Rheingau

Rheingau is a region in Hesse by river Rhine, very close to Wiesbaden, that is famous for its wineyards and Rheingau wines, especially the Rheingauer Riesling. The area is also full of old churches and castles, making it a very complete destination. Most of the places of this region is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Rhine Gorge since 2002.

 

 

How do I arrive to Rheingau?

  Rhingau is very close to Wiesbaden so it's quite easy to arrive to it.

• Boat: there are car ferries to Oestrich-Winke from Ingelheim am Rhein and from Rüdesheim am Rhein to Bingen am Rhein.
• Train: there are trains that connect Wiesbaden and Koblenz that stops at Eltville am Rhine (aprox. 15 minutes), Oestrich-Winkel (aprox. 25 minutes), Rüdesheim am Rhein (aprox. 30 minutes). and Lorch am Rhein (aprox. 45 minutes).
  
• Bus: there are buses every hour from Wiesbaden to Eltville am Rhine (aprox. 35 minutes), Oestrich-Winkel (aprox. 55 minutes), Geisenheim (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes). There are also buses from Eltville am Rhine to Eberbach Monastery.
• Car: having a car many destinations can be reached easily from Rüdesheim such as Etville am Rhein and Lorch am Rhein (aprox. 20 minutes), Wiesbaden (aprox. 30 minutes), Idstein (aprox. 45 minutes), Frankfurt am Main (aprox. 50 minutes) or Limburg an der Lahn (aprox. 55 minutes). From Rüdesheim the visitor can drive to destinations in Rhineland-Palatinate such as Mainz (aprox. 35 minutes), Bad Kreuznach (aprox. 45 minutes) or Koblenz (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes).

History

 In the old Franconian Empire the Rheingau was a district that was administered by the Rheingrafen on behalf of the king that in its original extent it included the later Lower Rhinegau, the Königssondergau (today roughly the area of ​​Wiesbaden and the western Main-Taunus district) and the Upper Rhineau. With time the Rheingau came increasingly under the influence of the Archdiocese of Mainz. In 983 Archbishop Willigis took part in the Diet of Otto II in Verona, where he made the so-called “Veronese donation, the basis for a large part of the later electoral state (Kurmainz), over which the archbishop ruled as sovereign. Under Archbishop Adalbert I, Kurmainz had unrestricted rule over the Rheingau from 1130 and one of its main policies in the Rheingau was the foundation of monasteries. For 600 years, until the end of the 18th century, the Rheingau was surrounded by the Rheingau Gebück, a natural border fortification consisting of beeches. In 1525 the German Peasants' War reached the Rheingau the rebellious farmers forced a declaration that the Rheingau monasteries were no longer allowed to accept monks but when the troops of the Swabian League approached, the peasants surrendered. After the electoral state was dissolved the Rheingau went to Nassau-Usingen in 1803 and after the annexation of the duchy by the Kingdom of Prussia, the Rheingaukreis was created in March 1867 as a district in the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau. After the merger of the Rheingau district with the Untertaunus district to form the Rheingau-Taunus district  in 1977, Rheingau is no longer a term for a political administrative unit.

What can I visit in Rheingau?

These are many things to do in the area of Rheingau, explained now according to the village or town where they are or the nearest one:  

• 

  Eltville am Rhein
  

  Eltville am Rhein (16,971 inhabitants): largest town in Rheingau and a town that is part of the German Timber-Frame Road, only 12 km southwest from Wiesbaden. The town has many typical timber-frame houses, mainly located at Burgstraße.
  • Eltville Electoral Castle (10:30-17 from Apr to Oct; 11-15:30 from Nov to Mar; 3.50€/ 2.50€/ free  adults/ reduced/ kids under 12): castle erected for the prince-electors and archbishops of Mainz between 1330 and 1345 directly at the river Rhine with a beautiful rose garden. Today it's home of the tourist information office, a

    

    Johanneskirche
    

    Gutenberg memorial and changing exhibitions.
    
  • Sts. Peter und Paul Catholic Church: Gothic church from the 14th century with wonderful late Gothic murals, a baptismal font from 1517 and, among others, a Neo-Gothic high altar designed by Jean-Baptiste Bethune.
  • Burg Crass: castle built in 1332, considered to be the oldest preserved building in Eltville. Today it serves as a hotel and restaurant.
  • Johanneskirche: Neo-Gothic Lutheran church built in the 1860s (oldest Protestant church in the Rheingau) that was donated by Marianne von Oranien-Nassau (on the occasion of the death of her 12-year-old son).
    
