the wine town of Bacharach from its vineyard-terraced hillside. The castle dates from the 12th century, was badly damaged in the Thirty Years' War, and was reconstructed in the 1920s as a youth hostel — which it remains, one of the most atmospheric in Germany. The combination of accessible accommodation and genuine medieval site makes it a distinctive option for overnight stays on the Rhine.
7. Katz und Maus (St Goarshausen)
The paired castles of Katz (Cat) and Maus (Mouse) above the town of St Goarshausen were built in the late 14th century by competing noble houses — the Counts of Katzenelnbogen (cats) and the Archbishop of Trier (mice) — to control the Rhine traffic at the Loreley bend, where the river narrows and currents made navigation dangerous. The names reflect the relative political weight of the builders: the smaller castle was dismissed as a mouse by the Katzenelnbogens who built the Cat.
8. Burg Gutenfels, Kaub
Gutenfels, on the vine-terraced slope above Kaub, operated in tandem with Pfalzgrafenstein on its Rhine island to control the river toll. The castle dates from the early 13th century and is now a hotel — one of the Rhine's most dramatically sited accommodation options, with unobstructed views over the river and the island fortress below.
9. Burg Sooneck, near Niederheimbach
Sooneck was another castle substantially rebuilt in the 19th century, this time for the Prussian royal family, and used as a summer residence. The interiors are furnished in period style; the collection of 19th-century Rhineland paintings provides an interesting document of how the Rhine castle landscape was perceived by the Romantic movement that drove its restoration.
10. Ehrenfels, near Rudesheim
Ehrenfels, directly across the Rhine from Bingen at the point where the gorge begins, is now a ruin — one of the few castles in this landscape not restored in the 19th century. Its position controlling the Binger Loch, the most dangerous passage on the Rhine, ensured its construction in the late 13th century; its destruction by French forces in 1689 has not been reversed. The ruin's silhouette against the vine terraces is a frequent subject of Rhine watercolour painting.
Explore on the map
Every Rhine castle is plotted on the interactive map. The river ferry services and the Rheinsteig and Rheinhöhenweg walking trails on the opposite banks allow the entire gorge to be explored by water, on foot, or by rail in any combination.