Lorelei Rock
Lorelei Rock features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Rhine Valley. Give it roughly ~30 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type nature
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Rhine Valley Rhine Valley guide
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About Lorelei Rock
A steep slate rock at a sharp, treacherous bend of the Rhine, famous for a singing siren whose legend was in fact invented by 19th-century German poets.
The Loreley is a steep slate rock about 132 metres high on the right bank of the Rhine at Sankt Goarshausen, within the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its name combines the Rhine-dialect word lureln, to murmur, with the old word ley for rock. German sources describe this as the narrowest and deepest point on the Rhine's navigable course between Basel and Rotterdam, where the river narrows to about 160 metres and once reached 25 metres deep.
Ships have been wrecked at the bend since records began in the 10th century, a hazard caused by the current and rocks rather than the famous song. That siren legend is a 19th-century literary invention: Clemens Brentano created the maiden in 1801, Heinrich Heine popularised the siren in 1824, and Friedrich Silcher set the words to music in 1837. A plateau on top carries a viewpoint and an open-air amphitheatre from the 1930s, and a bronze Loreley statue of 1983 stands on the harbour mole below.
Did you know? The name is older than the myth. It joins the Rhine-dialect word lureln, meaning to murmur, with ley, an old word for rock, after the sound of currents and a small vanished waterfall.
How long is a visit to Lorelei Rock?
Set aside roughly ~30 min for Lorelei Rock. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Lorelei Rock worth your time?
Lorelei Rock is among the 13 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Rhine Valley, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Rhine Valley
Day 1 of the Rhine Valley in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Lorelei Rock
Preview the Rhine Valley tour free in the Gingerguide app.