Lorelei in the context of Freilichtbühne Loreley

The crossing of the Rhine by a mixed group of barbarians which included Vandals, Alans and Suebi is traditionally considered to have occurred on 31 December 406. The crossing transgressed one of the Late Roman Empire's most secure limes or boundaries; as such, it has been considered a climactic moment in the decline of the empire. It initiated a wave of destruction of Roman cities and the collapse of Roman civic order in northern Gaul. That, in turn, occasioned the rise of three usurpers in succession in the province of Britannia. Therefore, the crossing of the Rhine is a marker date in the Migration Period during which various Germanic tribes moved westward and southward from southern Scandinavia and northern Germania.

Middle Rhine (German: Mittelrhein, pronounced [ˈmɪtl̩ˌʁaɪn] ; kilometres 529 to 660 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bingen and Bonn in Germany. 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. This gorge is quite deep, about 130 metres (430 ft) from the top of the rocks down to the average water-line.

The Middle Rhine is one of four sections of the Rhine between Lake Constance and the North Sea (the others being the High Rhine, Upper Rhine and Lower Rhine). The upper half of the Middle Rhine (Rhine Gorge) from Bingen (Rhine-kilometer 526) to Koblenz (Rhine-kilometer 593) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a striking cultural landscape with more than 40 castles and fortresses from the Middle Ages, unique terraced vineyards, and many wine villages. The lower half, from Koblenz (Rhine-kilometer 593) to Bonn (Rhine-kilometer 655), is famous for the formerly volcanic Siebengebirge, with the Drachenfels volcano. Both parts together are known as "the romantic Rhine".

Sankt Goarshausen (German pronunciation: [zaŋkt ɡoaːɐ̯sˈhaʊzn̩] ; abbreviated St. Goarshausen) is a town located in the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Nassau on the eastern shore of the Rhine, in the section known as the Rhine Gorge, directly across the river from Sankt Goar, in the German state Rhineland-Palatinate. It is located within the Nassau Nature Park and the Rhine Gorge UNESCO world heritage site, and was historically part of the Duchy of Nassau. It lies approximately 30 km south of Koblenz, and it is above all famous for the Lorelei rock nearby. Sankt Goarshausen is the seat of the Loreley collective municipality. The town's economy is based on wine making and tourism.

The Sankt Goarshausen railway station connects the town with Wiesbaden, Frankfurt and Koblenz. Sankt Goarshausen was formerly the terminus of the Nassau Light Railway line between Sankt Goarshausen and Nastätten.

Katz Castle (German: Burg Katz) is a castle above the German town of Sankt Goarshausen in Rhineland-Palatinate. The castle stands on a ledge looking downstream from the riverside at Sankt Goar. It was first built around 1371 by Count William II of Katzenelnbogen. The castle was bombarded in 1806 by Napoleon and rebuilt in the late 19th century, in 1896–98. It is now privately owned, and not open for visitors.