The Lorelei Fels

On the way north to Sankt Goarhausen, you will encounter the Lorelei Fels (Rock).  The Lorelei causes a tight narrowing of the Rhein, and thus is relatively dangerous to navigate, though boats today do so with what appears to be total ease.  The photo at left was taken in the spring of 1979.  The one below left was taken from a cruise boat in 2007.  This photo shows that additional vegetation has been growing along the side of the rock. 

The photo below was taken in June 2005, with a heavily laden container barge making the passage of the narrows.

Above, the Lorelei from the north side.  The railroad tunnels (two of them, one hidden by the trees) pass through it.  The right tunnel looks like a castle tower, as the Germans try to maintain the motif of the region.  This photo was taken from a small spit of land extending from the Lorelei.

The Lorelei has a number of legends associated with it, the most prominent being the Siren of the Lorelei.  In this legend, a beautiful maiden lost her love to the rocks in the narrows of the Lorelei, and from then on she sat upon the rocks and would sing of her love.  Travelers on the river would hear the beauty of her voice and close in to see who it was, instead being lured to their own deaths on the same deadly rocks.  Part of the basis for this legend is that the wind would often whistle and moan as it blew through the narrows.

A view from above as two barges negotiate the narrows.  Rhein River barges often carry radar so they can actually pick up other boats and obstacles ahead.  They also often carry one or two cars on the deck, so when they complete their journey they can spend a few days traveling and shopping. 

Below, left and bottom, two views of the top of the Lorelei.  On the left, in 2005, and on the right, March 1945, as men of the 89th Infantry Division raise the US flag on the rock's flag pole.  The lower right photo is from the official US Army history, The Last Offensive by Charles MacDonald, p 278.  A careful examination of the photo reveals that since the war additional flagstones have been added at the top of the Lorelei.  The railing has also been changed and extended as well.