Tour Routes in Germany

Tony Page — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:33:09 +0000

Suggested Tour Routes to make the best of your holiday in Germany

Touring Germany is a pleasure, whether you drive yourself, take a coach or relax on a boat; that’s because there’s a lot to see and the roads are excellent, so travel is easy.

Whether you’re looking for romantic castles, picturesque villages with twisting alleys and narrow gabled houses, mountain landscapes or vibrant nightlife in a modern metropolis, everything is within easy reach.

Try this Tour Route

You’ll notice that my suggested general tour route below misses out Duesseldorf, Stuttgart etc. because although major cities they aren’t really what people go to Germany for (unless you’re picking up a Mercedes or BMW).

This Europe tour roughly goes in a circle, so you could go either direction. No problems driving in Germany. You could do the Rhine cruise bit at the beginning if you wanted. The tour would take around 17 days to do, but it would be nice to take a bit longer.

Note: links to the towns go to photo albums on the Travel Signposts website

Frankfurt – Remagen – Cologne – Bremen – Hamburg - Lubeck - Celle (Luneburg Heath) – Hannover – Berlin – Leipzig – Dresden – Weimar – Erfurt – Wartburg – Wurzburg – Bamberg – Bayreuth – Nuremberg – Rothenburg – Romantic Road – Nordlingen - Dachau – Munich – Lake Chiemsee – Berchtesgaden – Garmisch (Bavarian Alps): Linderhof/Ettal/Oberammergau/Steingaden/Neuschwanstein – Lindau (Lake Constance) – Meersburg/Konstanz (ferry) – Freiburg – Lake Titisee (Black Forest) – Baden-Baden – Heidelberg – Rudesheim/Boppard (Rhine Cruise) – Koblenz – Cochem – Rudesheim – Marksburg Castle – Frankfurt

Don’t know where a place is? Try this map (opens in new window): Map of Germany

Or visit our zoomable Google Satellite Map Page

TRAVEL TO GERMANY WITH US: PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS

Other Germany pages:

Travel to Germany: a Europe Tour that’s a lot more than Beer, Lederhosen and Cuckoo Clocks!

When to travel to Germany for your tour: weather and seasons

Useful facts, dates and links to help you plan your tour of Germany

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in Germany online

Book your hotels in Germany online HERE

Coblenz

Kaiser Wilhelm’s Monument

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Monument to Kaiser Wilhelm I (Emperor William)

Tony Page — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 07:47:15 +0000

Monument to Kaiser Wilhelm I (Emperor William) at the Deutsche Ecke, Koblenz

See our Photos of Kaiser Wilhelm’s Monument HERE

RIVER CRUISE GUIDE	Bank (Moselle)	Left	KM	592 Rhein
RIVER CRUISE GUIDE	Altitude	m/ft	Population	N/A

Archbishop Diether von Trier donated a small part of the landed estates of St Castor Monastery to the Knights of the German Order in 1216. The Knights’ Barracks were established here immediately after the donation and the spot of land precisely at the junction of the Moselle and the Rhein was called ‘German place‘ or ‘German corner‘ – Deutscher Ordt (Ort) or Deutsche Ecke – reminding everyone of the new proprietors – the Knights of the German Order.

The name stuck and the place became well-known throughout the German Empire. Few weeks after the death of William I, in 1888 the Prussian administrator of Coblenz came up with the idea that a special monument should be built to express general gratitude and admiration the nation felt towards William I.

The final decision for this particular location was made by the young Emperor William II. A small natural island at the very confluence of the Moselle into the Rhein was connected with the bank and the small harbour was filled in, thus creating the construction site for this monumental equestrian statue. Today, you would never guess that the island had ever existed separately from the mainland. There is now a spacious area in front of the huge monument that could be used as a parade ground, although perhaps it would be more pleasant if it was grassed over and made into a small park.

An impressive amount of 1 million marks was raised and the construction started in 1893. The project by Hundrieser and Schmitz was completed in 1897 to the admiration of the general public. The total height of the monument of 37 m/121 ft was just 1 m/3’3" higher than the Niederwald Monument in Rüdesheim (‘Germania’) and 2,900 m3/102,412 ft of granite and 17,500 kg/19.2 US tons of copper were used for its construction.

The verse of the poet Max von Schenkendorf saying ‘The Empire will never be destroyed, for as long as you stand united and loyal to each other’ ("Nimmer wird das Reich zerstört, wenn Ihr einig seid and treu!") was engraved upon it.

The monument was unveiled in the presence of William II, the grandson of William I on August 31, 1897. The semi-circular pediment with its 10 m/33 ft high hall of columns survived the last world war.

The 14 m/46 ft high equestrian statue of Emperor William I in his parade uniform, followed by the female allegory of the Empire carrying the imperial crown of Germany on a velvet cushion, was destroyed in March 1945 by an artillery shell.

In 1953 the monument was declared the Memorial to German unity by German president Theodor Heuss. The Germans remember the date since they sung their national anthem here for the first time on that occasion after the defeat in WW II. But the people of Coblenz wanted their ‘old Emperor William’ back. This was made possible by a generous private donation of 3 million marks (EUR1.53 million/$1.9 million) and a local fundraising effort in Coblenz which brought in 350,000 DM (EUR180,000/$225,000). The heavy statue of 63.5 tons/69.4 US tons was unveiled to the public on 25 September 1993.

See our Photos of Kaiser Wilhelm’s Monument HERE

See also: Coblenz (Koblenz)

Don’t know where a place is? Try this map (opens in new window): Map of Germany

Or visit our zoomable Google Satellite Map page

TRAVEL TO GERMANY WITH US: PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS