Rhine in Flames

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Rhein in Flammen 2011 in Koblenz , shot down from the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress , in the foreground the Deutsches Eck

The Rhine in Flames is the name given to the large fireworks held annually , which take place at different times on several sections of the Middle Rhine . On five summer evenings, brightly lit passenger ships sail across the river in convoys to give their guests a view of the entire fireworks display, which is set off when the ships arrive. At the Rhine in Flames event in St. Goar and St. Goarshausen , the convoy does not go, but the ships lie between Burg Katz and Burg Rheinfels during the fireworks .

Wine festivals or folk festivals take place along the riverbanks and are attended by hundreds of thousands of spectators every year. The biggest fireworks spectacle as part of the “Rhine in Flames” takes place every year on the second Saturday in August in Koblenz .

Similar events, which are based on the example of the Rhine in flames , but have no connection to it, are the Cologne Lights and the Andernach Festival of Thousand Lights.

stretch

The dates of the events are:

  1. First Saturday in May every year between Bad Hönningen / Bad Breisig and Bonn ,
  2. First Saturday in July of each year between Niederheimbach and Bingen / Rüdesheim
  3. Second Saturday in August between Spay and Koblenz
  4. Second Saturday in September each year in Oberwesel and
  5. Third Saturday in September each year between Sankt Goar and Sankt Goarshausen

Bad Hönningen / Bad Breisig – Bonn

On the first Saturday in May of each year, Rhine in Flames takes place along the line Linz - Erpel - Unkel - Remagen - Rheinbreitbach - Bad Honnef (on the Rhine island Grafenwerth ) - Bad Godesberg - Königswinter - Bonn . The event took place on May 3rd, 1986 , since then there has been Rhine in Flames every year. The largest single event will take place in Bonn's Rheinaue until 2013 , where a folk festival with an extensive supporting program attracts around 300,000 visitors annually. In 2006, 52 ships took part in the ship convoy between the “colorful city” of Linz (Rhine kilometer 629) and the federal city of Bonn (Rhine kilometer 653). The Remagen bridge, which was destroyed in the Second World War, was shown with a laser projection in 2006. The final fireworks in the Rheinaue lasted from 11.06 p.m. to 11.26 p.m. in 2006, from 11.11 p.m. to 11.33 p.m. in 2007 and from 11.17 p.m. to 11.39 p.m. in 2010 In 2007 the ships were welcomed for the first time by a light show directly in front of the fireworks, which took place in parallel on both banks of the Rhine. On the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of the city of Bad Hönningen, the ship parade began in Bad Hönningen / Bad Breisig for the first time in 2019.

Niederheimbach – Bingen / Rüdesheim

Fireworks from Klopp Castle 2007

The 50 or so ships gathered on the first Saturday in July between Niederheimbach and Trechtingshausen . At the 29th event in 2006, there were 27 passenger ships in the first part of the convoy and 20 passenger ships in the second. The first fireworks were set off in 2006 at 10:24 p.m. at the campsite in Trechtingshausen. The Burg Reichenstein and Klemens chapel in Trechtingshausen were Bengali illuminated. Rheinstein Castle was also illuminated in a Bengali way in 2006. The next fireworks display was set off in the Assmannshausen vineyards . The third fireworks display was set off across from Assmannshausen in 2006. In the curve of the Rhine on the area of ​​the State Garden Show in Bingen, the fireworks were set off opposite the ruins of Ehrenfels Castle (Hesse) and the mouse tower , which could be seen from the ships in the first half of the convoy. Then the fifth fireworks from Klopp Castle near Bingen am Rhein on the Rhine and Nahe , which could only be seen from part of the convoy due to the Rhine curve. These five fireworks ended at 11:24 p.m. in 2006. Only after the last ships of the long convoy had passed through the Binger Loch around the bend in the Rhine did the sixth fireworks display near Rüdesheim from the Panoramaweg in the vineyards. The closing fireworks were set off centrally between the two parts of the ship convoy at the port of Bingen am Rhein from the Rhine ferry in 2006 and ended at 11:54 p.m.

Spay – Koblenz route

On the second Saturday in August each year, the largest ship parade in Europe sails past Rhine castles and palaces illuminated in Bengali. The approximately 80 ships gather at the Bopparder Hamm between Boppard and Spay and travel the 17 km long route with two ships each next to each other in a several kilometer long convoy, past the banks of Spay, Braubach with the Marksburg , Brey, which are colored red by Bengali fire , Rhens , Koblenz-Stolzenfels with Stolzenfels Castle , Lahnstein with Lahneck Castle and the mouth of the Lahn to Koblenz, where the ships involved form in front of the Deutsches Eck . The fireworks display from Ehrenbreitstein Fortress in Koblenz concludes the convoy . The fortress mountain is initially completely bathed in red by Bengali fire . After the fire has gone out, a firework display of around 25 minutes begins. The conclusion is the sound of the ship's horns . At the first event after the war in 1956, 30 ships took part. The number of visitors was then estimated at 150,000. At the 50th “Rhine in Flames” event in 2005, around 500,000 visitors saw the spectacle. Since 2012, Rhine in Flames in Koblenz has been framed by a three-day program. Stalls and several stages and play areas have been set up along the Rhine and Moselle systems and in the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress.

  • Rhine in Flames 2011 in Koblenz, the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress is illuminated in a Bengali way

  • Rhine in Flames 2011 from the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress in Koblenz

  • Rhine in Flames 2011 from the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress in Koblenz

  • Rhine in Flames 2011 from the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress in Koblenz

  • Rhine in Flames 2011 from the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress in Koblenz

Loreley – Oberwesel route

The 50 or so ships gather on the second Saturday in September between Sankt Goar with Rheinfels Castle and Sankt Goarshausen with Maus Castle . After dark, the convoy moves through many curves along the Rhine along the B 42 and B 9 and past the Loreley, which is illuminated in Bengali at the foot, to Oberwesel . A brilliant musical fireworks display will then take place there.

Berth between Sankt Goar and Sankt Goarshausen

On the third Saturday in September, the approximately 55 ships do not travel in a convoy, but lie between St. Goar with Rheinfels Castle and St. Goarshausen with Katz Castle .

After dark, five fireworks were shot in 2005 and 2006:
  1. from a pontoon in the middle of the Rhine between Sankt Goar and Sankt Goarshausen,
  2. from Katz Castle near Sankt Goarshausen,
  3. from a pontoon in the middle of the Rhine between Sankt Goar and Sankt Goarshausen,
  4. from Rheinfels Castle and
  5. the final fireworks again from a pontoon in the middle of the Rhine between Sankt Goar and Sankt Goarshausen.

Between 2003 and 2006, the five fireworks together lasted around 50 minutes each. Both the weekend before and during the Rhine-in-Flames weekend is wine week in St. Goarshausen.

Special trains

There are also catering special trains from different parts of Germany , often hauled by steam locomotives, which mostly travel at reduced speed parallel to the ship convoy along the Rhine and represent an alternative to arriving by car or ship.

literature

  • Laura Blömer: The Rhine in Flames , Bouvier Verlag 2007 (for the Bonn and Koblenz event)

Web links

Commons : Rhine in Flames  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Boat trip to the Rhine in Flames on May 4, 2019 from Bad Breisig. Retrieved May 5, 2020 .