Cochem on the Moselle river

Cochem is an enchanting small district town on the Moselle river which inspires many tourists with its historic architecture and charm.

Margit, one of Ursula’s cousins, planned a trip to Cochem with three friends on her name day and asked us if we would like to come along. We gladly agreed and look forward to getting to know the town better.

We take the train along the Moselle and reach the station, built in the Neo-Renaissance style. Unfortunately, its construction is no longer in the best condition. Nevertheless, it is an impressive building, listed as a historical monument.

Quickly we go on to Endertplatz (0:44), which forms the traffic center of Cochem. The place where the streets converge and the bus lines have a central starting point here. Here is also a tourist information office.

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Cochem imperial castle caught our eye on the way here, but the most beautiful view of the town with Moselle and the imperial castle is from the Skagerak Bridge (1:19), which leads to the other side of the Moselle.

The numerous Moselle cruise ships that bring many tourists also dock here. But first, Margit invites us to an Aperol to celebrate the day.

Now we have more time to explore the town. Already Celts and Romans settled in Cochem. It later belonged to the Archdiocese of Trier for a long time. After the plague epidemic and the 30-year war, Frenchmen occupied the town in 1794 after the city and imperial castle had been destroyed earlier by troops of Louis XIV.

At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Cochem was given to the Kingdom of Prussia. The Berlin steel merchant Jacob Frederic Louis Ravené bought the ruins of the Cochem imperial castle in 1866 and rebuilt it according to old plans from 1576. In World War II, the town of Cochem was badly hit by bombs and had to be rebuilt.

At the beginning of Bernstraße, the pedestrian zone that leads to the market square, you see the high water marks of the floods of the 20th century at the wall of house number 31 (1:56). Practically every first floor in the area was under water.

The architecture of the town is characterized by half-timbered houses, defense plants, and fortified towers. To the right is the Enderttor (2:00), the most powerful of the three still preserved town gates, built-in 1332.

The stagecoaches to Frankfurt and Cologne used to gather on the square in front of the gate. The Hotel Alte Thorschenke, built in 1332, is one of the oldest hotels in Germany. Emperor Napoleon stayed here in 1804, and Maria Theresa of Austria in the 17th century on the way to her German cousin.

We continue through Bernstraße, past St. Martin’s Church, on our way to the picturesque market square (2:31). A pretty fountain is now an ideal meeting place if you lose sight of each other while shopping in various shops.

We walk through Herrenstraße to the Weinlädchen (3:00), which is striking due to its unusual construction.

At Burgfrieden, at the Hotel Weinhof, we meet the banks of the Moselle.

On the way back along the Moselle promenade, house No. 12 catches our eye since Unterbachstraße was built through the house here (3:09).

After everyone has disappeared into the Fuchsloch (the foxhole) (3:27), we end our stay in Cochem and head back.

However, Cochem has more sights worth visiting:

• Cochem imperial castle with restaurant
• Cochem chair lift (a restaurant at the top station of the chair lift and a magnificent viewpoint (Pinnerkreuz) over the Moselle valley)
• Historic mustard mill (museum and salesroom for rare mustard varieties made according to recipes from the 15th and 18th centuries)
• Kuddels lütte Markthalle (A spice shop – founded by Kurt Herrmann, who worked as a cook and chef on numerous passenger ships. From 1974 to 1978, he led the sparkler parade on the first TV dream ship, the MS Vistafjord)
• Bunker of the German Bundesbank

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