In the romantic Rhine Valley near the town of St. Goarshausen, a siren named Loreley was said to bewitch sailors from upon her granite rock, causing them to ground their boats or lose control of them and sink. The area around the massive granite outcrop which rises vertically 433 ft (132 m) about the river, is indeed dangerous - the narrowest part of the Rhine between Switzerland and the North Sea surrounded by reefs and rapids which are a major threat to shipping. These days a safe channel is marked by buoys and no one admits to hearing the siren song of Loreley. (The translation of the name Loreley is 'murmuring rock')
The area is also important for wine-making. Since 1395, the Counts of Katzenelnbogen have had vineyards here and it was this dynasty of winemakers who invented Riesling. The whole Rhine River area, of course, became famous for Rieslings but they were first developed here, under the siren spell of Loreley. These days, due to the noise of modern life, it is hard to hear the murmuring of Loreley, but we can still drink the Riesling!
The Loreley Rock is located in the Rhine Valley, near the town of St. Goar. It is 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Frankfurt airport.
