Impregnable Ehrenbreitstein fortress opposite Koblenz (Stage 17)
Background
Geographically the Rhine has six distinct sections:
Alpenrhein (Alpine Rhine) is the combination of the Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein tributaries that flow rapidly down the north side of the Alps, along deep glacial valleys, into Bodensee.
Hochrhein (Higher Rhine) continues descending through broad wooded gorges providing the border between Switzerland and Baden-Württemberg (Germany) from Bodensee to Basel.
Oberrhein (Upper Rhine) meanders north from Basel across a broad plain, between the Vosges mountains in French Alsace and the German Black Forest, as far as Mainz.
Mittelrhein (Middle Rhine) is a picturesque stretch from Mainz to Bonn, where the river has cut the Rhine Gorge between the Hunsrück/Eifel mountains (west) and the Taunus/Siebengebirge ranges (east).
Niederrhein (Lower Rhine) crosses the North German plain from Bonn to the Dutch border.
Delta Rijn (Rhine Delta) is the Dutch part of the river, which divides into five different arms to reach the North Sea.
However, the Rhine is more than just a river. Flowing through the heart of Western Europe, it has significance far beyond its relatively modest 1232km length. It can be described as four rivers in one. Firstly, it functions as an important national border; secondly it is the source of many of the myths and legends central to European culture; thirdly it is a great commercial artery and location for industry; and fourthly it has a magnetic attraction to tourists and pursuers of leisure activities.
The border Rhine
For two millennia, the river has represented the border between major national entities. The Romans set their northern frontier along the Rhine/Danube axis and established the first towns on the Rhine at Colonia (Köln), Mainz, Strasbourg and Xanten as bases for legions defending their empire against barbarian tribes to the east. By medieval times this demarcation had developed into a border between Germanic speaking nations of the Holy Roman Empire, east of the river, and Francophone ones to the west. From the Middle Ages up to the mid-20th century, continuing power struggles saw frequent territorial claims and border incursions. Further south, Swiss, Austrians and Bavarians competed to control the northern approaches to the Alps, with the Rhine becoming a natural boundary between their interests. In the far north, both the Dutch and Spanish used the river in their struggle for hegemony over the Netherlands.
Blockhouse turret on the Maginot line near Marckolsheim (Stage 10)
As a result, the river is peppered with military hardware from Roman fortifications, through medieval castles, fortified military towns and integrated defensive lines to concrete anti-tank defences, each passing into history as the technological progress of warfare made them redundant. Riverside settlements still show the scars of battle, particularly from the Second World War, where intensive bombing was followed by destructive land warfare. This is particularly evident in relation to the bridges. In the mid-19th century, the Prussian military authorities controlling the Rhineland resisted the construction of railway bridges as a potential danger of invasion. Before and during the First World War German forces constructed a series of mighty bridges to support the war in France, only to destroy them in 1944–45 in an attempt to prevent Allied invasion of Germany.
The legendary Rhine
The oldest tales of the Rhine are derived from the Nibelungenlied, a 13th-century poem by an unknown German author. It centred on the bloodthirsty affairs of court in Worms and featured Siegfried, Brunhilde and a hoard of gold that caused much strife and was eventually buried in the Rhine to prevent further trouble. Siegfried went on to feature in many other legends. Composer Richard Wagner (1813–83) used this tale for the basis of Das Rheingold and subsequent works making up ‘The Ring of the Nibelung’ opera cycle.
Many of the towns, villages and castles along the German part of the river have local legends, some of which are related in the route description. Perhaps the most famous is the song of the Loreley maiden. First appearing in 1801, the story was rewritten by the author Heinrich Heine in 1824 and set to music in 1837.
The Rhine provided the inspiration for two great patriotic songs. La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, was written in Strasbourg in 1792 as a ‘War song for the Army of the Rhine’ to honour troops defending post-revolutionary France from Prussian and Austrian invasion. On the German side, the poem/song Die Wacht am Rhein (‘The Guard on the Rhine’) was written in 1840 as a call to arms following French political moves to extend French territory. During the Franco-Prussian war (1870–71) it became an unofficial German anthem and remained popular until the Second World War, although it is rarely heard nowadays.
The commercial Rhine
Although used from Roman times as a freight transport route, medieval use of the river was limited by rapids, shallows and local tolls collected at over 200 toll stations. These toll stations were swept away by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, while a series of river improvements throughout the 19th and 20th centuries have removed barriers to navigation on the Mittelrhein and canalised much of the Oberrhein. Steam navigation commenced in 1840 as far as Mannheim, but it was nearly 100 years before improvements allowed commercial operations to reach Basel. Today, thousands of boats and barges carry approximately 250 million tonnes of merchandise annually, including coal, oil, ore, chemicals, building materials and manufactured goods. Major flows are from the huge ports of Rotterdam and Europoort to Duisburg, Köln, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Strasbourg and Basel. Canals linking the Rhine with the neighbouring river catchments of the Elbe, Danube, Marne and Rhône enable trans-European waterway transport. All along the Rhine, large black-on-white number boards show kilometre distance from Konstanz bridge where the river leaves Bodensee.
Ease of transportation has encouraged industrial development all along the navigable river. Most noticeable is the chemical industry, with 20 per cent of the world’s chemicals produced at a number of huge integrated chemical works, including BASF at Ludwigshafen, the world’s largest single company chemical plant.
The leisure Rhine
Petite France in Strasbourg (Stage 10)
Millions of tourists visit the Rhine every year. Many come by road to see great tourist sights such as Köln, the Rhine Gorge, Rüdesheim, Speyer, Strasbourg and the Rheinfall. Others come to cycle round, sail on, swim in or just laze beside Bodensee, southern Germany’s principal resort area.
Rhine cruising in large all-inclusive boats is big business and many companies operate in this area. Cruises typically follow seven-day itineraries between Amsterdam and Basel (or back), stopping at principal cities along the way. At popular locations such as Rüdesheim, up to 10 boats may call every day. Short-trip and day excursion boats operate on a few stretches, particularly between Köln and Mainz, Schaffhausen and Konstanz and on Bodensee.
Leisure activities are numerous. Almost every town has a public swimming pool, often beside the river. White-water rafting is possible through Ruinaulta (Stage 2), while Huningue (Stage 9) has a canoe slalom course. Rowing and sailing clubs abound.
Cycling is one of the most popular leisure activities in all the countries of the Rhine, particularly in places such as Bodensee, the Rhine Gorge and Kinderdijk, where cyclists of all ages and degrees of fitness can be seen. Cycling as a family holiday is popular in Germany.
The route
For much of its 1232km length it is possible to cycle along either bank of the Rhine. In preparing this book, the author followed both banks and explored some alternative routes away from the river. While the route described mostly follows the left (southern or western) bank,