The continuous conflict between the Electors of Trier and the counts of Katzenelbogen is exemplified by the “Cat“ Castle, which can only be visited from the outside, as much as by its counterpart, the “Mouse“ Castle. It was the local people who gave the name “Cat” to the castle in St. Goarshausen, which had actually originated as Neu-Katzenelnbogen Castle in 1371. With this castle, the counts of Katzenelbogen wanted to secure their possessions on the Rhine and especially the tollhouse in St. Goar, which lay opposite - as well as deliberately setting up a counterbalance to the Elector of Trier’s “Mouse” Castle, which threatened its customs clearance. As many of the Rhine castles, it was ultimately unable to withstand the French troops: the Castle was destroyed in 1806. It took nearly a century before a historicised reconstruction had the ruin transformed into a magnificent residence. The castle is in private ownership.