Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [430]
In 2011, from mid-April to mid-October, Koblenz will host the prestigious Bundes-gartenschau (National Garden Show; www.buga2011.de), Germany’s largest horticultural extravaganza, with focal points around the Deutsches Eck, the Kurfüstliches Schloss (on the Rhine 700m south of the Deutsches Eck) and Festung Ehrenbreitstein.
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Orientation
Koblenz’ core is shaped like the bow of a ship seen in profile, with the Rhine to the east, the Moselle to the north and the Deutsches Eck right where Leonardo DiCaprio would be kissing Kate Winslet if this were the Titanic. The area’s southern border is Friedrich-Ebert-Ring; to the west it’s delineated by Hohenfelderstrasse, which leads north to the Balduinbrücke, which spans the Moselle. The Altstadt is centred around the northern end of shop-lined, pedestrians-only Löhrstrasse, whose southern, cars-admitted section leads to the Hauptbahnhof, 600m south of Friedrich-Ebert-Ring.
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Information
Eco-Express Waschsalon (Bahnhofstrasse 22; 6am-10pm Mon-Sat, closed Sun & holidays) Self-service laundry, 400m north of the Hauptbahnhof.
JM Internet (Löhrstrasse 98; per hr €1.50; 10am-midnight) One of several internet places on Löhrstrasse south of Friedrich-Ebert-Ring.
Post office (Bahnhofsplatz 16; 8am-6.30pm Mon-Fri, 8.30am-1.30pm Sat)
Reuffel (Löhrstrasse 62; 9.30am-7pm Mon-Sat) Carries English-language books.
Tourist office (www.touristik-koblenz.de) Hauptbahnhof ( 313 04; Bahnhofsplatz 17; 9am-7pm daily May-Sep, 9am-6pm daily Apr & Oct, 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-2pm Sat Nov-Mar); Rathaus ( 130 920; Jesuitenplatz 2; 9am or 10am-7pm daily May-Sep, 10am-6pm daily Apr & Oct, 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat Nov-Mar) The Hauptbahnhof branch is across the square and a bit to the right as you exit. Both have excellent maps in English and sell event tickets.
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Sights
CITY CENTRE
The intersection of Löhrstrasse, Koblenz’ main shopping drag, with Altengraben is known as Vier Türme (Four Towers) because each of the 17th-century corner buildings sports an ornately carved and painted oriel.
Turning east on Altengraben takes you to Am Plan, a broad square that has undergone various incarnations – as a butchers’ market, a stage for religious plays, a place of execution and an arena for medieval tournaments. These days it’s a fine place for sitting in cafes when the weather’s warm.
The arched walkway at Am Plan’s northeastern corner leads to the Catholic Liebfrauenkirche (www.liebfrauen-koblenz.de, in German; 8am or 8.30am-6pm), built in a harmonious hotchpotch of styles: of Romanesque origin, it has a Gothic choir (check out the stained glass) and baroque onion-domed turrets. Note the fancy painted vaulting above the central nave.
A block to the north, Florinsmarkt is dominated by the Protestant Florinskirche (www.koblenz-mitte.de, in German; 10.30am-5.30pm mid-May–Sep) and is home to the Mittelrhein-Museum ( 129 2520; www.mittelrhein-museum.de, in German; Florinsmarkt 15; adult/student & senior €2.50/1.50; 10.30am-5pm Tue-Sat, 11am-6pm Sun & holidays), with eclectic displays reflecting the region’s history. The collection of 19th-century landscape paintings of the Romantic Rhine by German and British artists is worth a look. For a bit of whimsy, check out the Augenroller (Eye Roller) figure beneath the clock over the entrance to the museum, which rolls its eyes and sticks out its tongue on the hour and half-hour. There are plans to move the museum to the new Kulturbau (Zentralplatz), a huge cultural complex, whose construction is supposed to be completed in late 2012.
At Josef-Görres-Platz, six blocks southeast of Florinsmarkt, the Historiensäule (History Column) portrays 2000 years of Koblenz history in 10 scenes perched one atop the other