  • Ruins of Scharfenstein Castle: ruined castle that was part of the Bishopric of Mainz's border fortifications, erected in 1160 under Christian I.

  • 

    Eberbach Abbey
    

    Eberbach Abbey (10-19 Mon-Fri, 9-19 Sat-Sun from Apr to Oct; 11-18 from Nov to Mar; 9.50€/ 6.50€/ 5.50€  adults/ reduced/ people under 18): Cistercian monastery consisting of Romanesque and early Gothic buildings founded by Bernard of Clairvaux in 1136 (considered one of the most significant architectural heritage sites in Hesse). Inside it were filmed the interior scenes of the film The name of the Rose. The abbey has some walled vineyard, Domäne Steinberg.

• 

  Oestricher Kran and
  views of Oestrich-Winkel
  

  Continuing by the river, 19 km far from Wiesbaden, it can be reached Oestrich-Winkel (11,849 inhabitants). This town is compounded by some smaller towns like Oestrich, Mittelheim or Winkel and has the following important sightseeing points: Oestricher Kran (13-17 Sat-Sun from Apr to Oct), former wine-loading crane (main landmark in town and the last of its kind in Hesse) from the 18th century for loading and unloading ships, that was working until 1926; St. Martin Catholic Church, a late-Gothic church from the 16th century that was destroyed in the Thirty Years' War and rebuilt after it; Basilica of St. Ägidius, the oldest church in the Rheingau, built around 1100 as the church of an Augustinian convent; or Vollrads Palace (11-18 Sat-Sun), a Schloss first built in the 13th century that nowadays is a famous wine estate for its Riesling.

  

  Rheingauer Catholic Cathedral

  
  
• Geisenheim (11,634 inhabitants): town that is the brithplace of Spätlese wine and the only place with an institution in Germany where you can get a degree in winemakeing, the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute.
  • Rheingauer Catholic Cathedral: colloquial name for the Heilig Kreuz Church in Geisenheim (although it was never a bishop's seat), whose construction began in the 16th century in late-Gothic style, but major features were added in the 19th century in Neo-Gothic style by Philipp Hoffmann.
  • Schönborn Palace: Schloss built in 1550 in the middle of a vineyard for the Counts of Schönborn. It still belongs to the family of the Counts of Schönborn-Wiesentheid (the ground floor and the first floor are available for celebrations).
  • Geisenheim Lutheran Church: Neo-Romanesque church built in the 1890s with the design of Ludwig Hofmann.
  • Johannisberg Castle (10-18; 25€ for wine tasting and tour), a Schloss and winery that has been making wine for over 900 years, noted for its claim to have discovered Spätlese wine. Next to it is located Johannisberg Castle Church,

    

    Johannisberg Castle
    

    an old church first built in 1130 (shortened in 1718 for the construction of the castle and redesigned in Baroque style) that resulted damaged in a heavy air raid in 1942, rebuilt taking as a model the old Romanesque model.
    
  • Marienthal Monastery: Franciscan monastery and church built where a miracle is said to have happened in 1313 and it became a pilgrimage church until the mid-15th century. The church was rebuilt in 1858 on the initiative of the Bishop of Limburg.
    

    

    Drosselgasse in Rüdesheim am Rhein
    

• Rüdesheim am Rhein (9,949 inhabitants): picturesque town across the river from Bingen, one very typical example of Rheinromantik that attracts a lot of tourists. On of its most beautiful streets is Drosselgasse and the town is full of aristocratic residences.
  • Adlerturm: late-Gothic corner tower that was built in the 15th century as part of the old city wall. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe lived here when he visited Rüdesheim, admiring the magnificent view of the river. 
  • St. Jakbus Catholic Church: church that dates back to the 10th century and was expanded around 1400 and again in 1913/14. The church was severely damaged by bombing in World War II, and rebuilt from 1947 to 1956.
    

    

    Siegfried's Mechanical Music Museum
    

  • Museum Of Medieval Torture (10-18 from Apr to Oct; 13-17 Sat-Sun from Nov to Mar; 6.50€/ 5€  adults/ reduced): museum that shows how medival punishments were centuries ago, used in the days of the witch-hunts in the period of the 14th to the 16th centuries (many of those punished in the Inquisition were woman).
    
  • Siegfried's Mechanical Music Museum (11-17 Tue-Sun; 8€/ 4€  adults/ reduced): museum, situated in Brömserhof (a knight's manor from the 15th century), regarded as the first German museum of mechanical musical instruments with about 350 instruments out of 3 centuries.

