Ehrenbreitstein Fortress

Ehrenbreitstein is located on the eastern bank of the Rhine at Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It overlooks the confluence of the Mosel and the Rhine. The peak of the hill, which shares the name, is 118 metres above the Rhine. It is the northernmost point of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Upper Middle Rhine Valley. ==History==

() in the Fortress Previous structures Ehrenbreitstein, the hill on which the eponymous fortress is now located, was first settled in the 4th millennium BC, and fortifications were built in the 10th/9th century BC. In the 3rd to 5th centuries AD a Roman fortification was sited there. More settlement followed in the 8th/9th centuries under the Carolingian dynasty. In about 1000 a noble called Ehrenbert (or Erembert) erected a castle on the hill. Its initial name "Burg Ehrenbertstein" later became Burg Ehrenbreitstein. The castle was first mentioned in an extant written document in 1139, as a property of the Archbishop of Trier. Archbishop Hillin expanded it in 1152–1169. A supporting castle (Burg Helferstein) was built on the hill known as Helfenstein to the south. After January 1923, Ehrenbreitstein was occupied by the French Army. During World War II, the fortress served as a place of safekeeping for archives and cultural objects (1943–56) but also harbored three flak guns (1943–1945). After World War II, the fortress was used by the French Army, before it was handed over to the State of Rhineland-Palatinate in 1947. In 1946–1950 it served as a refugee camp and then as residential housing, during the period of housing shortages from the early 1950s into the 1960s. In 1952, a youth hostel was opened, followed by a museum in 1956. In 1972, the Ehrenmal des Deutschen Heeres (a memorial to the dead of the German army) was inaugurated. In 2011, Festung Ehrenbreitstein was part of the Bundesgartenschau (National Garden Show) in Koblenz, following a multi-year restoration in 2007–2011. ==Today==

The fortress is open to visitors. It is connected to the town of Koblenz across the Rhine by a cable car and by an inclined lift to the foot of the hill. Ehrenbreitstein houses several museums: Haus der Fotografie (photography), Haus der Archäologie (archaeology) and the Landesmuseum Koblenz (temporary exhibitions). There is also a Haus des Genusses, celebrating regional wine making and offering a Baroque dining experience. Permanent exhibitions at several locations inside the fortress cover the 5000 years of history of Ehrenbreitstein. There are also gastronomic establishments. The Koblenz youth hostel, with 157 beds, still occupies part of Ehrenbreitstein. The fortress serves as a venue for various cultural activities, such as open-air concerts and plays. ==Cultural references==

In 1822, the English translation of the castle's name, The Broad-Stone of Honour, was used as the title of Kenelm Henry Digby's exhaustive work on chivalry. ...this pulpit, I see, is a self-containing stronghold —a lofty Ehrenbreitstein... (Herman Melville, Moby-Dick) As the vine flourishes, and the grape empurples close up to the very walls and muzzles of cannoned Ehrenbreitstein; so do the sweetest joys of life grow in the very jaws of its perils. (Herman Melville, Pierre) , View of Ehrenbreitstein (1835) Here Ehrenbreitstein, with her shattered wall Black with the miner's blast, upon her height Yet shows of what she was, when shell and ball Rebounding idly on her strength did light; A tower of victory! from whence the flight Of baffled foes was watch'd along the plain: But Peace destroy'd what War could never blight, And laid those proud roofs bare to Summer's rain— On which the iron shower for years had pour'd in vain. (Lord Byron, ''Childe Harold's Pilgrimage'' Canto III, v.58) Byron in fact refers to the previous structure, destroyed by the French, since the new fortification was only constructed after he wrote these lines. In 1835, J. M. W. Turner completed a major painting inspired by Byron's work, entitled ''View of Ehrenbreitstein, or The Bright Stone of Honour and the Tomb of Marceau, from Byron's 'Childe Harold'''. In April 2017, the painting was in a private collection and had an estimated value of £15m-£25m. Turner also painted a series of watercolors depicting views of the fortress and environs, some of which are held by the Tate Gallery in London. In 1897, a monument to Emperor Wilhelm I was erected right below the Festung, but on the west side of the Rhine, known as the Deutsches Eck (German Corner). Both fortress and monument were considered as symbols for the "Guard at the Rhine", as in the song "Die Wacht am Rhein". Today the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress is used for concerts and as a museum. ==World Heritage Site==

In 2002, the Upper Middle Rhine Valley became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Site includes as its northernmost point the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein. ==See also==