Katzenelnbogen is a town of 2,200 people (2019) in North-East Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is known for the castle of the same name. Its name can be considered somewhat humorous for German-speakers as it sounds identical to the phrase "cat's elbow" in German.
In the history of wine, Katzenelnbogen is famous for the first documentation of Riesling grapes in the world: this was in 1435, when the storage inventory of Count John IV of Katzenelnbogen, a member of the Holy Roman high nobility, lists the purchase of vines of "Rieslingen".
The name may have been derived from Cattimelibocus, a combination of two words: the ancient Germanic tribal name of the Chatti and Melibokus, a generic Roman name for "mountains".
The place is connected via the B 274 to St. Goarshausen and to the B 54 at Zollhaus im Aartal. The state road 318 leads via Diez to the B 54 to Limburg.
Bus lines of the Rheingau-Taunus-Verkehrsgesellschaft or the Nassauische Verkehrs-GmbH connect Katzenelnbogen several times a day with Wiesbaden, St. Goarshausen and Limburg.
There is no train service.
As a market town, the town of Katzenelnbogen is the central shopping option for the surrounding towns in the Einrich.
Primary administrative division