
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress
118 metres above the Rhine, from Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, you have probably the most fantastic view of Koblenz and the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle. Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, the second largest preserved fortress in Europe, was built in its present form between 1817 and 1828. Its origins date back to the year 1000.

During the Thirty Years' War, the castle changed hands frequently. In 1797, French troops laid siege to the fortress, but were only able to force a surrender by starvation in 1799. In 1801 they had the fortress blown up. In 1815, after the Congress of Vienna transferred the Rhenish territories of Electorate of Trier to the Kingdom of Prussia, King Frederick William III ordered the expansion of Koblenz into a fortified city, creating one of the largest fortifications in Europe.
