History and Guide to the town of Bingen on the Rhine

• Brief Survey of Bingen's History
• Klopp Castle & History Museum
• The Basilika of St. Martin
• The Rochus Chapel
• The Capucin Church
• The old Crane
• The Mouse Tower (Mäuseturm)
• The Drusus Bridge
• The Bridge Chapel

Klopp Castle & History Museum

The Klopp hill is exactly right for a castle or fortress. The Romans built their Castellum Bingium here already. The whole hill was, at that time, a ring of defence fortified by a wall, which even enclosed the small town of Bingen. In 355 A.D. the area was the victim of the Alemannies. The centuries afterwards were terrible for this hill. Castles were built and demolished. The name Klopp Castle was first recorded on paper in 1282. Destructions caused havoc in 1165, 1301, during the 30 Years War and finally in 1 689 caused by the French King Louis XIV. It wasn't until the middle of the last century that the wealthy businessman Ludwig Cron, from Cologne, began with reconstruction on a large scale. In 1 897 the castle was then transferred into the possession of the town Bingen. Since that time the mayor and municipal authorities have resided here. The castle was destroyed considerably during the second World War, but today it is one of the most beautiful symbols of the town. The local history museum is also in the castle tower. Here, one can see a complete set of surgical instruments dating back to Roman times.

The Basilika of St. Martin

One can get a feeling for Bingen's long history by visiting the Basilica of St. Martin. You only have to realise that, as far back as the years before the birth of Christ, the Romans built a temple to their gods on this exact site. St. Martin was first mentioned in records of the register of gifts at Lorsch Abbey in the year 793. In 883 the Roman building was destroyed and re-opened in 1220. When a fire broke out on 14th August 1403 nearly all the church collapsed in ruins. Thirteen years later, a new St. Martin's church was completed in the gothic style. As St. Martin's was a collegiate church, the Barbara building was built on in 1505 as a church for the people. In the ensuing period the church went through several architectural changes; the altars and art treasures were either lost or were sold. On 1. 4. 1930 Pope Pius XI gave it the title of a Papal Basilica. After the bombing of 1 944 the ceiling of the main aisle and a part of the high altar collapsed. Today visitors can visit a place of worship which is particularly beautiful.

The Rochus Chapel

Amsterdam 1663: The last great bubonic plague rages in the town. Bingen 1666: The bacteria were brought in either by the European shipping connection from Holland or the Trade Fair town of Frankfurt. The Bingen people mourned for 1 300 dead. In this state of desperation, Baron Frey von Dheren, a senior civil servant for the municipal authorities, made a pledge to build a chapel in honour of Saint Rochus. The chapel was completed that year, but was officially opened on the Rochus hill in the year 1677.
From that time onwards this place of worship had hardly any peace: In 1689 French troops robbed the chapel, in 1698 there was a renewed opening ceremony, in 1795 the chapel went up in flames caused by battles between French revolutionary troops and German soldiers. It remained destroyed. When French soldiers retreated to their homes after the battle of Leipzig, typhoid broke out in the town. Now people remembered the great honor of saint Rochus of earlier times and rebuilt the chapel. On 16th August 1814, Saint Rochus, day was celebrated again. J. W. von Goethe was one of the guests.
In 1889 lightening struck, just before massive restoration could be completed. Fire once again destroyed everything down to the brickwork. The three-aisled late Gothic church with external altar, as we know it today, emerged from the foundations of the previous baroque building. The chapel was officially opened on the evening of the St. Rochus festival, 1895.

The old Crane

If you have a good imagination you can look at the old crane and imagine yourself back in the busy times of Bingen's docks in the Middle Ages. These days the cultural monument is no longer directly in the Rhine because the banks of the Rhine were raised in 1893. The construction, kept in its original wood, has been covered with slate. Something which surprises visitors: the nearly complete interior has lasted through the centuries.

The Mouse Tower (Mäuseturm)

Historical traditions and legends have grown up around the tower on a small Rhine island on the outskirts of Bingen. It is a fact that even the Romans built a small fortification here. During the reign of the Franconians though, this fell again and again. The small island tower did not awake from its historical sleep until Hatto 11 took over the Archbishop seat in Mainz in 968 and reigned Bingen. It had been an independent town de facto up until this time, but now the strict reign demanded considerable taxes and subordination from the people. According to legend, Hatto restored the island tower, and during his visits to the town he stayed there occasionally, thinking he was safe. One day he was forced to stay on the island after suddenly becoming ill. He was - so the story goes - overcome by thousands of mice and died shortly afterwards in Bingen in 970. Since that time this was called the "Mouse Tower". In 1298 the tower was included in the customs boundary system of Ehrenfels Castle. In 1689, French troops destroyed the building. People did not remember its importance until 1855. The Prussians erected a signal tower on the island for shipping tragic and this remains today.

The Drusus Bridge

Bridges have a long tradition in the area near the mouth of the River Nahe. The first one was constructed in the century before the birth of Christ. At that time Drusus secured the left Rhine border of the Roman Empire by building fortresses and also built a wooden bridge over the Nahe. After its destruction in 70 A.D., the first stone bridge was built which fell to the Normans in 891. it wasn't until over a hundred years later that Archbishop Willigis erected a new stone bridge across the Nahe. It was again destroyed in 1689 by the French, but then rebuilt in 1 772. In March 1945 a special commando blew up the arches of the bridge as the allied troops were advancing. Today the Drusus bridge is again a main feature of Bingen.