Reichsburg Castle - a symbol of the German city of Cochem

Cochem, Germany - an old German town located on the banks of the Moselle River. This place is famous for its famous Moselle wines and the Reichsburg castle fortress, erected here in the 11th century.

General information about the city

Cochem is a German city located on the Moselle River. The nearest major cities are Trier (77 km), Koblenz (53 km), Bonn (91 km), Frankfurt (150 km). The border with Luxembourg and Belgium is 110 km away.

Cochem is part of the Rhineland-Palatinate. The population is only 5,000 people (this is one of the smallest towns in Germany by the number of people living). The area of ​​the city is 21.21 km². Cochem is divided into 4 urban areas.

There are absolutely no modern buildings in the city: it seems as if time has frozen here, and now is the 16-17th century. As before, the center of the town is Reichsburg Castle. True, if 400-500 years ago, his main task was to defend the village, now it is to attract tourists to Cochem.

Reichsburg Castle in Cochem

Reichsburg Castle, also often called a fortress, is the main, and, in fact, the only attraction of this small town.

The ancient Reichsburg castle (founded in 1051) is located on the outskirts of Cochem, and is a powerful defensive structure. However, this is not a standard fortress: inside, tourists can see not bare stone walls, but chic interiors: walls decorated with frescoes, golden candelabra, expensive paintings and fireplaces.

As for the exterior decoration of the attraction, the castle consists of many towers. The main tower is central: the thickness of its walls reaches 1.80 meters, and the length is 5.40 meters. The western part of the Main Tower is decorated with the image of the guardian angel Christoferus.

The main entrance is located in the southern part of Cochem's imperial castle. This side is entwined with ivy and looks much more elegant and magnificent than the rest.

The territory of the fortress is as follows:

1. Southwest part. Here is a courtyard with a well, the depth of which is 50 meters.
2. East End. In this place is located the commandant’s house, from which you can get to the Castle at the transition over the Lion’s Gate.
3. Northeastern part. Here is another courtyard, as well as a drawbridge across the moat.

A few meters from the attraction, which rises on a 100-meter hill, you can find old vineyards and manicured fields.

Interestingly, in 1868, King William I sold the castle of Reichsburg for the ridiculous amount of 300 thalers at that time.

Since the main task of the fortress is to defend the city of Cochem from enemies, the entire interior of the castle is closely related to the theme of war and hunting. There are 6 main halls:

1. Knightly. This is the largest room in the fortress, the semicircular ceiling of which rests on 12 massive columns. 2 paintings (brushes by Rubens and Titian) hang in the center of the hall, and on the sides are artifacts brought from Japan (vases, chest), France (porcelain collection) and England (armchairs and chairs).
2. Large dining room - the central room in the imperial castle. Honored guests were received here and the owners of the house had dinner. The walls, ceiling and furniture in this room are made of wood, and the main attraction is a large carved buffet, whose height is more than 5 meters. There is a large collection of Delft porcelain in it, and a two-headed eagle sits on top.

3. Hunting room. In this room trophies brought from hunting are kept: stuffed birds, antlers of deer and elks, skins of bears. The highlight of this room is the window panes - they depict the coats of arms of the counts and kings who have ever lived in this fortress.
4. Armory room. In this hall, the walls of which are upholstered with wooden panels, there are a dozen armor, about 30 shields and more than 40 types of weapons. It is interesting that, according to museum workers, it took 45 cows to put together a war on a campaign.

5. The Gothic or women's room was the warmest in the castle, because the fireplace was constantly burning here. The walls of the room and furniture are decorated with intarsia (volumetric mosaic of wood, ivory and turtle). The center of this room is a fireplace brought from Delft.
6. Room in the Romanesque style. The most mysterious and symbolic room of the fortress. 12 zodiac signs are depicted on the walls and ceiling, on the stone slabs from the furnace are the princes of Israel, in the center of the ceiling are metaphorical images of Courage, Wisdom, Justice and Balance.

In addition to the above halls and rooms, the castle of Cochem (Germany) had a small kitchen, as well as a basement in which to this day there are barrels of Moselle wine.

You cannot get inside the castle without a guide, so if you are going to the fortress as part of a group with more than 20 people, you must inform the museum staff about your arrival in advance.

If the group is much smaller, you can come without an appointment: every hour (from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) the guide conducts sightseeing tours of the castle.

Opening hours: 09.00 - 17.00

Location: Schlossstr. 36, 56812, Cochem

Cost of visit (Euro):

Tickets are purchased at the box office of the castle.

Official website: //reichsburg-cochem.de

What to see in Cochem

In addition to the Reichsburg castle in Cochem, you can see and visit:

As in any other European city, Cochem has a beautiful market square where the farmers market operates on weekdays and young people gather on weekends. The area is not at all large, but, according to tourists, it is no worse than in neighboring German cities.

Here are the main ancient sights (of course, with the exception of the castle) and the Town Hall - a symbol of the city that has the Magdeburg Law, and therefore the possibility of self-government. The town hall in Cochem is small and almost invisible behind the facades of neighboring buildings. Now it houses a museum, which you can visit for free.

Location: Am Marktplatz, 56812, Cochem, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

Mustard Mill is a small museum-shop on the Market Square of the city where you can taste and purchase your favorite mustard varieties, as well as Moselle wine. Tourists advise you to buy mustard seeds here - you can get your own variety from them.

If you still do not know what souvenir to bring to relatives and friends from Cochem, be sure to look into this shop.

Location: Endertstr. 18, 56812, Cochem

Opening hours: 10.00 - 18.00

The Catholic Church of St. Martin is located on the promenade of Cochem, and greets guests arriving in the town. The oldest part of the temple, built in the 15th century, has survived to the present day. The remaining buildings adjacent to the temple were destroyed in 1945.

This Cochem attraction cannot be called very beautiful or unusual, but it fits very briefly into the city landscape. The interior of the temple is also quite modest: walls, ivory, snow-white arches, wooden beams on the ceiling. The windows have bright stained glass windows, and at the entrance are wooden sculptures of saints. However, tourists say the church “enriches” the city and makes it more “complete."

Location: Moselpromenade 8, 56812, Cochem, Germany

Opening hours: 09.00 - 16.00Find out RATES or book any accommodation using this form

Transport connection

Getting to the sights of Cochem in Germany is easy. In addition to excursions organized by travel companies, public transport regularly goes here. Cochem is best reached from:

• Trier (55 km). You can get there by bus. Landing at the Polch station. Travel time is 1 hour.
• Koblenz (53 km). The best option is a train. Landing is carried out at Koblenz Hauptbahnhof station. Travel time is 1 hour.
• Bonn (91 km). You can get there by train. You need to catch the train at Cochem Station. Travel time is 1 hour 20 minutes.
• Frankfurt am Main (150 km). The train will be more comfortable and faster. Landing is carried out at Frankfurt (Main) Hbf station. Travel time is 2 hours.

Tickets can be purchased either at the box office of railway stations, or (by bus) on the official websites of carriers.
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Useful Tips

1. Cochem is one of the few German cities that can be reached by river (for example, from Koblenz).

2. If you plan to spend more than one day in the city of Cochem in Germany, book your accommodation in advance. Hotels and hotels can be counted on the fingers, and all of them are usually busy.
3. The city is completely lacking nightlife, so outdoor enthusiasts can be bored here.
4. Watch the weather forecast. Since Cochem stands on the Moselle River, occasionally there are floods.

Cochem, Germany - one of those small, but beautiful and cozy European towns, in which you want to stay longer.

Video: walk around Cochem, prices in the city and useful tips for tourists.

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