Germania loop

After about one kilometer (from the start), you will reach the Rheinsteig trail (marked with a white R on a blue background), which the Germaniarunde now follows to the monument. The route follows the concreted farm track for about 50 meters to the left before turning half-right into the vineyard slope. As you ascend, the statue of Germania is right in front of you. At the edge of the forest, the route bends to the right again and after a short detour leads left again into the coppice forest.

After a few meters on the forest path, you cross under the cable car and reach the Niederwald Temple in the Ostein Landscape Park. It invites you to take your first rest after the ascent. Poets and thinkers have often praised the magnificent panoramic view from here, which is one of the most beautiful on the Rhine.

The Germaniar loop now takes you to the Niederwalddenkmal with the statue of Germania. The monument was inaugurated in September 1883 and commemorates the victory of the Germans over the French in the war of 1870/71 and the associated founding of the German Empire in 1871. On the way to the monument, several picture and text panels provide interesting information.

The view from up here is world-famous. It stretches along the Rhine upstream to the Rhine-Main region and the peaks of the Odenwald. On the other bank of the river are Bingen and Bingerbrück, separated by the mouth of the Nahe. Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) moved into her first monastery on the Rupertsberg in today's Bingerbrück in 1150. Behind the Rochusberg ridge with the chapel of the same name stretches the Rhine-Hessian hill country, the largest wine-growing region in Germany. On a clear day, the Donnersberg, the highest mountain in the Palatinate, rises into the sky on the horizon.

To continue the loop, return to the Niederwaldtempel and descend the steps to the Rebenhaus.  The Germaniarunde runs parallel to the Great Rüdesheim Tour here. After descending the 326 steps, the loop turns left onto the asphalt vineyard path. Shortly afterwards, it turns right into the famous “Rüdesheimer Rottland” vineyard. Before the path turns left again towards Rüdesheim, it is worth taking a short break at the Ramstein viewpoint with a view of the Mäuseturm.

Shortly afterwards, you will reach the panoramic trail above Rüdesheim, which you follow towards the starting point at the ring wall. Above the town, you can see the St. Hildegard monastery in the vineyards above Eibingen from here.

You can also continue the descent towards the old town and take advantage of one of the refreshment stops before heading to the parking lot or the train station, which is located right next to the former site of the Asbach distillery.

If you are arriving by train, you can turn left at the level crossing into Oberstraße and take the “Am Feldtor” junction, which is about 150 meters uphill towards Panoramaweg, where you meet the Germania loop.