    

    Brömserburg and Boosenburg Castles
    

    
    
  • Boosenburg Castle: lowland castle that dates back to the 12th century with a preserved bergfried and a Neo-Gothic villa which serves as a concert venue. It belongs to the winery Weinkellerei Carl Jung from 1938.
    
  • Brömserburg Castle: Burg that was owned by the archbishops of Mainz from the early 10th to the early 19th century, who transformed the original fortification into a residential castle in the 12th century. They sold the castle in 1803 and the castle passed through several hands until it was acquired by the town of Rüdesheim in 1941.

    

    Eibingen Abbey
    

    Today the castle hosts the Rheingau Wine Museum (10-18 from Mar to Oct), the oldest wine-related collection in the world and its garden contains old wine presses from different periods.
  • Eibingen Abbey (6-20 Sun): abbey of Benedictine founded by Hildegard of Bingen in 1165. It was dissolved in 1804, but restored in 1904 (but for the period in which the sisters were expelled by Gestapo). The nuns produce wine and crafts.
    

  

  Niederwalddenkmal
  

  • Niederwalddenkmal: 38 m high monument that overlooks the Rhine Valley built between 1871 and 1883 to commemorate the Unification of Germany after the end of the Franco-Prussian War. The first stone was laid by Kaiser Wilhelm I and was built by the sculptor Johannes Schilling and the architect Karl Weißbach. Next to is is located the Niederwaldtempel, a temple with gondola shape from 1788 that draw many artists during the 19th century (including Beethoven, Goethe or Brentano). There's a cable car to the monument.
    

  • 

    Views of Ehrenfels Castle and Rhine river
    

    Ruins of Ehrenfels Castle: ruined hillside castle surrounded by vineyards that dates back to 1212, when the Archbishop of Mainz built itas a defensive work against the constant attacks by Palatine Elector Henry V, importantly damaged in the Thirty Years' War and in the French Siege of Mainz (1689). From it there are wonderful views of the Rhine Gorge. It can be reached via a hiking trail but can just be visited in guided tours.  
  • Since 1977 the village of Assmannshausen (980 inhabitants) is a quarter of Rüdesheim. There are great views of Rheingau and Rheinstein Castle (Rheinland-Palatinate) on the other side of the river from the viewpoint Rotweinlaube.
    
• Lorch am Rhein (3,798 inhabitants): town placed very close Rheinland-Palatinate, the last stop in the route in Rheingau.
  

  

  Hilchenhaus and
  St. Martin Catholic Church
  

  • St. Martin Catholic Church (14-17 Sat, 11-17 Sun from Apr to Oct): Gothic church completed in the 14th century (with some parts in late Romanesque style) with a high altar by the master Hans from Worms, installed in 1483.
    
  • Hilchenhaus: building from the mid-16th century, well known as the loveliest Renaissance building on the Middle Rhine. Currently it's not very well preserved owing to a failed hotel-building.
    
  • Strunk: tower of the former city fortifications from 1527 which was also used as a prison.
  • Ruins of Nollig Castle: remains of a hilltop Burg built around the beginning of the 14th century that is privately owned and cannot be visited.

    

    Ruins of Nollig Castle
    

  • Around Lorch there are some viewpoints from where taking excellent pictures of the area of Rheingau such as Panoramablick and Bacharachblick.
  • Heilig-Kreuz Chapel:  17th century chapel, the last preserved of the nine chapels that Lorch used to have.
  • One on its villages of the municipality of Lorch, Lorchhausen, deserves a stop too, specially because of its main highlight, St. Bonifatius Catholic Church (a Neo-Gothic church built in the 1870s near the abandoned previous building, a 14th century church that was too small and damaged).
    

Where can I eat in Rheingau?

The climatic conditions favor viticulture, which was already practiced in the region at the time of Charlemagne. Rheingau wines, especially the Rheingau Riesling, enjoy a top reputation all over the world although it's one of the smallest German growing areas (around 2.5% of the German wine harvest is produced here). The most common varieties of grapes are Riesling (almost 80%), Spätburgunder (around 12.5%) ​and Müller-Thurgau (2%)

 In Eltville am Rhein it's a good idea to eat at Waldgaststätte Rausch (Wiesweg 93) or the restaurant Burg Crass (Freygäßchen). The best ideas to eat in Oestrich-Winkel is the winery Weingut Ankermühle (Ankermühle 1) and in Geisenheim is Gutsausschank Trenz (Schulstraße 3). In Rüdesheim am Rhein most of the interesting restaurants are located by Drosselgasse and there's also a nice Italian restaurant, Da Toni (Marktstraße 27).

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