Rüdesheim borders in the north and north-west on the town ofLorch, in the east on the town ofGeisenheim. On the left bank of theRhine inRhineland-Palatinate, Rüdesheim faces the town ofBingen to the south, and the villages ofWeiler andTrechtingshausen to the south-west. Rüdesheim is connected with the left Rhine bank by a ferry for pedestrians and one for cars.
Rüdesheim – extract from theTopographia Hassiae by Matthäus Merian the Younger, 1655
The area was settled first by theCelts, then after the turn of theChristian Era byUbii and later byMattiaci. In the first century, theRomans pushed forth to theTaunus. InBingen they built acastrum, and on the other side, near what is now Rüdesheim, lay a bridgehead on the way to theLimes.
The Romans were followed by theAlamanni, and during theMigration Period theFranks migrated into the region. Archaeological finds of glass from this time suggest that there was already winegrowing in Rüdesheim. The town's origin as a FrankishHaufendorf (roughly: "clump village") can still be seen on today's town maps.
Rüdesheim was first mentioned in a document in 1074. Its livelihood came mainly from winegrowing and shipping, particularlytimber rafting.
On 1 January 1818, Rüdesheim receivedtown rights. AfterPrussia annexed theDuchy of Nassau in 1867 and divided the area intodistricts (Kreise), Rüdesheim became a district seat in the newly founded Rheingaukreis. It held this status 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 newRheingau-Taunus-Kreis, and Rüdesheim had to yield the district seat toBad Schwalbach.
In 1877, the first foundation stone was laid for theNiederwalddenkmal, a patriotic monument above the vineyards which would be finished in 1883. It attracted many tourists who could reach it on acog railway. Today, agondola lift brings visitors up to the monument. Tourism has more and more replaced shipping as a source of income.
In 1939, under the secrecy that held sway at the time, the formerly self-governing community ofEibingen was forcibly amalgamated with the town by theNational Socialists, against the community inhabitants' will. In 1977, within the framework of municipal reform,Assmannshausen,Aulhausen andPresberg were incorporated into Rüdesheim asOrtsbezirke.
The municipal election for the town council (German:Stadtverordnetenversammlung) was held on 6 March 2016 and yielded the following results,[3] compared to previous elections:[4][5]
Siegfrieds Mechanisches Musikkabinett, a museum for mechanical musical instruments. On an exhibition area of over 400 m2, the museum provides information about the history of self-playing music and its instruments. Also known asBrömserhof [de], formerly the home of Heinrich Brömser von Rüdesheim (born ca. 1601, died 1668).[8]
Mittelalterliches Foltermuseum ("Mediaevaltorture museum"), with many instruments of torture
Asbach Distillery,brandy museum illustrating the history ofAsbach Uralt production
Rheingauer Weinmuseum Brömserburg, about the area's 1000-year winegrowing history, located in castle Brömserburg.
Drosselgasse [de] is a lane in the heart of Rüdesheim's Old Town. Live band entertainment,brass instruments and dance music all day and all night during the summer in the many wine taverns and open-air garden taverns along the 144-metre-long narrow cobblestone pedestrian street. Built in the 15th century, boat owners used the Drosselgasse to move items from the river to homes in the town.
St. Jakobus, the parish church from the 15th century, rebuilt after World War II
Brömserburg, the oldest castle in the Rhine Gorge World Heritage Site. It was built in the 10th century on the site of aRomanfortification. From the 10th to the 13th century it was owned by theArchbishop of Mainz. The old fortress was converted into a residence in the 12th century. It then passed into the control of the Knights of Rüdesheim. A branch of these knights was the Brömser. It was retaken by Archbishop Werner II von Eppenstein in 1281. The castle withstood a number of attacks. In 1640, during theThirty Years' War, the top of the tower was destroyed by French troops under the command ofHenri II d'Orléans, duc de Longueville. The Archbishopric sold it in 1803 and it has had several owners since then. The town of Rüdesheim bought the castle in 1941. The site includes a modern-day wine museum.
Boosenburg, a castle from the 12th century with a preservedbergfried and a Gothic revival villa which serves as a concert venue
TheRheinsteig fromWiesbaden toBonn leads through Rüdesheim's municipal area by both the Eibingen Abbey and theNiederwalddenkmal. Another trail is the Riesling-Route. It leads along the Rhine and through Rüdesheim'svineyards on the way to Wiesbaden.
