Cochem

 5/12/2025

Today we are in Cochem, after an overnight trip through a few locks, and a few bumpy entrances. Like most of the mornings here, when we wake up it is dark and as the sun tries to come up there is fog, a bit of light rain and it is cold. Fortunately our shore excursion starts in sunlight at 8.30 am and it is a walking tour of the town from the berth where we are tied up. We all take an umbrella because it looks almost certain we will have some light rain.



Our walking tour starts from where the ship is berthed which is on the opposite side of the river to the town. We meet our guide on the dock and wander off under drizzly conditions along the riverside.



The township has a population of only around 5,000 people and basically survives on tourism. During the harsh winter months the township has an almost completely shuts down, so in a months time not much is going to be happening in Cochem. Our guide volunteers that she goes to the Canary Islands over this period.


Before we cross the bridge into town we stop at a mosaic that represents features and activities of the town. Like everywhere along the Moselle viticulture and winemaking is paramount.


Looking down over the village is the castle which we will visit during our tour



Once across the bridge we are in the old town.


Part of the old city wall and gate


Inside thrown we see another mosaic created by the same artist as the one on the other side of the river, this one tracing the history of Cochem. It is a bit hard to discern from the photo but it is basically a timeline of Cochem’s history.

One surprise to us was the severity of flooding that the Moselle experiences and on this building in Cochem, significant flood levels have been marked on the wall. The highest one was in 1993.


Having wine and beer available 24/7 appears to be a priority in Cochem. Below is one of a few vending machines we saw in the streets.



The statue below relates a bit of local folk law where a Billy goat was apparently caught in the vineyard eating the Riesling grapes, a very serious offence. To prove if the goat was guilty or not, it was put in a wine press and”squeezed” to see what came out. As all of the fluid was red ( blood) he was deemed not guilty but died in the process.





An avenue of manicured plane trees


St Martin’s Church

More cobblestone streets and old part timber houses



We emerge into a square where we are met by some mini buses that will take us up to the castle where a guided tour has been organised. The buses took us almost to the entrance with only a short uphill walk needed to get there.


The view from up here is the village is stunning, with vineyards planted right up the slope in front of the castle and the spire of St Martin’s Church very prominent in town. Viking Odin is in the background on the other side of the river.



Cochem Castle was built around the year 1000, and along with the town of Cochem, almost totally destroyed by the French invaders under the rule of Louis X1V. It remained in ruins until 1868 when it was purchased by a Berlin businessman, Louis Ravene, who undertook an amazing rebuild and restoration of the castle. since 1978 the castle has been owned by the town of Cochem and is now a successful tourist attraction.
 




The entrance gate gate







This mosaic of St Christopher had been totally destroyed by the French and had been be reproduced from scratch




We meet up with our guide and proceed across a courtyard to enter the castle. Once inside, the quality of the restoration is amazing, including  the attention to detail on the furnishings. Below are some photos of the various rooms we visited on the tour.







From the uppermost balcony there was a great view looking down the Moselle River


The mini vans are miraculously waiting for us when we complete the castle tour to take us back down to the old town for some free time in the Christmas Market, more Gluhwein to warm us up and problem another commemorative mug. 





The old tavern that adjoins the city gate
 




This will be our last destination on the Moselle River as tomorrow morning we will be in Koblenz on the Rhine River.


This map shows a bit more detail of our journey down the Moselle from Trier to Koblenz




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