Oberwesel () is a town on the Middle Rhine in the

Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis is a district (german: Kreis) in the middle of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The neighbouring districts are (from north clockwise) Mayen-Koblenz, Rhein-Lahn, Mainz-Bingen, Bad Kreuznach, Birkenfeld, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Co ...

(

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

) in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde''

Hunsrück-Mittelrhein Hunsrück-Mittelrhein is a ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' is in Emmelshausen. It was formed on 1 January 2020 by the merger of the f ...

, whose seat is in Emmelshausen.

Geography

Location

Oberwesel lies on the river

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

’s left (west) bank in the

Rhine Gorge The Rhine Gorge is a popular name for the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a 65 km section of the Rhine between Koblenz and Rüdesheim in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse in Germany. It was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage S ...

or Upper Middle Rhine, a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, between the neighbouring towns of

Sankt Goar Sankt Goar is a town on the west bank of the Middle Rhine in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Hunsrück-Mittelrhein, whose seat is in Emmelshausen. Sankt Goar is well kn ...

and

Bacharach Bacharach (, also known as ''Bacharach am Rhein'') is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Rhein-Nahe, whose seat is in Bingen am Rhein, although that town is not withi ...

. It is called Oberwesel ("Upper Wesel") to distinguish it from the other city called

Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighove ...

along the

Lower Rhine The Lower Rhine (german: Niederrhein; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the river Rhine) flows from Bonn, Germany, to the North Sea at Hook of Holland, Netherlands (including the Nederrijn or "Nether Rhine" within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta); al ...

Constituent communities

The town is made up of several '' Stadtteile'', namely the main centre, also called Oberwesel, and the outlying centres of Engehöll, Dellhofen and Langscheid.

Climate

Yearly

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

in Oberwesel amounts to 604 mm, which is very low, falling into the lowest fourth of the precipitation chart for all Germany. Only at 22% of the German Weather Service’s

weather station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...

s are even lower figures recorded. The driest month is February. The most rainfall comes in June. In that month, precipitation is 1.6 times what it is in February. Precipitation varies only slightly. At only 1% of the weather stations are lower seasonal swings recorded.

History

As in many of the region’s towns, Oberwesel quite possibly had its beginnings as a Celtic settlement, named ''Vosavia'' or ''Volsolvia''. The

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

later maintained a horse-changing station with a hostel here. After the

fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...

of the

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a ...

, Oberwesel became a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

royal holding with a royal estate. The Wesel Estate passed under

Emperor Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...

in 966 to the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. In 1220, Emperor Frederick II dissolved the pledge and Oberwesel became a

free imperial city In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...

. In 1255, Oberwesel became a member of the Rhenish League of Towns (''Rheinischer Städtebund''), but in 1309, it lost its status as a free imperial city and fell under the lordship of the Electorate of Trier, to which it belonged until

Secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

after the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

in 1802. In the so-called ''Weseler Krieg'' (“Wesel War”) in 1390 and 1391, the town tried yet again to turn over a new leaf, but after a successful siege by Archbishop of Trier

Werner von Falkenstein Werner von Falkenstein ( 1355 – October 4, 1418), was a German Archbishop and Elector of Trier. He served as Archbishop from 1388 to 1418 as Werner III; he was the great-nephew of his predecessor Kuno II von Falkenstein (1362-1388) and a member ...

, it had to back down.

Winegrowing Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, trade and handicrafts helped the town gather enough wealth to begin work on the town walls in 1220, building them in three phases from then until the mid 14th century. The town's importance in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

can be gathered from the two great ecclesiastical foundations that it harboured (Our Lady's – or ''Liebfrauen'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

– and Saint Martin's), as well as the two monasteries and the ''Beginenhof''. All together, nine monasteries had sizeable commercial holdings in town. OberWesel (Merian)

In 1689, in the Nine Years' War (known in Germany as the ''Pfälzischer Erbfolgekrieg'', or War of the Palatine Succession), Oberwesel was destroyed for the first time, by soldiers of the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental E ...

. In 1794, the town was occupied by French Revolutionary troops and in 1802 was annexed by France. After the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

, Oberwesel became, along with the rest of the Rhine's left bank,

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

“Saint” Werner

“Saint Werner’s Chapel” on the side of the town wall facing the

was renovated in 2001. It was consecrated to the former saint,

Werner of Oberwesel Werner of Oberwesel (also known as Werner of Bacharach or Werner of Womrath; 1271 – 1287) was a 16-year-old boy whose unexplained death was blamed on Jews, leading to revenge killings of Jews across Europe. He was venerated as a Christian ...

