Fodor's Expert Review Katharinenkirche

On the way to Oppenheim, the vine-covered hills parallel to the Rhine gradually steepen. Then, unexpectedly, the spires of Oppenheim's Gothic St. Catherine's Church come into view. The contrast of its pink sandstone facade against a bright blue sky is striking. Built between 1225 and 1439, it's the most important Gothic church between Strasbourg and Cologne. The interior affords a rare opportunity to admire magnificent original 14th-century stained-glass windows including two rose windows, the Lily Window and the Oppenheim Rose. The church houses masterfully carved tombstones, and the chapel behind it has a Beinhaus (charnel house) containing the bones of 20,000 citizens and soldiers from the 15th to 18th century.