It is no surprise that
UNESCO has recognised
the area’s outstanding
beauty by awarding it
world heritage status
as being a little boy’s dream? The
Schangel fountain is Koblenz’s emblem
– a monument of a spitting boy situated
in the courtyard of the town hall which
encapsulates the city’s cheerful and
mischievous spirit. This landmark
dates back to the time when Koblenz
belonged to the French in the 1800’s and
represents a large number of boys or
‘rascals’ named Jean, who in the local
language were known as ‘Schang’, a
name for naughty or cheeky boys who
would spit in front of the local Mayor!
Rather unsuspectingly my five year old
daughter who, standing perfectly still
looking at this supposedly unthreatening
statue of the boy suffered the sudden
drench of his spit! Tears and screams
followed but nothing that a mother’s hug
couldn’t cure.
The beauty of the city’s river transport
is something of a marvel. This German
city is situated on both banks of the
Rhine and the Mosel and the transport
here is really quite impressive, as well as
boats and barges, there is a train line that
runs along the bank transporting heavy
goods – seeing some 500 odd brand
new Mercedes cars on a train really was
something that stuck in my mind, not to
64
mention my husband’s! The city forms
a very unique shape replicating ‘the bow
of a ship’ in what is called the ‘German
Corner’ and this is where you can see
the perfect merging of the two rivers.
It is no surprise that UNESCO has
recognised the area’s outstanding beauty
by awarding it world heritage status.
Koblenz, which in Latin is “Confluentes”
does in fact translate to “the merging
of the rivers” – one would expect the
meeting of these waters to be fierce,
but they are calm and peaceful and
even in the deepest of winters they are
mesmerising. As if boats, barges, trains
and little spitting rascals weren’t enough
to turn any little boy’s head….there is a
fortress accessible by cable car too!
Aerial trams from the German Corner
take you up to the Ehrenbreitstein
fortress which is on a mountain on the
east bank of the Rhine opposite the
city, and offering magnificent views.
Vineyards, forests and mountain ranges
form the backdrop to the city and a
history of more than 2,000 years has
contributed to the rise of churches of
magnificent architectural wonder, castles
and grand town houses and apartments,