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| View of the Rhein from Niederwald |
To get to the park, we would just drive to Rüdesheim, then take the road up to Niederwald and park there (I think it was like 50 euro cents to park in the parking lot there). While the park is probably best known for the monument, there are actually several trails there and it makes for a nice little escape from the city.
At several place in the park, there are look-out areas where you can see the Rhein and its surrounding hills. The most impressive one is at the monument though.
The monument, the Niederwalddenkmal, is about an 120ft tall monument to Germany. A little more on the history of the monument (borrowed from Wikepedia) follows:
From the monument, there is an impressive view of the Rhein Valley. They say that on a clear day, you can see all the way to France, which may be intentional, as the monument is celebrating the victory over them. You can also see the surrounding towns, including a church atop the hills of Bingen and the neighboring castle, Burg Rheinstein.
As you walk along the trails near the foot of the monument, you find yourself surrounded by the grape fields of the local vineyards. If you glance down the banks, you'll catch a view of the Mouse Tower (Mäuseturm), a solitary tower situated in the middle of the Rhein. The tower has a bit of folklore surrounding it. The Romans first built a structure, but it was destroyed and rebuilt many times. In the 900's, Hatto II, the Archbishop of Mainz, restored it, but legend tells that he was intolerably cruel to his subjects. Some tales recount him tricking hungry peasants into going into a barn for grain before lighting it on fire and then commenting about hearing the mice squeak. Afterwards, he returned to his castle, where he was met with a swarm of mice. He fled to the tower to evade the mice, but thousands of them followed him there and ate him alive. You can find a full variation of the legend here.
Continuing down the trails, you'll come across the ruins of the Ehrenfels castle. The first time we came across them, it was entirely by accident, and I was thrilled to literally be able to walk through the wine fields up to the ruins of a castle. They were totally unrestricted, and you could just walk up to them.
The castle was originally built in the early 1200's, but was destroyed in the late 1600's by the French. As far as I've read, there haven't been many changes to the castle since those times.
To this day, it's still one of my favorite pictures/place in Germany, more because of the experience than the history. :-)
The monument was constructed to commemorate the foundation of the German Empire after the end of Franco-Prussian War. The first stone was laid on September 16, 1871, by Wilhelm I. [...] The central figure is the 10.5 meter tall Germania figure. In the sculptured impression, Germania holds the recovered crown of the emperor in the right hand and in the left the Imperial Sword.
The monument's main inscription is engraved in the pedestal where the Germania statue is located: "ZUM ANDENKEN AN DIE EINMUETHIGE SIEGREICHE ERHEBUNG DES DEUTSCHEN VOLKES UND AN DIE WIEDERAUFRICHTUNG DES DEUTSCHEN REICHES 1870-1871." ("In memory of the unanimous victorious uprising of the German People and of the reinstitution of the German Empire 1870-1871").
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| Niederwald Denkmal |
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| Niederwald Denkmal |
As you walk along the trails near the foot of the monument, you find yourself surrounded by the grape fields of the local vineyards. If you glance down the banks, you'll catch a view of the Mouse Tower (Mäuseturm), a solitary tower situated in the middle of the Rhein. The tower has a bit of folklore surrounding it. The Romans first built a structure, but it was destroyed and rebuilt many times. In the 900's, Hatto II, the Archbishop of Mainz, restored it, but legend tells that he was intolerably cruel to his subjects. Some tales recount him tricking hungry peasants into going into a barn for grain before lighting it on fire and then commenting about hearing the mice squeak. Afterwards, he returned to his castle, where he was met with a swarm of mice. He fled to the tower to evade the mice, but thousands of them followed him there and ate him alive. You can find a full variation of the legend here.
Continuing down the trails, you'll come across the ruins of the Ehrenfels castle. The first time we came across them, it was entirely by accident, and I was thrilled to literally be able to walk through the wine fields up to the ruins of a castle. They were totally unrestricted, and you could just walk up to them.The castle was originally built in the early 1200's, but was destroyed in the late 1600's by the French. As far as I've read, there haven't been many changes to the castle since those times.
To this day, it's still one of my favorite pictures/place in Germany, more because of the experience than the history. :-)
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