Sankt Goarshausen (abbreviated St. Goarshausen) is a town located in the

Rhein-Lahn-Kreis Rhein-Lahn-Kreis is a district (''Kreis'') in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Westerwaldkreis, Limburg-Weilburg, Rheingau-Taunus, Mainz-Bingen, Rhein-Hunsrück, Mayen-Koblenz, and the ...

in Nassau on the eastern shore of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

, in the section known as the

Rhine Gorge The Rhine Gorge is a popular name for the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a section of the Rhine between Koblenz and Rüdesheim in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse in Germany. It was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in Ju ...

, directly across the river from

Sankt Goar Sankt Goar () is a town on the west bank of the Middle Rhine in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Hunsrück-Mittelrhein, whose seat is in Emmelshausen. Sankt Goar is w ...

, in the German

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

. It is located within the

Nassau Nature Park The Nassau Nature Park is a 561.71 km2 nature park in the southwestern Westerwald and northwestern Taunus in Rhineland-Palatinate. It was designated in November 1963 and expanded in 1979. Geography The Nassau Nature Park lies in the Rheni ...

and the

UNESCO world heritage site, and was historically part of the

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German language, German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what became the Germany, German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a States of the Confederation of th ...

. It lies approximately 30 km south of

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

, and it is above all famous for the Lorelei rock nearby. Sankt Goarshausen is the seat of the Loreley collective municipality. The town's economy is based on

wine making Winemaking, wine-making, or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. There is ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. The Sankt Goarshausen railway station connects the town with

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and

. Sankt Goarshausen was formerly the terminus of the

Nassau Light Railway The Nassau Light Railway (''Nassauische Kleinbahn AG'') was a narrow gauge railway in Nassau, Germany, connecting the Lahn, Aar and Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in t ...

line between Sankt Goarshausen and

Nastätten Nastätten () is a municipality in the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Taunus, approx. 25 km southeast of Koblenz, and 35 km northwest of Wiesbaden. Nastätten is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemei ...

History

In 1885, St. Goarshausen had almost 1,456 inhabitants. Close to the town in the hillside just above it, lie the ruins of 14th century

Castle Katz Katz Castle () is a castle above the German town of Sankt Goarshausen in Rhineland-Palatinate. The castle stands on a ledge looking downstream from the riverside at Sankt Goar. It was first built around 1371 by Count William II of Katzenelnbo ...

, ruined since 1806.

Demographics

Traditionally more than 60% of the population are Protestants, while around 30% are Catholics; however Sankt Goarshausen is located in close proximity to Catholic-majority areas where the reverse situation exists. Due to the abandonment of religious beliefs, fewer people are members of the churches today, whether Protestant or Catholic. Sankt Goarshausen had a small but well-established Jewish community from the 17th century to the 1930s, peaking at 2.4% in 1895. As of 1860, the district of St. Goarshausen, which included St. Goarshausen proper and its surrounding villages, had a population that included 8557 Protestants, 3840 Catholics, 110 Jews and 6 Mennonites.
Staats- und Adreß-Handbuch des Herzogthums Nassau für das Jahr 1860
', p. 130,

, Government of the

Economy

The town has 1,585 inhabitants December 31, 2002, and is the seat of the township association (

Verbandsgemeinde A (; plural ) is a low-level administrative division, administrative unit in the Germany, German States of Germany, federal states of Brandenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A is typically composed of a small group of Municipalitie ...

) ''

Loreley The Lorelei ( ; or , or ; also found as ''Loreleï'', ''Lore Lay'', ''Lore-Ley'', ''Lurley'', ''Lurelei'' and ''Lurlei'' throughout history) is a , steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at ...

''. With the villages Ehrental, Wellmich and Heide, the number of inhabitants is over 2,000. The most important economic areas for St. Goarshausen are

and

. In earlier times the town was an important place along the Rhein for fishing and as an embarkation area. Today, the formerly very busy town is losing its importance and relies more and more on tourism. Especially problematic for St. Goarshausen is the short distance to the larger city

, that has replaced St. Goarshausen as the regional centre. In tourism, the biggest competitor is the twin city St. Goar on the other shore of the Rhine. St. Goar is only reachable by ferry, as the closest bridge is 30 km away. While there is an established need for a bridge across the Rhine, plans for connecting the towns have not yet been realised. To help tourism, a visitors centre has been established in connection to the Lorelei rock.

Sights

The most famous and most popular tourist attraction in town is the

Lorelei The Lorelei ( ; or , or ; also found as ''Loreleï'', ''Lore Lay'', ''Lore-Ley'', ''Lurley'', ''Lurelei'' and ''Lurlei'' throughout history) is a , steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at ...

rock. In St. Goarshausen, there are two castles,

Burg Katz Katz Castle () is a castle above the German town of Sankt Goarshausen in Rhineland-Palatinate. The castle stands on a ledge looking downstream from the riverside at Sankt Goar. It was first built around 1371 by Count William II of Katzenelnboge ...

(English: ''Castle Cat'', formerly Burg Neu-Katzenelnbogen) and

Burg Maus Maus Castle (, meaning ''Mouse Castle'') is a castle above the village of Wellmich (part of Sankt Goarshausen) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It lies on the east side of the Rhine, north of Katz Castle (''Cat Castle'') in Sankt Goarshausen and ...

(English: ''Castle Mouse''). Burg Katz is not open for visitors. There is a good view of the town from Burg Maus, and also visible are the ruins of

Burg Rheinfels Rheinfels Castle () is a castle ruin located above the left (west) bank of the Rhine in Sankt Goar, Germany. It was started in 1245 by Count Diether V of Katzenelnbogen. After expansions, it was the largest fortress in the Middle Rhein Valley be ...

on the other side of Rhine.

Recurring events

*The third weekend of September:

Rhein in Flammen Rhein in Flammen (English: "Rhine in Flames") is the name of five different firework displays along the river Rhine in Germany. The displays take place annually, at various locations along the river. On the five different dates, brightly illumina ...

, large fireworks from Burg Katz in St. Goarshausen, Burg Rheinfels in St. Goar and from the middle of the Rhine. *The Night of the Prog festival was held annually at the Loreley Amphitheatre (except in 2020 when it was cancelled due to the pandemic) until 2024, the year of the Final Night of the Prog.

Gallery

Image:Sankt goarshausen.jpg, View of St. Goarshausen Image:Burg Katz Oberhalb St. Goarshausen.JPG, Burg Katz, above St. Goarshausen Image:Thomas M Richardson St Goarshausen.jpg, St. Goarshausen, by Thomas M. Richardson Felsen Loreley.jpg, Loreley Rock St. Goarshausen-1.jpg, St. Goarshausen St. Goarshausen.jpg, St. Goarshausen StGH006.jpg, Castle Katz StGH001.jpg, Secthaus St. Goarshausen StGH003.jpg, St. Goarshausen - Wellmich StGH004.jpg, St. Goarshausen - Wellmich Sankt Goar.jpg, St. Goar Burgruine_Rheinfels_xx.jpg, Castle Rheinfels Goarshausen Heinrich Heine bust2.jpg, Bust of

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

References

External links

About Verbandsgemeinde Loreley, with map
* {{Authority control Populated places on the Rhine Rhein-Lahn-Kreis Middle Rhine