154 BACK ROADS GERMANY
Above Pretty rose garden in the town
of Eltville Below left Café in the grounds
of Kloster Eberbach Below right
Gutenberg-Museum, a tribute to Mainz’s
most famous resident, Johannes GutenbergWHERE TO STAYKLOSTER EBERBACH
Gästehaus Kloster Eberbach
moderate
This hotel offers simple rooms in
one of the outlying monastery
buildings. It is set in peaceful
wooded surroundings and serves
a sumptuous buffet breakfast.
Eltville, 65346; 06723 99 30;
http://www.klostereberbach.comMAINZ
Hotel Schwan moderate
The elegant Hotel Schwan, housed
in a 16th-century town building, has
spacious rooms with Baroque touches.
Liebfrauenplatz 7, 55116; 06131 14 49
20; http://www.mainz-hotel-schwan.dew Eltville
Hesse; 65343
The oldest town in the region,
Eltville is gathered around a cozy
nest of lanes, but it is best known
for its many rose beds, whose
perfume thickens the summer air.
Many rose bushes line the Rhine
promenade and grow in the moat
of the adjacent 14th-century castle,
the Burg, which was laid to waste by
fierce Swedes during the Thirty Years’
War (1618–48). Stirred up by the
Counter-Reformation, this war
between the Protestant Union and
Catholic League raged across Europe.
Only the four-story residen tial tower
of the Burg survived, and climbing it
(open daily) provides a glimpse of a
stained-glass window celebrating
Johannes Gutenburg, as well as fine
views of the town’s waterfront.
ª Turn right out of the parking lot,
following Wallufer Strasse, turn
right again at the next junction. Head
south to Mainz-Amöneburg. Take the
B40, then the Theodor-Heuss-Brücke
bridge over the Rhine into Mainz,
then take the first left to a handy
riverside parking lot.Where to Stay: inexpensive, under €70; moderate, €70–€150; expensive, over €150q Kloster Eberbach
Hesse; 65346
The monastery of Kloster Eberbach
(open daily) is best known as the
Romanesque setting for the medie-
val murder mystery film The Name
of the Rose (1986). Its most impressive
feature is its austere basilica. Here,
a steep staircase in the north
transept climbs to the dormitory
where monks slept on pallet-
like beds. The walk around the
cloisters to the lay refectory passes
massive wine presses built of
timbers sturdy enough for galleons;
its shop has excellent wines.
ª From the parking lot, head
south to the T-junction, turn left
toward Erbach, and follow signs
to Eltville. On arriving in the town,
turn right and park at the
Schwimmbad, then walk down
to the riverfront and turn left
toward the town center.e Mainz
Rhineland-Palatinate; 55001
As capital of Rhineland-Palatinate, and
with good transport links to Frankfurt,
large and cosmopolitan Mainz (see
p165) has none of the sleepy atmos-
phere of the rest of the Rhineland.
Originally a strategic settlement at
the confluence of the Main and
Rhine, by the 8th cen tury it was the
main religious center north of the
Alps. Its impor tance was enhanced
by Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1400–68),
who invented the printing press here
in the 15th century.
Like Koblenz, Mainz suffered massive
bombardment during World War II,
though a large section of its half-
timbered old town, including the
cathedral, survived or was rebuilt to
create an attractive town with many
tempting traditional wine bars.
Mainz’s majestic six-towered late-
Romanesque Kaiserdom (open daily)
is of 12th-century origin and unusual
for sharing its exterior walls with
adjoin ing houses. Inside, the high-
light of the spartan cathedral is the
Dommuseum and the adjacent