Page 378 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Germany

376  WESTERN GERM AN Y HESSE  377

w Eltville Wilhelm II to the designs of playing musical store and sell Eberbacher
Road map B5. * 17,000. £ the theatre architects Fellner instruments. Inside, Steinberg, a famous white
n Burgstraße 1 (06123-90 98 0). and Helmer. Adjacent to the the church harbours Rheingau wine.
_ Biedermeier-und Sektfest (Jul). Marktkirche is the attractive an incred ible wealth A short way to the west, in
Kurhauskolonnade (spa house of ancient art Winkel, stands the Baroque
In the 2nd century, the area colonnade). It was erected treasures. The high castle of Reichardshausen, which
that is now the old town was in 1825 and is the longest altar and St Catherine’s in the 19th century was the home
a Roman latifundium, a large colonnade in Europe. The early altar in the south aisle of Princess Luise von Nassau.
agricultural estate. In 1332, 20th-century Kurhaus (spa date from the late-
Eltville was granted town status. house) itself, with its grand Renaissance period. R Kloster Eberbach
Part of the Mainz diocese, it is façade and portico, is the work The magnificent Tel (06723) 91 78 100. Open Apr–Oct:
today known for its excellent of Friedrich Thiersch. Inside is Gothic stalls were 10am–7pm Mon–Fri, 9am–7pm Sat &
sparkling wine. the original Spielbank (casino), created in 1510, while Sun; Nov–Mar: 11am–6pm daily.
In 1337–45 the Burg (castle) The Baroque Biebrich Palace, south where Fyodor Dostoyevsky the church organ is Closed Carnival Mon, 24, 25, 31 Dec.
was extended at the request of Wiesbaden and Richard Wagner tried one of the oldest in & ∑ kloster-eberbach.de
of Archbishop Heinrich von their luck at the tables. Germany, with pipes
Virneburg. The east wing of the subsequent rapid growth of the To the south of the town made in 1310. Next t Rüdesheim
castle was added in 1682–3 by town as a spa resort in the 19th centre stands Schloß Biebrich, to the parish church Road map B5. * 10,000. £
Giovanni Angelo Barell. The only century, laid the foundations for where the counts von Nassau- stands a late-Gothic, n Rheinstrasse 29 (06722-906 150).
part of it remaining today is the its lasting prosperity. Today, the Usingen resided until the early two-storey funeral _ Fireworks (Jul), Weinfest (Aug).
five-storey residential tower; town is still dominated by large- 19th century. The Schloß was chapel built in 1445. ∑ ruedesheim.de
the rest of the building is a scale developments carried built in stages during the 18th Kiedrich has several
pic turesque ruin. In the tower out in the spirit and style of century. The north pavilion was interesting old Rüdesheim, enjoying a
are original 14th-century wall Classicism and Historicism. built first, in 1700, followed nine mansion houses, such picturesque location on the
paintings and friezes. The Stadtschloß (municipal years later by the south pavilion. as the Schwalbacher banks of the Rhine, has a long
The twin-naved Pfarrkirche castle), today the seat of the The wings, which join the two The ornate Gothic portal of Basilika St Valentin, Hof (1732). The history going back to Roman
St Peter und St Paul (parish state parliament, was built in pavilions, and the central rotunda in Kiedrich Rathaus (town hall) is times. The town is famous for
church) was built in 1350–1430. 1835–41. In Schloßplatz the were added during the first two evocative of the late- the Drosselgasse, a street lined
The vestibule has well- Neo-Renaissance Marktkirche, decades of the 18th century. r Kiedrich Gothic style, although it was with countless wine bars and
preserved wall paintings built in 1853–62, soars Finally, the two external wings Road map B5. * 3,400. £ built much later (1585–6). shops. There are also the remains
(1405) showing scenes above the town’s were added in 1734–44, n Markstr. 27 (06123-90 50 10). of two castles: the Boosenburg
from the Last other buildings. creating an overall horseshoe Environs and the 12th-century
Judgement. In front of the layout. The interior is richly The earliest recorded mention Five km (3 miles) west of Brömserburg, which also
The town church stands a furnished, predominantly in of Kiedrich was in the mid-10th Kiedrich, in Oestrich, is Kloster houses a wine museum.
boasts several statue of Wilhelm I Baroque-Rococo style. century, in a document Eberbach, a former Cistercian Rüdesheim also has several
attractive the Great von On the northern outskirts produced by the Archbishop abbey. This vast complex, built historic mansions, including the
mansions, Nassau-Oranien. of the town is a large hill, the Friedrich of Mainz. One of the between the 12th and 14th half-timbered Brömserhof (1559)
including Hof The oldest Neroberg, whose summit can town’s main attractions is the centuries, was once home to with a collection of musical
Langenwerth Crest of the Hessische Staats weingüter- building in be reached by funicular railway. Basilika St Valentin, a gem of nearly 300 monks and is one of instruments, and the early
von Simmern Vinothek, in Eltville the town is the At the top is the so-called Gothic architecture. The church the best-preserved medieval 16th-century Klunkhards hof.
(1773), Stock- Altes Rathaus Griechische Kapelle (Greek was built in stages, beginning monasteries in Germany. The Above the town towers the
heimer Hof (1550) and (old town hall), dating from chapel). Built in 1847–55 by with the main hall (1380–90). church interior provided the Niederwalddenkmal, a statue
Gräflich-Eltzscher Hof 1610. In Wilhelmstraße is the Philipp Hoffmann, it served The west tower was added in setting for some of the scenes of Germania, 10.5 m (34 ft) high,
(16th–17th century). imposing Neo-Renaissance as a mausoleum for Princess the early 15th century and the in the film The Name of the Rose, built to commemorate victory
and Neo-Baroque Hessisches Elisabeth von Nassau, the light, lofty choir in 1451–81. based on the novel by Umberto in the Franco-Prussian War of
e Wiesbaden Staats theater (state theatre). It niece of Alexander I Tsar of Some time later the central nave Eco. The Cistercians used to 1870–71, which resulted in
was built in 1892–4 for Kaiser Russia, who died young. was raised to the level of the have their own vineyards here, German unification. The
Road map C5. * 280,000. £
n Marktplatz 1 (0611-17 29 930). choir, creating a row of gal leries and today the abbey buildings monument can be reached by a
_ Internationale Maifestspiele (May), above the aisles, and at the are used by the Hessian Wine cable-car and affords views of
Theatrium (Jun), Rheingau Wine same time the magnificent star Co-operative to press, ferment, Rüdesheim and the Rhine valley.
Festival (Aug), Christmas Market vaults were created. The whole
(Nov–Dec). ∑ wiesbaden.de project was financed from
donations made by countless
Wiesbaden is the modern pilgrims who came to pray to
capital of Hesse. Highly valued the relics of St Valentine, kept
as a spa by the Romans, who here since 1454. A statue of
exploited the healing properties the saint adorns the western
of its waters, the town grew portal. The early 15th-century
from a small settlement known tympanum depicts the
as aquae mattiacorum after the Annunciation (on the left) and
Germanic tribe of the Mattiacs. the Coronation of the Virgin Mary
In 1774 the Nassau-Usingen (on the right); above is an image
family chose Wiesbaden as their of God the Father giving His
residence. This, as well as the The attractive façade of Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden Blessing, with two archangels Gabled and half-timbered houses in Drosselgasse, in Rüdesheim
For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp499–500 and pp525–6

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Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2.2)
Date 15th January 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm