Bingen’s medieval panorama features this distinctive old Rhine River toll tower, which earned notoriety as the setting of a gruesome cautionary tale.
Learn the legend of the medieval bishop who was eaten alive by rodents at the Mäuseturm (Mouse Tower), a stone toll tower on a tiny island in the Rhine. The tower has a long history and has been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt by many hands, including the Romans, Franconians and Prussians, throughout the centuries. Look out toward the Mäuseturm from Bingen’s riverfront and admire the preserved panorama with the ruins of Burg Ehrenfels in the background.
Go for a stroll at the Park am Mäuseturm for the best view of the tower. The tower’s name is a play on the proper title for a toll tower, “mautenturm.” In 968, Mäuseturm became one of several towers along the Rhine that were used to collect taxes. Look up at the top tier of the stone tower, where it is believed the cruel ruler Hatto II Archbishop of Mainz once resided. See the red-trimmed parapet where he stationed archers and crossbowmen to threaten passing ships for tolls.
According to legend, a famine swept across Bingen in the late 900s and the harsh ruler Hatto II made the grain in his store too expensive for local townspeople to buy. He invited them to feast with him in a barn, but when they arrived for their food he conspired to lock them inside the barn and set it alight. The legend claims that he said the peasants’ cries sounded like the squeaking of mice.
Imagine how the riverbank would have appeared during the next phase of the story, where the archbishop was chased home to his Mäuseturm by an army of mice. The mice poured into the river and gnawed through the tower’s door. Finally, they found Hatto and devoured him alive.
Take photographs of the tower with its beautiful medieval backdrop. Despite its grisly folklore, the tower is a charming sight on the banks of the Rhine. Book a special appointment to explore the interior of the Mäuseturm for a fee. The tower is located across the river from Bingen’s main railway station.
