Rüdesheim am Rhein, Hesse, Germany

🇩🇪 Rüdesheim am Rhein is a German winemaking town in the Rhine Gorge, and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site in this region. It lies in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt, Hessen. Known as Rüdesheim, it is officially Rüdesheim am Rhein, to distinguish it from Rüdesheim an der Nahe. It is a major tourist attraction, especially for foreign visitors.

Location Rüdesheim lies at the foot of the Niederwald on the Rhine's right bank in the Rheingau wine region. The town belongs to the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region and to the World Heritage Site Rhine Gorge. It has a picturesque Old Town, located in the Rheingau landscape celebrated in Rhine romanticism.

Territorial structure Rüdesheim am Rhein as a municipality consists of five quarters: • Rüdesheim am Rhein (initial part and center) • Eibingen including Windeck, Eibingen Abbey and Nothgottes • Assmannshausen • Aulhausen including the former Marienhausen Abbey  and St. Vincenzstift  • Presberg.

Assmannshausen, Aulhausen and Presberg have the status of an Ortsbezirk. Central Rüdesheim and Eibingen form a combined fourth Ortsbezirk.

Neighbouring communities Rüdesheim borders in the north and north-west on the town of Lorch, in the east on the town of Geisenheim. On the left bank of the Rhine in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rüdesheim faces the town of Bingen to the south, and the villages of Weiler und Trechtingshausen to the south-west. Rüdesheim is connected with the left Rhine bank by a ferry for pedestrians and one for cars.

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 during the Migration Period the Franks 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 Frankish Haufendorf (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, 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. 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 new Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, and Rüdesheim had to yield the district seat to Bad Schwalbach.

In 1877, the first foundation stone was laid for the Niederwalddenkmal, a patriotic monument above the vineyards which would be finished in 1883. It attracted many tourists who could reach it on a cog railway. Today, a gondola 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 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 were incorporated into Rüdesheim as Ortsbezirke.

Museums • 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. • Mittelalterliches Foltermuseum ("Mediaeval torture museum"), with many instruments of torture • Asbach Distillery, brandy museum illustrating the history of Asbach Uralt production • Rheingauer Weinmuseum Brömserburg, about the area's 1000-year winegrowing history, located in castle Brömserburg.

Notable sites • Niederwalddenkmal, a patriotic monument finished in 1883 • Landschaftspark Niederwald a park from the 18th century • Drosselgasse  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 • Burg Ehrenfels, a ruined castle in the vineyards • Brömserburg, the oldest castle in the Rhine Gorge World Heritage Site. It was built in the 10th century on the site of a Roman fortification. From the 10th to the 13th century it was owned by the Archbishop 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 the Thirty Years' War, the top of the tower was destroyed by French troops under the command of Henri 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 preserved bergfried and a Gothic revival villa which serves as a concert venue • Eibingen Abbey, founded by Hildegard of Bingen, above Eibingen • Remains of the Hindenburgbrücke, a bridge destroyed in the Second World War

Hiking trails The Rheinsteig from Wiesbaden to Bonn leads through Rüdesheim's municipal area by both the Eibingen Abbey and the Niederwalddenkmal. Another trail is the Riesling-Route. It leads along the Rhine and through Rüdesheim's vineyards on the way to Wiesbaden.

Tradition A well known 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. They represent the town of Rüdesheim and its wine in other communities and 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").

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.

Regular events • Magic-Bike-Rüdesheim (as a rule on Corpus Christi weekend) • Tal total yearly on the last Saturday in June. On this day, Bundesstraße 42 between Rüdesheim and Koblenz on the Rhine's right bank and Bundesstraße 9 on the left between Bingen 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 • 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 des Federweißen (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.