Maüs Turm

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Maüs Turm 1
Maüs Turm 2

Near Bingen sits an island tower called Maüs Turm. According to legend, it was built by Hatto, the heartless Archbishop of Mainz, to extract tolls from travellers and commerce on the Rhine. The legend claims that the name “Maüs Turm” (“mouse tower”) stems from events in the following story. After a bad harvest, the poor people starved, while Hatto exacted inflated prices for the great stores of grain he held in his granary. One evening, a crowd of beggars appeared at the palace door and implored Hatto to give them food. He agreed, and led them to the granary. When the beggars entered the granary, Hatto locked the door and set the building on fire. He stood back, and when he heard the beggars’ screams, he called out, "Listen! How the mice are squeaking among the corn. This eternal begging is at an end at last. May the mice bite me if it is not true!" Suddenly thousands of mice burst from the granary and began to attack Hatto. He fled for safety to his island tower, but the mice followed and attacked again. He called to the devil for help, and offered his soul if the devil would intervene. The devil let the mice devour Hatto, after which he seized his soul.

It is more likely that Maüs Turm was built in the thirteenth or fourteenth century by the Archbishops of Mainz, and that the name comes either from the word “maut” (toll) or from the term “muse” (watch). It was likely a collecting point for the toll castle at Ehrenburg as well as a watchtower to warn the castle of impending attack. It was rebuilt in the neo-gothic style between 1856 and 1858, and remained in service as a signal tower until 1974.