(coming soon)
- Museum
Sankt Goar
--Lodging
The town of Sankt Goar is located in the Rhine Gorge on the west bank of the river, below the Rheinfels castle. Not far from Sankt Goar you’ll find the famous Lorelei rock cliff where rocks below the surface of the river have caused a hazard for shipping for centuries.
Goar, the saint after whom the town is named, settled here in the sixth century A.D. and became a hermit (although he was known for his generous hospitality and reputedly established an inn for travelers and for the poor). There is a church standing today, which was originally constructed by Charlemagne, over the site where St. Goar built his chapel. It houses some notable ancient artifacts.
The Rheinfels castle was built in 1245 by Count Dieter V. von Katzenelnbogen, whose family administered the settlement that had grown up around the original chapel and hostel of Sankt Goar. Like other castle proprietors along this stretch of river, the von Katzenelnbogens generated income to support the settlement and the castle by extracting tolls from ships as they passed. The same family came into possession of the Marksburg castle in 1283.
Sankt Goar is a good place to stay, as there are numerous lodging options in the area. It’s also an interesting place to shop for such items as cuckoo clocks and beer steins.