A well known tradition is theWeinkönigin ("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. They represent the town of Rüdesheim and its wine in other communities andwinegrowing areas.
In the deeds held by theCounts 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") andunterhalb Eibingen am Fluß ("beneath Eibingen at the river").[9]
Rüdesheim lies in the north-west corner of theGerman wine-producing regionRheingau.Riesling grapes are the main type grown in this area, producing mainly high-quality white wines.
Magic-Bike-Rüdesheim (as a rule onCorpus Christi weekend)
Tal total yearly on the last Saturday in June. On this day,Bundesstraße 42 between Rüdesheim andKoblenz on the Rhine's right bank andBundesstraße 9 on the left betweenBingen and Koblenz are closed to motorized traffic and left free for cyclists and skaters.
Rheingau Musik Festival, usually a summer concert in the Eibingen Abbey and/or in the church St. Jakobus[10]
Rhein in Flammen (fireworks festival) on the first Saturday in July
World Heritage celebration at the Niederwalddenkmal (since 2003 usually in late July on a Friday and Saturday)
Weinfest (wine festival third weekend in August)
Gallustag (Saint Galls day), festival to honour the grape harvest, medieval market and event
Tage desFederweißen (year's last wine festival) late October, early November
Weihnachtsmarkt der Nationen ("Christmas Market of the Nations") 120 stalls, open daily from late November until Christmas
Theodor Friedrich Ludwig Dilthey (6 February 1825 – 22 March 1892), businessman: He took over his father's wine wholesaling business, Dilthey-Sahl & Co. in Rüdesheim, in 1852 and undertook many business trips to England and Russia to further German wine andsekt exports. In 1867 he was cofounder and first president of theWiesbadenchamber of commerce. He composed many poems in praise of wine.
Georg Geiling (1 June 1863 – 1947), mastercooper: Geiling studied after his apprenticeship as a cooper inReims andÉpernay and in 1890 founded the sekt cellar "Georges Geiling & Cie." in Reims. In 1894, he settled inBacharach, where in 1919 he built up his ownsparkling wine factory.
Antonius Wallenstein (20 January 1890 – 28 December 1964 on the Abtsberg nearGengenbach in Baden), Catholic priest of areligious order, spiritual writer. Works (selection):Das Problem der Willensfreiheit unter besonderer Hervorkehrung der methodischen Gesichtspunkte, in: PhJ 36 (1923), 1–24 (excerpts from hisdissertation);Katechismus der christlichen Vollkommenheit, Freiburg 1930 (2nd ed. 1936);Kindheit und Jugend als Erziehungsaufgabe, Freiburg 1951;Klarheit über Gott, Leutesdorf 1959.
Hermann Asbach (18 March 1894 – unknown), businessman: one of Hugo Asbach's three sons and later owner of the firm Asbach (Asbach Uralt,brandy).
The composerJohannes Brahms (1833–1897) was repeatedly a guest at the family Beckerath's house in Rüdesheim (Oberstraße/Schmidstraße, today Sekthaus Solter) between 1874 and 1895. In 1883 in Wiesbaden he wrote theSymphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90. At this time he also took part in the festive unveiling of theNiederwalddenkmal in Rüdesheim. In the rooms of the former Villa Sturm on Rheinstraße, the yearlyRüdesheimer Brahms-Tage take place in the composer's memory.
Bernhard Hopffer (7 August 1840 inBerlin – 20 August 1877 at the Niederwald hunting palace near Rüdesheim) studied music at theKullak'sches Conservatorium and lived as a composer in Berlin. His last years he lived, owing to his lung illness, in various spas. He wrote symphonies, chamber music, songs – among others,Lockung, Op. 22/1 (1872) afterJoseph von Eichendorff – as well as an opera,Frithjof, which was first produced in Berlin in 1871.
The German violinistGerhard Taschner (1922–1976) lived from 1946 to 1950 in the house of the art-minded winemaker Carl Jung in Rüdesheim. In the piano trio withLudwig Hoelscher and the pianistWalter Gieseking, he gave a series of private concerts here.
1,2. Images of Rüdesheim in J.F. Dielmann, A. Fay, J. Becker (Zeichner): F.C. Vogels Panorama des Rheins, Bilder des rechten und linken Rheinufers, Lithographische Anstalt F.C. Vogel, Frankfurt 1833
Meursault, Côte-d'Or, France
Mezőkövesd,Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, Hungary
Swanage, Dorset, England, UK[6][7]
