By Ines Keane
Sixty-five kilometres. That is the stretch of the Rhine that UNESCO inscribed in 2002 as the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, running between Bingen, Rüdesheim and Koblenz. The listing gives the property as 27,250 hectares with a buffer zone of 34,680 hectares. The German Wikipedia page puts the inscription on 27 June 2002.
What the listing says it is
The World Heritage Centre, the official source, calls the valley a place that “graphically illustrates the long history of human involvement with a dramatic and varied natural landscape”. It names three criteria. Under (ii), it is “one of the most important transport routes in Europe”, linking the Mediterranean region and the north for two millennia. Under (iv), it is “an outstanding organic cultural landscape”. Under (v), it is “an outstanding example of an evolving traditional way of life and means of communication in a narrow river valley”.
Then the counts. “Some 40 hill top castles and fortresses”, says the brief description, and “its sixty small towns”. The integrity section words the same numbers a little differently: the forty castles and forts, sixty towns and settlements. English Wikipedia names the towns on the stretch, among them Koblenz, Boppard, Sankt Goar, Oberwesel, Kaub, Bacharach, Lorch, Assmannshausen, Bingen and Rüdesheim.
A gorge that gets narrower
The river does not stay one width. German Wikipedia says the Rhine averages about 300 metres at the Binger Pforte, roughly half its width before the gorge near Rüdesheim, and a little over 300 metres at the exit near Bacharach. In the St. Goarer Tal it narrows to under 200 metres in several sharp bends. English Wikipedia says the gorge walls are 200 metres high.
The tightest point is the Loreley. The UNESCO page says the river there is “no more than 130m wide” and, at 20 metres, at its deepest in the Middle Rhine. German Wikipedia’s page on the rock gives 160 metres wide and up to 25 metres deep, historically. We show both and do not choose. The rock has its own piece on this site, in the slug listed below.
Terraces and a microclimate
The steep valley sides have been terraced, UNESCO says, and criterion (v) mentions “the terracing of its steep slopes”. English Wikipedia says the gorge has its own microclimate. The age of the terracing is where the official page disagrees with itself: “over a 1,000 years” in the synthesis, “over two thousand years” under criterion (iv), “more than two millennia” under (v). Our reading: the first is about the vineyard terraces, the other two about the longer story of settlement, but the page does not say so.
Castles
English Wikipedia says roughly 40 hilltop castles were built along the gorge and many are ruins. The page for the castle itself softens that: it was “one of only two” never destroyed, the other being Maus Castle.
Water, rail and noise
The same UNESCO page that praises the valley as a transport route also says the railways that run along it add to noise pollution. The railways, in other words, are part of the story and part of the problem. The page treats this as something to manage.
For a late-year visit
Events such as the “Rhine in Flames” fireworks have their own dates each year; check the organiser’s site. Our reading: the valley itself is the draw, and the river is as wide, and the bends as sharp, in any month. The railways noted above are part of the scene. For hours, ferry times and castle opening seasons, ask the operators; our sources give none.
What we left out
Wine, prices, timetables, and any claim that we could not tie to a source. Where the sources disagree, the numbers above are shown side by side.
Quick answers
When did the Upper Middle Rhine Valley become a World Heritage Site? In 2002, according to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. German Wikipedia gives the day as 27 June.
How long is the protected stretch? UNESCO describes a 65 km stretch between Bingen, Rüdesheim and Koblenz. English Wikipedia also gives 65 km, between Koblenz and Rüdesheim.
How many castles are there? The UNESCO page says some 40 hilltop castles and fortresses. English Wikipedia says roughly 40 hilltop castles were built.
Related on this site: idar-oberstein-gemstone-cutting-agate-history, lorelei-rock-rhine-heine-song-history, ravensburger-board-games-puzzles-history
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