page_title: Middle Rhine
section_title: Tourism
hierarchical_section_title: Middle Rhine / Tourism
context_page_description: Between Bingen and Bonn, Germany, the river Rhine flows as the Middle Rhine through the Rhine Gorge, a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river at about its original level, and the surrounding lands raised. This gorge is quite deep, about 130 metres from the top of the rocks down to the average water-line.
  The "Middle Rhine" is one of four sections of the river between Lake Constance and the North Sea. The upper half of the Middle Rhine from Bingen to Koblenz is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with more than 40 castles and fortresses from the Middle Ages and many wine-villages. The lower half from Koblenz to Bonn is famous for the formerly volcanic Siebengebirge with the Drachenfels volcano. Both parts together are known as "the romantic Rhine".
  The Middle Rhine Valley has been a major tourist attraction since the 19th century. It is also home to some 450,000 people. The valley owes its special appearance to both its natural shape and human alterations. For two millennia, it has been one of the most important routes for cultural exchange between the Mediterranean region and northern Europe.
context_section_description: Young British aristocrats on their Grand Tour to Italy discovered the Middle Rhine in the 18th century.  With the German romance of the Middle Rhine in Germany was also a dream destination.  Tourism, which had been induced by the Rhine romanticism, in turn promoted, which was provided by the Köln-Düsseldorfer company, which was founded in 1827, and the construction of the West Rhine Railway between the 1840s and 1870s.  This brought  a new economic boom to the Middle Rhine area, which continued well into the 20th century.  The only paddle steamer still remaining on the Rhine is the Goethe, running between Koblenz and Rudesheim.
  German and the foreign tourists never quite lost interest in the Middle Rhine.  Interest, however, decreased noticeably since the 1980s.   In an attempt to make the Middle Rhine more attractive in the 21st century, two new long-distance trails, the Rheinsteig on the right side of the Rhine and the Rheinburgenweg Trail on both sides of the Rhine, were opened which allow a particularly intense experience of the cultural landscape. Cyclists can ride the entire Middle Rhine Valley between Bingen and Bonn on the Rhine Cycle Route.  On the left bank, this provides a continuous bike path along the river, separate from any roads accessible to cars.  On the right bank, there are still some small gaps where cyclists have to use regular streets.
caption: Signal Station on a special hazard area near the Loreley
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