(coming soon)
- Museum
Lorelei
The Lorelei is a large rock with a sheer cliff face near the town of Sankt Goarhausen. As the Rhine Gorge takes a sharp bend around the rock, the river is at its narrowest and swiftest point between Switzerland and the North Sea. Moreover, the bed of the river is covered with stones which only increase the water’s turbulence. That turbulence in turn tumbles the stones and causes a kind of murmuring sound which echoes off the rock cliff. According to one explanation, the name “Lorelei” is said to derive from lureln ley — “murmuring rock” in the ancient local dialect. This gave rise to legends not unlike the Siren Songs of Homerian epics, luring navigators to their deaths. Maiden’s song or no, it’s a rough patch of river with a history of swamping ships.
Today the murmuring is lost with the sounds of road traffic and trains on either side of the river and tour boats passing in the middle of it. As you can see below, opposite the famous rock is a camping spot, very popular in summer.
