Bingen to Assmannshausen

This is the second part of my series about my weekend walking between Rüdesheim and Oberwesel. Part one can be read here.

Leaving the Niederwalddenkmal behind us we continued to walk across the Rüdesheimer Berg, a group of vineyards on the slopes overlooking the Rhine. On the opposite bank lay Bingen, its many railway lines clearly visible.

Bingen

The next sight to see was the Mäuseturm, built on a island in the middle of the Rhine. The tower that currently occupies the site was built in the 19th Century as a Prussian signal tower, before that there was a customs tower on the island.

The name of the tower comes from a legend about the Bishop of Mainz in the 10th Century, who was apparently besieged and later eaten by a swarm of mice in revenge for not distributing grain to his people during a time of famine.

The Mäuseturm, seen from the Rüdesheim bank of the Rhine

Opposite the Mäuseturm lie the remains of Burg Ehrenfels. The castle was also used in the collection of tolls but was severely damaged in the 17th Century. Later parts of it were removed when the vineyards were being planted.

Burg Ehrenfels

Our route led us directly behind the castle and continued towards Assmannshausen. Here we had the choice of taking the chairlift or going down a flight of steps into the town – the steps going almost through peoples’ back gardens and coming out in an alleyway in the middle of the town.

Assmannshausen viewed from the vineyard path

Assmannshausen

Tickets for the chair lift can be combined with those for the cable car in Rüdesheim, so it is possible to do a round trip, returning from Assmannshausen to Rüdesheim by boat.

For our journey, however, we continued through the town and followed the path back up the hill towards Lorch…