Along the Rhine

Marksburg in Braubach, Sankt-Goar, Oberwesel, Bacharach, Mainz, Wiesbaden, Sankt Goarshausen & Kaub (more to come).

During the early spring holidays 2026, Kim and I went on a brief holidaytrip along the Rhine river in Germany. We started at its shores in between Brey and Spay with a stunning view on the 12th century Marksburg in sunny weather. What a start! Here we had lunch with a view on the castle and the village off Braubach below it at the opposite side of the river. The following days we went all the way to Mainz alongside the river and back to Braubach where we visted the castle and stayed for one more night at the Wohnmobillstellplatz. 

The Marksburg in Braubach

Braubach turned out a very nice village with a lot of Fachwerkhäuser in the Altstadt. It only has nearly three thousand inhabitants. The Marksburg was first mentioned in 1231. The powerful Eppstein family expanded it around 1117 into a Romanesque hilltop fortress to protect Braubach and control Rhine River trade. In 1283, the castle passed to Eberhard von Katzenelnbogen, whose family added the Gothic elements that still define its silhouette today. Over the centuries, Marksburg remained remarkably intact, making it the only hilltop castle on the Middle Rhine that was never destroyed, though it did suffer minor damage from Allied artillery in March 1945. The damage was limited, affecting mainly roofs and some exterior structures, and did not compromise the overall integrity of the fortress. Today, Marksburg stands as one of Germany's best-preserved medieval castles and a key landmark of the UNESCO-listed Upper Middle Rhine Valley. 

A little wider view of Braubach and the Marksburg on top of the 100 meters high hill with the Barbarakirche on the left and the Kriegerdenkmal in the middle seen from the opposite site of the Rhine River.

Another path ends at the Rhine River close to from where Kurt Hilescher made his photo so maybe he arrived here at the shore of the river.

Visiting the Marksburg on Saturday February 21st 2026 a few days later. 

The Phillipsburg in Braubach really was a pleasant surprise while it was the entrance for us to the Altstadt coming from the Wohnmobilstellplatz. It was built in between 1568 and 1571.

Fachwerk in Braubach at night.

Soon more of Mainz and everything in between the Marksburg and Mainz and back along the Rhine River.

Below: View on the Marksburg frmo the opposite side of the Rhine River in between Brey and Spay in front of the campsite..