Rheinsteig Section 20: From Assmannshausen to Johannisberg

We start in Assmannshausen and first climb up through a shady chestnut forest to a game reserve and the Niederwald hunting lodge. This route can also be covered comfortably by chairlift. The hunting lodge is situated in a landscape park, which Count Karl Maximilian von Ostein had designed in 1764. We explore the other highlights of the park on the way, which takes us past the Zauberhöhle, a 60-metre-long walled passage, to the vantage point of the Rittersaal. We continue to the Rossel, an artificial ruin in the style of a Rhine castle. We then walk comfortably through the Aulhausen forest to the imposing 38 m high Niederwald monument, which depicts Germania with imperial crown and sword. Passing a temple resting on pillars, we descend into the vineyards above Rüdesheim and reach the beautifully situated St. Hildegard Abbey after a panoramic stretch of vineyards. Our path continues through sunny vineyards, descends into the idyllic Blaubachtal valley and then follows the valley floor