Koblenz - Where Two Rivers Meet

 

We arrived early and walked around the town with a tour guide. Duetshes Eck is the tip where two rivers, the Rhine and the Moselle, meet. This was a Roman military post in 8 BC and the name “Koblenz” comes from “confluence” and today is referred to as the German Corner. Emperor William I is seated on the horse in the statue.

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress across the rivers.

The coat of arms for Koblenz: Red Cross for Archbishopric of Trier, a Marion crown represents St. Mary - the patron saint of the city, 

Blending the old with the new. See the dreamer under the arch of the window.

This picture of  Schangel Fountain is from a search because I couldn’t get a picture of this rascal spitting on passerby’s. The fountain was turned off because the square was set up for a concert later that day.

This corner shows the recent flood levels at various times.

Jesuitenplatz, originally a 13th century convent, then became a Jesuit monastery from 1580-1773, and is now a grammar school, has 24 windows on the roof and during Advent, one window is opened each day - like an Advent calendar.

This was a Jesuit church but is now a city church.

Johannes Muller, Koblenz famous physiologist and anatomist, is in the center of this square.

Gorresplatz Square celebrates Koblenz 2000 anniversary with this History Column presented in 1992.

Interesting bicycle cart

A Stumbling Stone and a marker on the wall.

Brick/stone work pattern

Street sign

Basilica Sankt Kaster (Basilica of Saint Castor) - a Roman church built between 817-836 is the oldest church in Koblenz. It became a basilica minor in July 1991. It is named after St. Castor who was a missionary on the Moselle in the 4th century.

 

Star vaults

Umbraculum (also known as conopaen) is a symbol the pope bestows when he elevates the church to a basilica. In a minor basilica, this is made of silk; in a major basilica, it is made of velvet. The “umbrella” is placed to the right of the main altar.

The tintinnabulum “little bell” is a bell mounted on a pole and used when the pope conducts the mass. 

The small gold bell is surrounded by a frame of gold and crowned with the papal tiara and the Keys of Heaven. The lion on the shield symbolizes Christ. It is another symbol that the church has been elevated to a basilica status.

It is Lent now so the crucifix is covered in purple.

The shield outside the church indicates this is a basilica and a pilgrimage site. This statue is above the main entrance.

The church gardens

The Ludwig Museum has some lawn sculptures on display. This thumb is a mold of the artist’s thumb and enlarged as part of an exhibit themed “hand.” 

The “Kelly Bag” by Hermes (made famous by Grace Kelly) and Channel No. 5 perfume bottle.

Augenroller (Eye Roller Clock) - the eyes move left to right with the aid of a pendulum. On the half hour and hour, the man sticks his tongue out to mock the citizens of Koblenz according to one local lore - Johann Lutter was a 15th century robber and sentenced to death here but still keeps watch over the town. This building was an old department store.

I did it!😁 I rode a cable car across the river to see the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. We just walked around the outside area and stopped on the viewing platform. There was exercise equipment out on the lawns.

Time to get back on our ship. We will sail up the most difficult part through the gorge so it is best we sail in daylight.  Today, we will see lots of castles and churches along the river. ⚠️ many pictures to come.

The yellow building is a church and to enter the church you need to go through the white building in front. The white building is a pub. 😳. The sign 560 is a marker for the ships, kilometers I am guessing.

Another marker for the ships meaning .5 kilometers.

There are a few varieties to this next story but it is based on a ballad and a set of rocks in the most difficult navigational area on the Rhine River. Lorelei (also spelled Loreley) was a beautiful maiden who liked to comb her hair while sitting on the rocks in the river. Her beauty and mesmerizing songs would lure sailors to crash and die upon the rocks. There are flags on the top of the hill to identify this spot. Some say it was an unfaithful lover that caused Lorelei to become a siren and lure the sailors.

This is a difficult area to navigate and our ship had the help of a second captain to board the ship and work with our captain. It was especially hard for us because the river area has been with out rain and not enough melting snow to help keep the water level up. The pool was drained to help lighten our load. Every time we docked, trash was taken off the ship to help with the weight and I expect supplies brought on board were the bare minimum until we reached deeper river levels. The service on board did not suffer so they planned everything very well.

The seven sisters is another river tale associated with a real landmark. The sister’s boat capsized and they drowned. Naturally, they were beautiful but the river gods punished them because they refused to marry.

Seven rocks emerged and warning maidens to think twice about rejecting a marriage proposal. 

There is a really narrow and sharp curve ahead so the triangle signs are “traffic lights” for the ships. As we were navigating this stretch, two other ships were there as well. You see three triangles lit up. I believe in the first example, the horizontal line means ship 1 can pass through. Ships 2 & 3 must pull out of the way and wait.

 

To disguise the tunnel entrances and exits along the river, they were created to look like churches or castles as these were not typical targets during the wars.

There is a castle in the middle of the river. King Ludwig IV of Bavaria had the castle built so he could collect tolls from passing ships. Pfalzgrafenstein Castle is a six story pentagon shaped castle that resembles a ship and sits on Falkenau Island near the town of Kaub. Today, it is a museum. Usually the castle is surrounded by water so the ship looks like it is floating in the water.