Rüdesheim am Rhein

Rüdesheim
Rüdesheim am Rhein

Rüdesheim seen from nearby vineyards

Coat of arms
Rüdesheim

Coordinates: 49°59′0″N 07°55′50″E / 49.98333°N 7.93056°ECoordinates: 49°59′0″N 07°55′50″E / 49.98333°N 7.93056°E
Country Germany
State Hesse
Admin. region Darmstadt
District Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis
Government
  Mayor Volker Mosler
Area
  Total 51 km2 (20 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)[1]
  Total 9,733
  Density 190/km2 (490/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 65385
Dialling codes 06722
Vehicle registration RÜD
Website www.ruedesheim.de

Rüdesheim am Rhein is a winemaking town in the Rhine Gorge and thereby part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. It lies in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It is officially known as Rüdesheim am Rhein, which distinguishes it from Rüdesheim an der Nahe.

Geography

Location

Rüdesheim lies at the foot of the Niederwald on the Rhine's right (east) bank on the southern approach to the Lorelei. The town belongs to the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region and is one of Germany's biggest tourist attractions. Only Cologne Cathedral draws more tourists from other countries. Making the town worth visiting is, not only the wine or even the Old Town itself, but also the picturesque Rheingau landscape together with the romantic Rhine.

Territorial structure

Rüdesheim am Rhein as a municipality consists of five Stadtteile:

Assmannshausen as well as Aulhausen as well as Presberg have the status as a Ortsbezirk.

Neighbouring communities

Rüdesheim borders in the east on the town of Geisenheim, in the south on the town of Bingen, in the west on the communities of Weiler and Trechtingshausen (all three in Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate) over on the other side of the Rhine, and in the west and north on the town of Lorch.

History

Rüdesheim – extract from the Topographia Hassiae by Matthäus Merian the Younger, 1655

The area was settled first by the Celts, then after the turn of the Christian Era by Ubii and later by Mattiaci. In the first century, the Romans pushed forth to the Taunus. In Bingen they built a castrum, and on the other side, near what is now Rüdesheim, lay a bridgehead on the way to the Limes.

The Romans were followed by the Alamanni, and along with the Migration Period (Völkerwanderung) came the Franks. Archaeological finds of glass from this time suggest that there was already winegrowing in Rüdesheim even then. The town's origin as a Frankish Haufendorf (roughly, "clump village") can still be seen on today's town maps.

Rüdesheim had its first documentary mention in 1074. Its livelihood came mainly from winegrowing and shipping, particularly timber rafting.

On 1 January 1818, Rüdesheim received town rights.

After Prussia annexed the Duchy of Nassau in 1867 and divided the area into districts (Kreise), Rüdesheim became a district seat in the newly founded Rheingaukreis. This status it held for 110 years until 1977, when in the course of municipal reform in Hesse the districts of the Rheingaukreis and the Untertaunuskreis were merged into the new Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, and Rüdesheim had to yield the district seat to Bad Schwalbach. However, owing to its widespread recognizability, the old car licence designation RÜD came through the shift in district alignment unchanged, despite all the existing rules that would have seen SWA become the new district's designation.

In 1877, the first foundation stone for the Niederwalddenkmal, which would be finished in 1883, was laid. This patriotic monument drew a great many tourists, who at that time reached the site high above the town on a cog railway, although today it is a gondola lift that brings visitors up to the monument. Tourism is more and more displacing shipping as a source of income.

In 1939, under the secrecy that held sway at the time, the formerly self-governing community of Eibingen was forcibly amalgamated with the town by the National Socialists, against the community inhabitants' will. In 1977, within the framework of municipal reform, Assmannshausen, Aulhausen and Presberg also became new Ortsteile of Rüdesheim.

Rüdesheim, seen from the Rhine

Politics

Town council

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:

Parties and voter communities %
2006
Seats
2006
%
2001
Seats
2001
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany 44.8 14 52.0 19
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany 23.4 7 32.3 12
FDP Free Democratic Party 3.0 1 15.7 6
WIR Freie Wähler-WIR. Wählerinitiative Rüdesheim am Rhein 23.6 7
Offene Grüne Liste Offene Grüne Liste Rüdesheim 5.1 2
Total 100.0 31 100.0 37
Voter turnout in % 46.4 49.7

Town partnerships

Culture and sightseeing

Museums

Buildings

Hiking trails

The Rheinsteig from Wiesbaden by way of Lahnstein to Bonn leads through Rüdesheim's municipal area by both the monastery and the Niederwalddenkmal. Another trail is the Riesling-Route. It leads along the Rhine and through Rüdesheim's enchanting vineyards on the way to Wiesbaden.

Tradition

A well known old tradition is the Weinkönigin ("Wine Queen") with her princesses. Each year in the summertime, the Rüdesheim wine festival is held, whose highlights include the Wine Queen's and the princesses' coronation.

The Wine Queen and her princesses represent the town of Rüdesheim and its wine in other communities and other winegrowing areas.

In the deeds held by the Counts of Katzenelnbogen, vineyards are already found in the Rüdesheim area in 1399: auf dem Berge ("on the mountain"), bei dem Morgen Marschalls ("near Marshal's acre") and unterhalb Eibingen am Fluß ("beneath Eibingen at the river").[4]

The Drosselgasse in Rüdesheim

Rüdesheim lies in the north-west corner of the German wine producing region Rheingau. Riesling grapes are the main type grown in this area, producing mainly high-quality white wines. One can taste the local wines, including the Rüdesheimer Riesling, in the many wine houses in Rüdesheim.

Music

In 1970, a single was released under the title Rüdesheim liegt nicht an der Themse ("Rüdesheim Does Not Lie on the Thames"). The artist was British hit singer David Garrick, who had a great hit with this song.

Regular events

Education

Famous people

The town's noble family called itself "von Rüdesheim". Its foremost representative was Rudolf of Rüdesheim (1402–1482), papal legate and Prince-Bishop of Breslau. After studying at the University of Heidelberg, he went on to Rome and became friends with Pope Pius II. He was named Prince-Bishop of Breslau in 1468.

Sons and daughters of the town

Tower of the Brömserburg and Villa Sturm

Other people linked with the town

Literature

See also

References

  1. "Die Bevölkerung der hessischen Gemeinden". Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt (in German). September 2014.
  2. Swanage Twinning Association website
  3. "Dorset Twinning Association List". The Dorset Twinning Association. Archived from the original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  4. graf-von-katzenelnbogen.de Stand: 14. Dezember 2007.
  5. St. Jakobus on the Rheingau Musik Festival website (German/English)
  6. Aus der Geschichte des Vereines (From the History of the Association), Wolf-Eberhard von Lewinski and Ursula Jung, 1992, a review of 120 years, presidency Dr. Jung p. 7

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rüdesheim.

Documents