. In iconography, Werner was shown with a winegrower's

billhook A billhook or bill hook, also called a pruning knife or spar hook, is a versatile cutting tool used widely in agriculture and forestry for cutting woody material such as shrubs, small trees and branches. It is distinct from the sickle. It was ...

, a shovel and a pan as attributes, and was said to be the patron saint of winemakers. According to a

blood libel Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mur ...

, 16-year-old Werner was said to have been murdered on

Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday (also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, among other names) is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the ...

1287 in Oberwesel by local Jews who were thought to have wanted to use his blood in their

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

rituals. A 14th-century

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

chronicle reports of an alleged

host desecration Host desecration is a form of sacrilege in Christian denominations that follow the doctrine of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It involves the mistreatment or malicious use of a consecrated host—the bread used in the Eucharistic s ...

: Jews from local communities hung Werner up by the feet to rob him of a piece of

sacramental bread Sacramental bread, also called Communion bread, Eucharistic bread, the Lamb or simply the host ( la, hostia, lit=sacrificial victim), is the bread used in the Christian ritual of the Eucharist. Along with sacramental wine, it is one of two elemen ...

that he was about to swallow. The Jews then threw him in the Rhine. At the spot on the riverbank in

where his body washed up, the Gothic, ''Rheinromantik'' Saint Werner's Chapel was built. When word of the ritual murder spread, outraged mobs rose up, destroying not only Jewish communities on the Middle Rhine, but also up the Moselle and down on the Lower Rhine, too. In folk Christianity, the Cult of Werner arose, and it was only stricken from the calendar of the

Diocese of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Heinrich Heine treated the legend in his fragmentary tale, ''Der Rabbi von Bacherach''.

Amalgamations

From 7 November 1970, the town formed with the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Damscheid Damscheid is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Hunsrü ...

, Dellhofen, Langscheid, Laudert, Niederburg,

Perscheid Perscheid is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Hunsr� ...

, Urbar and

Wiebelsheim Wiebelsheim is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Hunsr ...

the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Oberwesel. In the course of administrative restructuring in

, the new ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Sankt Goar-Oberwesel was formed out of the towns of

and Oberwesel on 22 April 1972, with the administrative seat at Oberwesel. On 17 March 1974, the formerly self-administering municipalities of Langscheid, Dellhofen and Urbar were amalgamated with Oberwesel, although on 13 June 1999, Urbar once again became self-administering.

Politics

Town council

The council is made up of 20 council members, who were elected by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results: Elections in 2014:

Mayor

Oberwesel's mayor is Marius Stiehl. Oberwesel's mayors since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

have been: *1945-1946: Schaus, SPD *1946-1948: Heinrich Hermann, CDU *1948–1976: August Zeuner, CDU *1976–1979: Hans Stemick, CDU *1980–1989: Johann Peter Josten, CDU *1989–1994: Willy Wißkirchen, FWO (''Freie Wählergruppe Oberwesel'') *1994–2009: Manfred Zeuner, CDU *2009–2019: Jürgen Port, CDU *2019–: Marius Stiehl, CDU

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: ''In Gold ein rot bewehrter und rot bezungter schwarzer Adler.'' The town's arms might in English

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

language be described thus: Or an eagle displayed sable armed and langued gules. From 1237 to 1309, the town was a

. Ever since, it has borne the

Imperial Eagle The eagle is used in heraldry as a charge, as a supporter, and as a crest. Heraldic eagles can be found throughout world history like in the Achaemenid Empire or in the present Republic of Indonesia. The European post-classical symbolism of ...

as a

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

in the town seal and the civic coat of arms. The town's colours are black and yellow.

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

The following are listed buildings or sites in

’s Directory of Cultural Monuments: Schönburg Luftbild 091

Oberwesel (main centre)

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...

church, beside Chablis-Straße 21 – Gothic Revival brick building, 1897–1899 *

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Parish Church of Our Lady (''Pfarrkirche Liebfrauen''), Liebfrauenstraße 1 (''see also below'') – one-naved

aisleless church An aisleless church (german: Saalkirche) is a single-nave church building that consists of a single hall-like room. While similar to the hall church, the aisleless church lacks aisles or passageways on either side of the nave and separated fr ...

with five-eighths quire and

ridge turret A ridge turret is a turret or small tower constructed over the ridge or apex between two or more sloping roofs of a building. It is usually built either as an architectural ornament for purely decorative purposes or else for the practical housing ...

