- Type
- Fortress
- Built
- 1817 · 19th century
- Location
- Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
- Coordinates
- 50.3650°, 7.6153°
History
The first stronghold on the rock was built around the year 1000 by a nobleman named Ehrenbert, who gave it its name. It soon passed to the archbishops of Trier, who over the centuries turned it into a formidable fortress. In January 1799, after a blockade of almost a year, it surrendered to French troops, who blew up its defences in 1801. The Congress of Vienna awarded the Rhineland to Prussia, and in 1817–1828 a new fortress was built here under the engineer Carl Schnitzler, becoming the core of Koblenz's ring of defences. It was never attacked, and since 2002 it has been part of the UNESCO-listed Upper Middle Rhine Valley.
What to see
You can reach the fortress by the Seilbahn Koblenz cable car, which crosses the Rhine from the Basilica of St Castor, or by the inclined lift (Schrägaufzug) from the valley in Ehrenbreitstein. Inside are the Koblenz State Museum, a youth hostel and a memorial to the fallen soldiers of the German army. The terraces look down on the Deutsches Eck at the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle, Koblenz's old town and the Rhine valley.
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