After passing through the Upper Middle Rhine Valley with our river cruise ship, we docked early in the morning in Koblenz the next day. For one day we had time to explore the city with all its sights.
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Things to know about Koblenz
Koblenz is a large city in Rhineland-Palatinate with about 114,000 inhabitants, which looks back on more than 2,000 years of history. The most famous landmark and THE landmark of the city is the Deutsches Eck, which marks the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle It is not without reason that countless river cruise ships dock here every day, which travel to the city as the starting point or end point of their river cruises.
Koblenz has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site city since 2002: it forms the northern gateway to the cultural landscape of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. In addition, since 2005 the Niederberg Castle has been on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of the Upper Germanic-Rhaecentric Limes.
The most famous sights in Koblenz
With our ship, the A-ROSA Silva, we have laid out super centrally on the Peter-Altmeier-Ufer and thus had the perfect starting point for our city tour. After a delicious breakfast we started in the morning on foot and on our own and spent the day in Koblenz. The sister ship A-ROSA Aqua also followed us to Koblenz and moored on the other side of the city – on the Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer.
Deutsches Eck – the confluence of the Rhine & Moselle
Our first port of call was the Deutsche Eck, which was only a few minutes walk from our pier. The Deutsches Eck is the piled-up headland at which the Moselle flows into the Rhine. Originally, the name is reminiscent of the Order of the German Knights, which founded its religious houses here after 1216. On the spacious square there is the monumental equestrian statue of the first German Emperor Wilhelm I, which was erected here in 1897.
The Electoral Castle of Koblenz
In glorious autumn weather, our walk along the Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer took us until we reached the Electoral Palace, which is one of the most important castle buildings of French early Classicism in southwest Germany. It was built at the end of the 18th century by the last archbishop and elector of Trier, Clemens Wenzeslaus of Saxony, who used it as his residence. Today, the castle houses the headquarters of various federal authorities.
The Four Towers – An ensemble of four historic buildings
From the castle it was a few minutes walk until we reached the old town. Here we particularly liked the “Four Towers”, which are located at the intersection Am Plan / Löhrstraße / Altengraben / Marktstraße. The “Four Towers” are a group of four historic three- and four-storey corner houses with ornate bay towers from the 17th century. Absolutely worth seeing!
The Koblenz Cable Car
With the Koblenz cable car we went high! The cable car is located on the Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer and has transported us in a panoramic gondola with a speed of 16 km/h over a length of 890 meters to the fortress Ehrenbreitstein, which is located on the other side of the Rhine. When purchasing the ticket, we had decided directly for a combined ticket for 14.80 EUR per person, as here, in addition to the cable car return & the entrance to the fortress Ehrenbreitstein was also included.
The Ehrenbreitstein Fortress
When we arrived with the cable car at the top of the plateau of the fortress, we first orientated ourselves with the help of an overview map. Our first port of call was the viewing platform Rhein-Mosel-Blick, which is located at the northern end of the fortress park. From up here we had a beautiful view of the Rhine, the Moselle, Koblenz and the Deutsche Eck.
Afterwards we went directly to the fortress Ehrenbreitstein, which is located 118 meters high above the Rhine. The fortification, which had been in existence since the 16th century and was originally Caustic and later Prussian, is one of the largest fortresses in Europe and is still defined today by metre-thick walls, tunnels, ditches, gates and bridges. With an orientation map in hand, we have run out of the area and have looked at the individual stations of the fortress history in the Koblenz State Museum.
Other sights in the Old Town
During our walk through Koblenz we were able to discover some other sights and photo spots. The Basilica of St. Castor, which is located right next to the valley station of the cable car, we liked it architecturally. Together with the Blumenhof she has given a very nice photo motif.
On the banks of the Rhine, the Prussian government building has still been very prominent. It used to serve as the seat of the Prussian government for the koblenz district, today it houses the Federal Office for Equipment, Information Technology and Use of the Bundeswehr. It is definitely worth walking the Rhine riverside promenade a little further south, because immediately after the crossing of the Pfaffendorfer Bridge is the lovingly built wine village Koblenzsince 1925. In several wine houses you can dine here traditionally and taste fine wines. We didn’t do either thing, but found the wine village as a photo motif on this golden autumn day just beautifully 😊
In the historic old town we walked through winding alleys and strolled over busy squares, such as the Jesuit Square. We were particularly impressed by the Historical Column on Josef-Görres-Platz, which depicts the 2,000-year history of Koblenz from Roman times to the present day in ten pictures. Our walk passed the Church of Our Lady, the Florinskirche, the Florinsmarkt and the Old Castle until we were back on our ship in the late afternoon.
All travelogues of our river cruise on the Main & Rhine
A-ROSA offers various river cruises on the Main River with different durations and destinations depending on the season. We had chosen the 7-day route "Main Romatik", as this route combines the major metropolises, natural highlights and UNESCO world heritage sites - a perfect combination for us. The route with the "A-ROSA Silva" took us from Nuremberg to Bamberg, on to Volkach and Miltenberg through the Upper Middle Rhine Valley to Lahnstein, Koblenz and Cologne.
» A-ROSA Silva - Our river cruise “Main-Romance” with A-ROSA» Nuremberg - Sights & Photo Spots in the Old Town
» Bamberg - The sights in the World Heritage Old Town
» Volkach - The wine town of Volkach on the Main River
» Miltenberg - The historic town of Miltenberg – The Pearl of the Main
» Rhine - River cruise through the World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley
» Koblenz - Sights of the city on The Rhine & Moselle
» Cologne - Cathedral, Old Town & the Chocolate Museum