Kaub

Kaub (German pronunciation: [ˈkaʊp] ; old spelling: Caub) is a town in Germany, state Rhineland-Palatinate, district Rhein-Lahn-Kreis. It is part of the municipality (Verbandsgemeinde) Loreley. It is located on the right bank of the Rhine, approx. 50 km west from Wiesbaden. It is connected to Wiesbaden and Koblenz by railway. It has a Roman Catholic and an Evangelical church, and a statue of General Blücher. Historically, trade mainly consisted of the wines of the district. Kaub is known for the castle Pfalz, or Burg Pfalzgrafenstein, situated on a rock in the middle of the Rhine. According to legend, the Palatine countesses awaited their confinement in the Pfalz, but in reality the castle served as a toll-gate for merchandise on the Rhine. The restored castle Gutenfels sits on a hill above the town. Kaub, first mentioned in the year 983, originally belonged to the lords of Falkenstein, in 1260 the Counts of Katzenelnbogen divided their county and selected the inhabitants of Kaub, then passed in 1277 to the Rhenish Electorate of the Palatinate, and attained civic rights in 1324. In 1477 Kaub was passed as deposit to the Counts of Katzenelnbogen again. In 1479 this family died out. It was at Kaub that Blücher crossed the Rhine with the Prussian and Russian armies, on New Years night 1813–1814, in pursuit of the French.