EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

One of two railways in the Hunsrück is that along the Nahe valley, the southern border of the range; this forms part of the main line between Mainz and Saarbrücken. As it flows towards its confluence with the Rhine at Bingen, the Nahe becomes broad and grand, assuming a truly spectacular aspect around the little town bearing the somewhat clumsy name of BAD MÜNSTER AM STEIN-EBERNBURG . Indeed, this landscape, a favourite subject with painters of the Romantic era, was once so famous that it was regarded as an obligatory stop on a Grand Tour of Europe. While it remains a popular destination with the Germans themselves, it has been all but forgotten by almost everyone else - though it is undoubtedly one of the country's most unusual and impressive beauty spots. Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg itself only came into existence in 1969, and a curiosity of their pre-twentieth-century history is that, despite many changes of ownership, the two constituent villages always belonged to different states.

No more than a cluster of houses until it was developed as a resort in the second half of the nineteenth century, Bad Münster is bordered on three sides by a loop of the Nahe, and faces the Rheingrafenstein , a dramatic cluster of red porphyry cliffs rising almost directly from the river. On top of one of these, at a height of 136m, is Burg Rheingrafenstein , the feudal seat of the lords of Stein, later the Rheingrafen or counts of the Rhine. Despite its seemingly impregnable position, the castle was captured and blown up by the French in 1689, and has remained a ruin ever since. To the rear is a 245m cliff, on top of which is an observation platform commanding a superb view of the town and valley. There is a chained ferry (daily: May-Aug 8am-8pm, reducing gradually in the off-season to 9am-6pm; DM1.30/¬0.65 each way) from Bad Münster to the foot of the Rheingrafenstein, from where a path snakes up to the Burg and beyond. Boats are available for hire at the same jetty.

The Kurpark , which stretches almost as far as the waterfront, is a peaceful spot, enhanced by its whimsical spa buildings. These look particularly quaint when viewed from the north, where they appear dwarfed by the backdrop of the Rheingrafenstein. On either side of the manicured gardens are the Salinen , graduation towers which have existed since the first half of the eighteenth century, and are still used by guests for the original purpose of inhaling purified air. The Kurverwaltung at the southwestern corner is an eighteenth-century half-timbered building which was the administration office of the original salt industry, while the Kurmittelhaus alongside is an ingenious early twentieth-century structure which marries traditional timber frame architecture with Jugendstil design. Inside the latter is a pump room with fountains dispensing the local mineral waters, and a sunken former bathing hall.

The Ebernburg , the large fortress from which the left-bank part of the town takes its name, lies on top of a vineyard-clad hill on the opposite side of the Alsenz, a Nahe tributary, from the Rheingrafenstein. Thirteenth century by origin, it has been rebuilt on many occasions, and now serves as a family holiday home run under the auspices of the Protestant churches. Back across the Nahe, at the extreme northwestern edge of town, is the sheer-faced porphyry massif known as the Rotenfels (literally, "red cliffs"). A footpath runs along the top, offering yet more wonderful panoramic views.