It flows through the Rhine Gorge (Oberes Mittelrheintal), a formation created by erosion, which happened at about the same rate as an uplift in the region, leaving the river at about its original level, and the surrounding lands raised.

Downstream of Lorch, both banks belong to Rhineland-Palatinate until the river crosses the border with North Rhine-Westphalia shortly before Bonn.

On the western border of the Middle Rhine region, there are also traces of a Celtic settlement, with the grave pillar of Pfalzfeld and the Waldalgesheim chariot burial.

The fortresses protected agriculture and natural resources against the Germanic tribes of the Tencteri, Usipetes, Menapii and Eburones.

Emperors Constantine and Valentinian safeguarded the frontier by constructing fortresses in Koblenz are (Confluentes) and Boppard (Bodobrica) with strong walls and round towers, of which remnants remain.

Although the Roman population of the area declined steadily, the people spoke a Franco-Roman dialect and the language of administration was Latin.

The Roman settlements, especially the fortified cities in the Middle Rhine Valley, were taken by the Franconian Kings as Crown possessions.

Almost all of the territory between Bingen and Remagen, including the cities of Bacharach, Oberwesel, St. Goar, Boppard, Koblenz and Sinzig, were in royal ownership.

The Counts of Katzenelnbogen are also governors of the Abbey of Prüm and this allow them to establish their own territory around their seat Burg Rheinfels Castle in St. Goar.

In addition to the spiritual Electors of Cologne, Mainz and Trier, the Count Palatine had gained influence on the Middle Rhine since Hermann of Stahleck in 1142.

Not all of those city rights have resulted in effective urban development, but in almost all these places more or less extensive remnants of the fortifications remain to this day.

The grave stone in the popular "wide-track bully" type in the Carmelite church of Boppard of the knight Sifrid of Schwalbach, who fell in 1497, is a testimony to this struggle for local liberties which erupted for the last time in the Palatine Peasants' War of 1525.

The City Castle of Boppard, built by Baldwin of Trier in 1340, however, is a monument of the suppression of urban autonomy by territorial princes.

The Thirty Years' War broke out in 1618 from the struggle between the Catholics and the Protestants and the political tensions in the German Empire.

He also promoted fruit production in the Middle Rhine (for example, cherry growing in Bad Salzig, like it was practiced in Normandy).

The new government replaced the German princes with French secular rulers, abolished the feudal system, seized land from the church and nobility in order to resell it and introduced French-style legislation.

After 1830, most of the changes introduced by French rulers were abolished in the Rhine Province and the old corporate state (nobility, cities, farmers) was rebuilt.

The Battle of Remagen during the Allied invasion of Germany resulted in the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine and shortened World War II in Europe.

When the world cultural heritage status was granted, UNESCO pointed out that the noise generated by traffic (in particular, the railway lines) is a problem.

Only further consultations can reveal whether problems similar to those in the former World Heritage Site Dresden Elbe Valley can be avoided.

[6] Various explanations by the state government notwithstanding, reports that consent of UNESCO had been granted after discussions is Brasília, turned out to be premature.

The Rhine Cable Car that was constructed for the Federal Garden Show 2011 in Koblenz also posed a threat to world heritage status.

Between 1220 and 1231, several important rights (regalia) were transferred to the spiritual (Confoederatio cum principibus ecclesiasticis) and temporal (Statutum in favorem principum) princes of the empire.

The climate favours wine production, as both the Rhine and the slate and greywacke weathered soils function as a heat storage that helps prevent large temperature fluctuations.

In the Middle Ages, wine was the only non-germinated storable drink for the common people, as beer was often expensive and of poor quality, water in urban areas was usually polluted and coffee and tea were still unknown.

It was one of the dominant items of trade in the Middle Ages, fostered by the Rhine as the most important waterway, and existing Roman roads.

The Land consolidation program at the Oelsberg in Oberwesel provides a successful example of preserving the terraces without major movement of dirt.

By creating transverse terraces and construction of a drip irrigation system, the characteristic small parcels could be retained for the viticulture industry.

Consequently, the only profitable vineyards are the ones selling their own bottled wine, and even they need the extra income from renting out apartments or restaurants or even an ostrich farm.

The Middle Rhine Valley is the gap in the Rhenish Slate Mountains and forms a bottleneck due to its tight curves and shallows.