Koblenz - confluence city: What does that mean? Koblenz is situated at the point where the Moselle and the Rhine rivers connect. It has been of strategic importance since Roman times and the town was an important center of trade during the Middle Ages.
The town is filled with parks along the rivers. It was badly bombed during the WWII, but the downtown area has plenty of attractive streets and squares to stop and rest between window shopping.
Deutsches Eck: The German Corner at the corner has the statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I.
I'd recommend taking the lifts up to Festung Ehrenbreitstein. You'll get tremendous views and the fortification is from 1817 for all those history buffs.
These are 3 pieces of the Berlin wall when it was taken down in 1989.
Liebfrauenkirche: The Baroque towers of the Church of Our Lady are the city symbol, but the interior dates from 1200-1500. I took pictures from the front, side and back of the church. Really pretty and unique views depending what side you're looking at.
Very close to the German Corner is the Ludwig Museum. It has a collection of modern art which can be viewed in the former House of the Teutonic Knights.
This town felt very German. Unlike some of the other towns we visited that clearly had French or Swiss influences, this felt uniquely German. Not only through the buildings, but also the statues that seemed to be around every corner.
One of the stories that our tour guide enjoyed sharing with us, was about the little boys (little John) who attended the school. They would spit water on locals. These boys were seen as mischievous and the statue is a symbol of their youth and lighthearted fun.
The town is filled with parks along the rivers. It was badly bombed during the WWII, but the downtown area has plenty of attractive streets and squares to stop and rest between window shopping.
Deutsches Eck: The German Corner at the corner has the statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I.
Liebfrauenkirche: The Baroque towers of the Church of Our Lady are the city symbol, but the interior dates from 1200-1500. I took pictures from the front, side and back of the church. Really pretty and unique views depending what side you're looking at.
This town felt very German. Unlike some of the other towns we visited that clearly had French or Swiss influences, this felt uniquely German. Not only through the buildings, but also the statues that seemed to be around every corner.
One of the creepy tourist stops is to see this clock named The Augenroller. The eyes move side to side when the clock chimes and the tongue sticks out at the top of the hour.
The Augenroller depicts the knight Johann Lutter of Koburn who was accused of being a bandit. He was captured and after prolonged torture he is said to have confessed to his crimes and was sentenced to be beheaded on October 14, 1536. It is said that as he was led to the site of his execution he exclaimed in a loud voice 'Establish a monument to me and it will bring you luck!'. While on the platform he is said to have rolled his eyes and stretched out his tongue for the spectators and once his head lay severed it continued to roll its eyes and flap its tongue. This was taken as a sign from god so the citizens established the Augenroller monument. The original Augenroller was destroyed during the second World War but a new one was erected and can be seen today under the clock on the tower of the beautiful gothic Mittelrhein Museum. I'd skip this, but it's your call! :)
Next stop is Cologne, Germany. Until then, Happy Traveling!!
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