Rhine in Flames -the name of the festival itself makes it highly intriguing. This is the most popular fireworks fiesta that attracts millions of visitors to Germany during summer. This festival is celebrated at five locations, from June to September, in various cities and towns along Rhine valley. These five sites are Bonn, Rüdesheim, Koblenz, Oberwesel, and St Goar. The fireworks and light-shows make this festival extremely colorful and hence exciting.

The spectators are accommodated on board of boats and ships that anchor in the river to witness the fire and light gala on the shore. The floats consisting of numerous illuminated ships and boats present a real visual treat to the visitors. This age-old German festival is the largest of its kind.

The castles and churches on either side of the river will be lit with myriads of colorful lights. The fire droplets showered by the magnificent firecrackers reflecting on the waters of Rhine make the festival doubly bright. The fire fountains emitted by various fireworks will make you feel that you have reached some fairy land illuminated by the mischievous cherubs.

This is a festival that is connected with German traditions. The Rhine in Flames festival is started as early as 1930 by an officer called Kunibert Oches who was the then director of the Landesverkehrsverbandes Nordrhein. From then on it became a traditional summer celebration in Germany.

Most of the five Rhine in flames festivals are conducted in the particular region of the Rhine valley which is popularly known as Rhine George. This is actually the Upper Middle Rhine Valley. The specialty of this region is that it is dotted with many medieval palaces and buildings. The magnificent medieval atmosphere has earned this section of the country a place in the UNESCO heritage locations.

The colorful flames and lights bursting out of different pyrotechnic creations give the summer nights an incredible magic. The tourists from all over the world come to Germany to witness this kaleidoscopic light show and to revel in the cultural and historic magnificence of Germany.

The firecrackers thundering in the summer nights and their sound echoing from the banks of the river provide an acoustic wonder for the enthusiasts. This provides the visitors with a special kind of excitement.

Besides the multicolored fire cracker shows, the procession of colorfully illuminated boats and ships and ‘burning castles’ altogether presents a marvelous spectacle. During the fabulous fire and light shows people simultaneously enjoy a wine festival. Large quantity of excellent wines is consumed by the spectators while watching the fireworks. In short, all your five senses will be entertained by the Rhine in Flames festival.

The final event, the Mega Night at the Rhine is conducted between Spay and Koblenz. During this final fete the fireworks are fired from a platform constructed for this purpose, in the middle of River Rhine. In 2015 this happens to be on the 2^nd Saturday of August. With this, the summer enchantment of Rhine in flames is closed for this year to return next year with renewed vigor and color.

 by Marina Chernyak

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