Pfalzgrafenstein Castle - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

The Lorelei also spelled Loreley in German, is a 132 m (433 ft) high slate rock on the bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge at Sankt Goarshausen in Germany. The Loreley Amphitheatre on top of the rock is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The translation of the name Loreley is: 'murmur rock' or 'murmuring rock'. The heavy currents and a small waterfall in the area created a murmuring sound, and this combined with the special echo the rock produces to act as a sort of amplifier, giving the rock

It is a castle above the town of St. Goarshausen and was first built around 1371 by Count William II. The castle stands on a ledge looking downstream from the riverside at St. Goar. It was bombarded in 1806 by Napoleon and rebuilt in 1898. It is privately owned and not open to visitors.

First mentioned around 1271 A.D, Sooneck Castle is located in the upper middle valley of the Rhine. The castle was destroyed in 1282 after a siege by the troops of King Rudolph I. After rebuilding it 1346, it was destroyed again during the War of the Palatine Succession in 1689 by troops of King Louis XIV of France. The current structure was built between 1834 and 1861 as a hunting lodge.

Rheinfels Castle is a castle ruin located above the left bank of the Rhine River in Sankt Goar, Germany. It was founded in 1245 by Count Diether V of Katzenelnbogen. The castle was damaged by French Revolutionary Army troops in 1797. It is the largest castle overlooking the Rhine, and historically covered five times its current area. While much of the castle is a ruin, some of the outer buildings now housed a luxury hotel, "wellness" centre, restaurant. and a museum.

Maus Castle is a castle above Wellmich in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It rests on Rhine's eastside, north Katz Castle in Sankt Goarshausen, opposing Rheinfels Castle at Sankt Goar across the river. Construction of the castle was begun in 1356 by Archbishop-Elector of Trier Bohemond II and was continued for the next 30 years by successive Electors of Trier. The construction was to enforce Trier's recently acquired Rhine River toll rights and to secure Trier's borders against the Counts of Katz

Rheinstein Castle was constructed in about 1317. Rheinstein Castle possesses a working drawbridge and portcullis, which are typical of medieval castle architecture. Rheinstein's courtyard is known as the Burgundy Garden after the Burgundy grape vine growing there. The vine, which is approximately 500 years old, still produces grapes.