The romantic river valley is lined with castles and palaces. It extends from the old Roman town of Koblenz , via the myth-enshrouded Loreley rock, to Bingen and Rüdesheim, and includes the steep vineyards that are home to the famous Rhine wines. In the Romantic era, the Rhine began to be associated with Germany’s fate. It carried not only goods and people from many different countries, but was also a channel for a wealth of cultural influences and ideas – the religious buildings along the river, in particular, bear eloquent testimony to this.
