A legendary town that has witnessed more than 2,000 years of history, Koblenz sits at the confluence of two great rivers, the Rhine and the Moselle, and the convergence of four mountain ranges. The successive waves of history that have washed over this attractive place have left an indelible mark. Stand at the Deutsches Eck, or German Corner, and you can see why. Wedged between the two rivers, and towered over by the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, the strategic importance of Koblenz is all too obvious.
Koblenz had been a military stronghold long before Julius Caesar arrived with a Roman army at his back and built a bridge over the Rhine here around 55 BC. In 9 BC the Romans founded their own town, known as Confluentes for the spot where the two rivers meet, and fortress here. Over the centuries that small Roman fort expanded to be one of the mightiest fortresses in Western Europe, endlessly fought over for its dominance of river trade.
While the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress might be the most prominent reminder of the very turbulent history of these parts, the most amusing is the dull-looking Kastorbrunnen, a fountain erected by Jean Marie Thérèse Doazan, the French prefect of this area during the Napoleonic era. In 1812, he built it with an inscription commemorating Napoleon’s successful campaign in Russia, a campaign that ended in utter defeat.
This didn’t go unnoticed by the French emigre and Russian general, Saint-Priest, who liberated Koblenz from the French Revolutionary forces in 1814. He added a second inscription mocking the earlier claim. Another reminder of those days is a statue in the square by the Rathaus. The Schängel statue is of a small boy that randomly ‘spits’ water at passersby.
Schängel is a corruption of the name, Jean. During the Napoleonic occupation it seems a lot of male children born of French troops were called Jean, and this became Schängel in the local dialect. They became notorious for their wild ways and the name became a slur. Now adopted as a symbol of pride by the town, the image of the Schängel also graces manhole covers.
Severely damaged during the Second World War, much of the old town and the most historic buildings were faithful reconstructed in the 1950s. This gives Koblenz the feel of an ancient town, even though there are plenty of modern monstrosities dotted around – although one of them houses the Mittelrhein-Museum with its excellent collection dating from the medieval to the modern.
We arrived in Koblenz in the late afternoon on a day that was more winter than spring, it wasn’t long before the sun was setting over the town and illuminating Ehrenbreitstein Fortress and the eastern banks of the Rhine. An occasional barge sailed past to complete the scene. Later, we sought out the warmth of the Altes Brauhaus. A few local beers washed down good food before a nightcap at the equally historic Weinhaus Hubertus.
In the morning, bright but cold, we walked along the river to Schloss Koblenz with its beautiful gardens. Crossing to the eastern bank we strolled the river bank to get great views back across to Koblenz and Deutsches Eck, and the massive statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I that towers over people beneath it. The towers of the Basilica of St. Castor and the Liebfrauenkirche stand above the townscape.
The cable car that whisks people from the river to Ehrenbreitstein in a few minutes was still in winter mode so we chose to use the day to explore the town. We walked through the grounds of a former 13th century castle, now the Ludwig Museum, before heading to the historic centre between Jesuitenplatz and Münzplatz. It’s a beautiful area and home to the red and white Liebfrauenkirche. Built on top of a Roman structure but a church for over 1,600 years.
After a late lunch, we got back on the road heading north to Brussels. Koblenz is the sort of place that warrants a return visit. We’re hoping to do a longer trip down the Moselle and Rhine Rivers, so hopefully we’ll be back soon.
