Nave, Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche), Koblenz, Rhine Gorge, Middle Rhine, Rhine Province, Germany

"The Liebfrauenkirche is a Catholic church in the center of the old town of Koblenz. Together with the other two Romanesque churches, the former collegiate churches of St. Kastor and St. Florin, it shapes the silhouette of the old town. The beginnings of the church, which is located at the highest point in the old town, date back to the 5th century. From the late Middle Ages to the French Revolution it was the main parish church of Koblenz. It bears the patronage of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and is a major work of medieval sacred architecture on the Middle Rhine.

Koblenz (UK: /koʊˈblɛnts/ koh-BLENTS, US: /ˈkoʊblɛnts/ KOH-blents, German: [ˈkoːblɛnts]) is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multinational tributary.

Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus around 8 B.C. Its name originates from the Latin (ad) cōnfluentēs, meaning "(at the) confluence". The actual confluence is today known as the "German Corner", a symbol of the unification of Germany that features an equestrian statue of Emperor William I. The city celebrated its 2000th anniversary in 1992.

It ranks in population behind Mainz and Ludwigshafen am Rhein to be the third-largest city in Rhineland-Palatinate. Its usual-residents' population is 112,000 (as at 2015). Koblenz lies in a narrow flood plain between high hill ranges, some reaching mountainous height, and is served by an express rail and autobahn network. It is part of the populous Rhineland.

Mittelrhein (or Middle Rhine) is a region (Anbaugebiet) for quality wine in Germany, and is located along a 120 km stretch of river Rhine in the tourist portions of the Rhine region known as Middle Rhine. On the left bank of Rhine, vineyards begin immediately downstream of the Nahe estuary and last until Koblenz. On the right bank, vineyards begin where Rheingau ends and last until 8 kilometers south of Bonn, in the Siebengebirge. Parts of the Rhine Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage since 2002, make up the southern part of Mittelrhein.

The region's 448 hectares (1,110 acres) of vineyards (2013 situation) are dominated by white wine grapes (85%) to a higher extent than any other wine region of Germany with the exception of Mosel. With the much-appreciated Riesling being the most grown variety at 68% of the vineyards, and considering the vicinity to the world-famous regions Rheingau and Mosel, it could perhaps be expected that Mittlerhein would enjoy a commercial success. In reality, the situation is quite the opposite. In between 1989 and 2009 the Middle Rhine lost 36% of its total area of vines under cultivation, while the nationwide development shows a plus of 7.37% Since the region's planted area has been shrinking for quite some time, the region's wines are hardly ever seen on export markets, and seem to be rather unknown even inside Germany. The underlying reasons are manifold.

The must per hectare comparison of German wine growing regions shows that in average, the Middle Rhine ranks 3rd lowest in output per hectare with an average of 68 hl / ha between 2001 and 2012. Only Saale-Unstrut (56 hl/ha) and Saxony (45 hl/ha) yield a lower output. The nationwide average over the same time frame comes up to 91 hl/ha. Hence, in a ten-year average, the Middle Rhine region only yields 75% of the nation’s average hectolitre per hectare output.[6] In 2012, the output per hectare was 59 hl / ha, hence even 13% less than the ten year average of the region and 35% less than the average national output for 2012. In 2013, there were greater difficulties for harvesting and production. The bad weather conditions throughout the year led to minimal output, especially for late ripening grapes like Riesling, by far the most grown variety. Many quality producers only harvested 30 hl / ha, and some producers less. Despite these low yields, the region's wines in the 2013 vintage were of a high quality, and prices remained stable and low.

From countless conversations to wine growers in and outside the area, the conclusions on the underlying reasons are various. On one side, the area is vulnerable to the climate conditions of the respective vintage year; on the other side, there is an ongoing trend to forfeit quantity for the sake of quality. The most hyped wineries all over the world get worked up on only selecting the best grapes by hand. Due to the region’s geological conditions, this is usual practice on the Middle Rhine. The difference: Prices don't quadruple because of this fact.

The Rhine Gorge is a popular name for the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a 65 km 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 June 2002 because of its beauty as a cultural landscape, its importance as a route of transport across Europe, and the unique adaptations of the buildings and terraces to the steep slopes of the gorge.

The region's rocks were laid down in the Devonian period and are known as Rhenish Facies. This is a fossil-bearing sedimentary rock type consisting mainly of slate. The rocks underwent considerable folding during the Carboniferous period. The gorge was carved out during a much more recent uplift to leave the river contained within steep walls 200 m high, the most famous feature being the Loreley.

The gorge produces its own microclimate and has acted as a corridor for species not otherwise found in the region. Its slopes have long been terraced for agriculture, in particular viticulture which has good conditions on south-facing slopes. Most of the vineyards belong to the wine region Mittelrhein, but the southernmost parts of the Rhine Gorge fall in Rheingau and Nahe.

The river has been an important trade route into central Europe since prehistoric times and a string of small settlements has grown up along the banks. Constrained in size, many of these old towns retain a historic feel today. With increasing wealth, roughly 40 hilltop castles were built and the valley became a core region of the Holy Roman Empire. It was at the centre of the Thirty Years' War, which left many of the castles in ruins, a particular attraction for today's cruise ships which follow the river. At one time forming a border of France, in the 19th century the valley became part of Prussia and its landscape became the quintessential image of Germany.

This part of the Rhine features strongly in folklore, such as a legendary castle on the Rhine being the setting for the opera Götterdämmerung. The annual Rhine in Flames festivals include spectacular firework displays at Sankt Goar in September and Koblenz in August, the best view being from one of a convoy of boats." - info from Wikipedia.

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

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Taken in: Germany / Rheinland-Pfalz / Kreisfreie Stadt Koblenz (show map)

Taken on: July 3, 2019

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