The ruins of Metternich Castle sits on a hill high above the Moselle River town of Beilstein, Germany. The French destroyed the castle in 1689. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
It bills itself as the “Sleeping Beauty of the Moselle.” A beauty it is, but sleeping, Beilstein is not.
At least not on a sunny September Saturday when my wife and I paid this German village a visit. Its cobblestone lanes and riverbank were teeming with people.
Beilstein is one of the stops for the cruise boats that ply the Moselle River, regularly unloading tourists to this age-old town.
While we had read that it was a nice place to visit on the winding river about 35 miles upstream from Koblenz, where the Moselle meets the Rhine, we had not heard about the masses.
Visitors check out the sights on Bachstrasse in Beilstein, Germany, with its old half-timbered houses and colorful flower boxes. The small town on the Moselle River is a popular stop for sightseeing cruises on the river and bicyclists riding along it. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Tourists walk through the cobblestone lanes of Beilstein on the Moselle River. While it calls itself the Sleeping Beauty of the Moselle, the small German town is hardly sleepy in the summer, when river sightseeing ships pull into town. It is also popular with bicyclists riding along the river. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The Jewish cemetery at Beilstein, Germany. It is located on a hill above the town, not far from the ruins of Metternich Castle. The oldest recorded burial here is from 1818. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Tourists climb the Cloister Stairs, the 108 steps leading to and from the Carmelite Church of Saint Joseph in Beilstein, Germany. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Half-timbered houses, small squares, the aforementioned cobblestone ways and castle ruins bring people here.
We arrived by car in the late morning, just after one of the boats had docked. People streamed out and into town, while others waited to board.
We decided on an early lunch, first to beat the crowd and second to let the newcomers disperse. A restaurant on the marketplace with its old buildings, many decorated with flowerboxes full of red geraniums, was a good choice.
We enjoyed dishes with seasonal chanterelle mushrooms, and federweisser, the partially fermented juice from the first harvested grapes of the Moselle vineyards.
A tourist looks from the keep of Metternich Castle above the town of Beilstein on the Moselle River. The castle appears in records dating back to the mid-13th century, but the 82-foot-tall keep probably dates back to the 12th century. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Besides tourists, Metternich Castle is also popular with lizards, snakes and other animals and insects. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The former synagogue in Beilstein, Germany. The town’s Jewish community disbanded in 1925 and the building was sold. For that reason, it survived the November 1938 pogrom unscathed. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
To digest the excellent meal, we walked up the hill to the ruins of Metternich Castle, which was owned for a time by the prominent 19th-century Austrian foreign affairs minister Klemens von Metternich.
It was a steep, but rather easy climb to the fortress, first mentioned in mid-13th century records, that towers over the town.
The French laid waste to it in 1689. The ruins changed hands over the years and are now privately owned.
From here, there is a wonderful view of Beilstein and the Moselle River valley. Many of the other tourists walking up with us came for the restaurant here as well as the view.
For an even better view of the surroundings, we climbed the 120-plus stairs to the top of the 82-foot-tall castle keep. The vista was worth the effort.
We left the ruins via a back gate and strolled along the hillside until we came to Beilstein’s Jewish cemetery.
It was probably laid out in the 17th century. The oldest readable gravestone is from 1818. The cemetery was desecrated and partially cleared during the Nazi era. Later, the gravestones were put back in place. About 110 of them still exist.
The colorful marketplace in the small town of Beilstein, Germany, on the Moselle River, with its flower boxes, restaurants and wineries. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
The interior of the Carmelite Church of Saint Joseph in Beilstein, Germany. Once part of a cloister, it was built in Baroque style at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century. It is now the town's Catholic parish church. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
A narrow lane in Beilstein, Germany. The town calls itself the “Sleeping Beauty of the Moselle,” but in the summer the tourists can make it anything but sleepy. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
We walked back down to Beilstein and strolled along streets lined with wineries and shops where you can taste and buy wine made from the grapes grown in the Moselle valley.
We climbed again, this time up the 108 steps of the Cloister Stairs that lead to the Carmelite Church of Saint Joseph. Once part of a cloister, it was built in Baroque style at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century. It is now the town’s Catholic parish church.
Here, too, is a restaurant that is popular not only for lunch but also for kaffee and kuchen, the German afternoon ritual of enjoying coffee and cake.
We wandered back down into town and walked through the old Jewish quarter with its narrow lanes. The old synagogue is here, an old stone medieval building.
One reason it is still standing is that the town’s Jewish community disbanded in 1925 and the building was sold. Thus, it survived the November 1938 Nazi pogrom unscathed.
We walked back down to the river and sat at a cafe on its bank. Tourists lined up to board a boat, then we watched it and the Moselle flow downstream toward the Rhine.
A view from the Metternich Castle keep of the lower courtyard, the town of Beilstein and the Moselle River, with a sightseeing ship moored on the riverbank. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Metternich Castle towers over the Moselle River town of Beilstein, Germany. The castle, which was mentioned as early as the mid-13th century, and the town are popular with sightseers. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
Many Moselle River wineries sell their goods in Beilstein, Germany. The old town with its cobblestone lanes and castle ruins is a nice place to taste the wines of the region – as long as you don’t have to drive. (Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes)
On the QT
Location: Beilstein is about 45 miles from Spangdahlem; 65 miles from Wiesbaden and 75 miles from Ramstein. Be sure to enter Beilstein/Mosel on your navigation system or you will be heading in the wrong direction.
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. until Nov. 2 for the castle. Closed Mondays. It reopens in mid-April.
Costs: Admission to the castle is 3 euros for adults and 1 euro for children. Parking directly in town along the Moselle is 1.50 euros per hour. The parking lot upriver, on the edge of town, is free.
Information: https://beilstein-mosel.de
