Rheinromantik (Rhine Romanticism)Bonn has been the gateway to the romantic Rhine for more than 200 years.

Few landscapes have been viewed so reverently, described in such a rousing manner, drawn so atmospherically as this landscape of the middle Rhineland and the Siebengebirge. And to this day the big river is confined to the river kilometres 528 (Bingen) and 654 (Bonn) for a lot of English, American or Japanese tourists. This represents the essence of the German, the romantic Rhine, for foreign tourists.

The valley “gradually narrowing as it advances, the rocks become more steep and the prospect wilder; the Rhine is here most charming. Enlivened on its course by the populous shores, overhanging rocks, and ruined castles, it appears more like a painting, the intentional creation of some artist’s genius than a merely accidental combination of nature.” It was the poet and philosopher Friedrich Schlegel, who gained these impressions during his journey from Cologne up the Rhine via Switzerland to Paris in 1802 and published them a year later.

These enthusiastic descriptions dating back to the start of the 19th century formed the backdrop of the decision to celebrate the anniversary of “200 years of German Rhine romanticism" in 2002 and to pay tribute to the origin of tourism in the Rhineland and its former advertisers. Incidentally the first of them came to the Rhine from abroad in the late 18th century, and enthusiastically related their experiences. One of the most important "advertising copywriters" was Lord Byron whose poem (published in 1818) about the castle crag of Drachenfels, which he integrated within his famous work "Childe Harolds Pilgrimage“, and which was published in countless travel guides, animated a lot of his compatriots to visit the Siebengebirge.

The Siebengebirge and the Middle Rhine possessed all the ingredients, which romantics valued in a landscape at the start of the 19th century. A dramatic natural backdrop, which this section of the river that was still unbridled at that time offered, wedged between steep rocks and green mountains. In addition there were picturesque castles and churches from the Middle Ages, which – due to the fact that many of them had been destroyed in wars – provided a reminder of the transience of life. And not least the vast range of legends, which surrounded the buildings of historical importance and natural phenomena on the Rhine, for instance the Rolandsbogen, the Drachenfels, the Mäuseturm (Mouse tower) or the Loreley. This is because the spirit of the age (Zeitgeist) – which was tired of the noble simplicity and calm greatness of Classicism and the cool rationality of the Enlightenment - completely devoted itself to the power of feelings, legends and fantastic phenomena.

On their Rhine tour in 1802 Clemens Brentano and Achim von Arnim - "it is a magnificent life on the post ships, just like in heaven, just not free” – collected legends and ballads, which they later compiled in the work “Des Knaben Wunderhoren” (The youth’s magic horn). But the romantics did not just find legends, they also invented them. For instance the legend of that knight Roland, who died in his castle out of grief over the loss of his loved one, does not have mythical origins at all. She entered a nunnery below the castle on the Rhine island of Nonnenwerth… The Rolandsbogen (Roland’s arch) is comparatively new, and represents the romantic remains of the medieval mound castle of that sad knight: The ruin that is overgrown with ivy was reconstructed in 1840 by the master builder of the Cologne cathedral Zwirner, after the original collapsed on a stormy December night. Incidentally the money for its reconstruction was collected by the poet Freiligrath with a moving poem and an appeal for donations. You have to do everything with a bit of feeling!

The transfer of the aesthetic and very emotional notions of the Rhine through the literature had already increased people’s willingness to travel here in the early 19th century. English painters, the most prominent of whom was William Turner, had made the area popular with their pictures of the Rhine, which were often widely circulated as copper engravings. A lot of English painters constantly took up residence on the banks of the Rhine – some of their pictures can be seen in the Mittelrheinmuseum (Central Rhine Museum) in Koblenz, which also includes works from artists from Koblenz, who had discovered the market for stylish souvenirs and produced pictures for foreign tourists that would fit in their travel bags. The Drachenfels which was often honoured by artists such as Turner and also his successors has long since adorned postcards for today’s visits—the mountain with the castle ruin is still a legend for tourists to this day.

The Marksburg high above Braubach, that is now the headquarters of the Deutsche Burgenvereinigung (German Castles Association) was also a popular motif for the Romantics.As the only unscathed mounded castle it is the one that attracts the highest number of visitors in the Rhineland. With a hall of knights and an armoury, the chamber of the ladies and the castle kitchen, a weaving room and a forge it vividly demonstrates what life was like in former times. Whilst the Marksburg presents the genuine Middle Ages, the Drachenburg in the Siebengebirge or Stolzenfels near Koblenz convey romantic notions of the past in stone. Both castles rank amongst the most significant neo-Gothic monuments in the Rhineland. Stephan Baron von Sarter, who had attained riches and noble titles, had Schloss Drachenburg (Castle Drachenburg) constructed from 1882 until 1884.

A staggering 2.3 million bricks were used to build this representative residence, which was derided as the “Rhineland's Neuschwanstein” or the “Valhalla of the Rhineland” by a lot of people. After extensive restoration work Schloss Drachenburg is now viewed in a much more positive light as a virtuoso creation of historicism. For people visiting the castle today it now reflects the lifestyle of the upper classes at the end of the 19th century.

Nothing else stood in the way of tourism on a grand scale since steamships travelled up and down the river as part of a regular service and the Rhine route was ultimately made more accessible due to the construction of new railway lines. New hotels grew up around the shipping piers and the railways, which were frequently given the very appropriate name of “Bellevue”. In Bonn, for instance, the "Schaumburger Hof" and the "Rheinhotel Dreesen" were both meeting points of romantic poets and polishers but also aristocratic travellers from Great Britain or the United States. The American author of “Leatherstocking tales” James Fenimore Cooper for his part felt almost at home in his guesthouse on the island of Nonnenwerth and as if he had been transferred to a veritable wilderness “whilst the Rhine sighs as it flows under my window and the Drachenfels entirely reveals itself in the moonlight. It is a real wilderness, bizarrely formed…” The owner of the guesthouse Mr Klein on Nonnenwerth praised its ideal island location in an advertising brochure stating that his guests could go on wonderful trips with boats and steamships...

Ship tours are also certainly one of the most beautiful ways of experiencing the region in an intensive manner. During the season steamships of the white fleet transport trippers from Bonn to the Siebengebirge, to Koblenz and further up the Middle Rhine. Gently gliding through this landscape is a magical experience. The Rhine valley between Bonn and Bingen has over large stretches remained a romantic landscape with emotive values.