, latter half of the 14th century; appointments: pulpit, 1619; tomb slabs, 16th and 17th centuries;

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

and vicarage, standing in the south wing, 14th and 15th centuries; various gravestones, 15th to 17th century; at the northeast corner a vicarage, plastered

timber-frame Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

house in mixed building styles, crosswise gable, 18th century; graveyard, Late Gothic Crucifixion, 16th century; various gravestones, 19th century; whole complex of buildings with church, cloister with vicarage and graveyard with Saint Michael's

Chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

* Saint Martin's Catholic Parish Church (''Pfarrkirche St. Martin''), Martinsberg 2 (''see also below'') – transeptless two-naved basilica; sacristy, about 1300, nave and tower about 1350 to mid 15th century, side nave rebuilt about 1700 after destruction; rectory (Martinsberg 1): two-wing building, timber-frame, 18th century, essentially mediaeval, alterations and expansion in the 19th and 20th centuries; garden with Romanesque baptismal font; graveyard with Fátima Chapel, tomb, churchyard wall; former sexton's hut, jettying, partly solid, earlier half of the 17th century, one-floor timber-frame shed, marked 1625; whole complex of buildings * Town centre (monumental zone) – widely preserved town appearance, the two churches, ''Liebfrauen'' and ''St. Martin''; almost the whole of the town fortifications preserved with 16 (of formerly 21) towers; characteristic town construction arrangement * Schönburg (monumental zone) – originally an Imperial castle, in 1149 owned by Hermann von Stahleck, until 1166 by Magdeburg, ''Burggraf'' (“castle count”) and ''

Vögte During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

'' were the Imperial ''

ministeriales The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire. The word and its German translations, ''Minist ...

'' of Schönburg, 1166

Imperial immediacy Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...

, 1216 to Magdeburg once again, by the 14th century at the latest a castle shared by more than one family, 1374 held as

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

by Archbishop Kuno of Trier, 1531 in bad structural state, 1689 laid waste, beginning in 1885 partial reconstruction by T. J. Oakley Rhinelander (of, among other things, the lookout corner and the southern lodging), beginning in the 1950s built into a hotel (the area of the two southern keeps and of the southern lodging) and into the House of the

Kolping Adolph Kolping (8 December 1813 — 4 December 1865) was a German Catholic priest and the founder of the Kolping Association. He led the movement for providing and promoting social support for workers in industrialized cities while also working t ...

Society (northern lodging and keep, gatetower); building beginning in the earlier half of the 12th century of the northern lodging now preserved as remnants; gatetower, marked 1141/1161; beginning in 1237 building of the southern half of the castle with the two round keeps, the southern lodging, the chapel and the moat; in the earlier half of the 14th century the ''Hoher Mantel'' (protective wall), northern keep and bailey; ''Haus Schönberg'', timber-frame house, built in 1886 by Johann Kastor; gravesite of the family Osterroth; belonging with the castle: Schönburg estate upstream as well as the area of the “Elfenlay” between Schönburg and the town and the Church of Our Lady * Town wall (''see also below'') – 16 towers and wall, great parts of which are preserved, shortly after 1200, partially raised in the earlier half of the 13th century, expansion in the latter half of the 13th century, walling of the outlying town of Niederburg in der ersten Hälfte of the 14th century, Ummauerung der Vorstadt Kirchhausen in the earlier half of the 15th century * “Saint” Werner's Chapel, Wernerstraße (''see also below'') – chapel with substructure, shortly before 1300 until the mid 14th century, repair after destruction about 1700; whole complex of buildings with ''Wernerkrankenhaus'' (hospital) * Borngasse 2 – timber-frame house, partly solid, marked 1659, expansion possibly in the 18th century * Chablisstraße 2 – timber-frame house, partly solid, plastered, marked 1708, conversion possibly in the earlier half of the 19th century * Chablisstraße 4 – timber-frame house, partly solid, marked 1586, shop built in, 1919 * Chablisstraße 5 – timber-frame house, partly solid, jettying, marked 1626, addition in the back marked 1754, conversion possibly in the 19th century * Chablisstraße 65 – former ''Hertzners-Hollbachs Mühle'' (mill); timber-frame house, partly solid, early 18th century, window walling about 1600, possibly conversion marked 1719; one-floor commercial building, quarrystone, hipped mansard roof; whole complex of buildings * Heumarkt 15 – timber-frame house, earlier half of the 18th century * Heumarkt 17 – timber-frame house, plastered, partly shingled, early 18th century * Holzgasse 4 – timber-frame house, partly solid, marked 1576 * Holzgasse 6 – timber-frame house, plastered, early 17th century * Kirchstraße 18 –

Classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

plastered building, earlier half of the 19th century * Kirchstraße 20 – two- or three-floor timber-frame house, partly solid, latter half of the 15th century * Kirchstraße 39 – town

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

, so-called ''Mädchenschule'' (“girls’ school”); nine-axis

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

building, marked 1907 * At Kirchstraße 52 – door with skylight, mid 18th century * Kirchstraße 55 – ''Weißer Turm'' (“White Tower”) of the town wall * Koblenzer Straße 30 – former

House of Leyen The House von der Leyen und zu Hohengeroldseck is an ancient German noble family of princely and historically sovereign rank. As a former ruling and mediatized family, it belongs to the Hochadel (high nobility). History The origin can be ...

estate; five-axis lordly quarrystone building, marked 1745, addition possibly in the 19th century * Koblenzer Straße 57 – plastered timber-frame house, earlier half of the 19th century * Liebfrauenstraße 9 – shophouse; brick building with plastered façade, about 1920/1930 * At Liebfrauenstraße 10 – door,

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

frames, latter half of the 18th century * Liebfrauenstraße 17 – villa; brick building on two-floor basement, 1890 * Liebfrauenstraße 29 – former Catholic school, so-called ''Knabenschule'' (“boys’ school”); ten-axis building, building inspector F. Nebel, Koblenz, 1865 interior conversion, 1886 conversion, 1965/1966 entrance moved and addition * Liebfrauenstraße 29 a-b – two shophouses, 1908/1909 * Liebfrauenstraße 33 – wine cellar building; Swiss style, about 1865, expansion 1927/1928, conversion marked 1930; secondhand cellar lintel, marked 1654 * Liebfrauenstraße 47 – timber-frame house plastered, possibly early 19th century, triaxial addition in the 19th century * Liebfrauenstraße 58 – brick building, late 19th century * Mainzer Straße – Prussian

milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

, obelisk, about 1820 * Mainzer Straße (no number) –

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

; reception building 1858/1859, renovation and lavatory building 1925, expansion 1907/1908 * Mainzer Straße 6 – winemaker's villa, about 1900 * Marktplatz 1 – timber-frame house, partly solid, middle third of the 18th century * Marktplatz 4 – timber-frame house, partly solid, jettying, mid to late 17th century * Martinsberg (no number) – Catholic youth home; one- or two-floor plastered building, 1923–1925 * Martinsberg 3 – former sexton's hut of Saint Martin's Church; timber-frame house in mixed building styles, earlier half of the 17th century * Oberstraße 1 – brick building with knee wall, marked 1872 * Oberstraße 11/13 – former church of the

Minorite , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

monastery (''see also below''); two-naved basilica, 1270/1290 to 1340, sacristy, 13th to 15th century, cloister wing, essentially mediaeval, conversion in the 17th or 18th century, monastery wall;

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

group, earlier half of the 18th century; former grammar school, essentially mediaeval, 15th or 16th century, conversions from 17th to 19th century; former Electoral winery, timber-frame building, partly solid, mid 19th century; hall cellar, 15th or 16th century; whole complex of buildings * Rathausstraße 1 – quarrystone building, half-hipped roof, middle third of the 19th century; sandstone portal, marked 1629 * Rathausstraße 3 – three-floor quarrystone building, middle third of the 19th century, wooden sculpture of “Saint” Werner, about 1900 * Near Rathausstraße 5 – well,

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

hand pump, mid 19th century * Rathausstraße 6 – town hall; three-floor quarrystone building, partly slated timber framing, 1926/1927, architect T. Wildemans,

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

, central structure 1847-1850 * Rathausstraße 9 – shophouse, about 1910, Baroque cellar * Rathausstraße 14 – old bakehouse; one-and-a-half-floor timber-frame house, mid 19th century, conversion 1885; secondhand corner upright, marked 1659 * At Rathausstraße 16 – inscription on gateway arch in capitals: ''Annis Cum Centum a Suecis Exu(sta) 1719 (on the keystone) Mar(tin) Augsthalers ope refecta fui''; door and skylight, early 18th century * Rathausstraße 23 – brick building, about 1865 * Rheinstraße 5 – timber-frame house, partly solid, marked 1765 * Rheinstraße 7 – three-floor timber-frame house, partly solid, possibly from the 17th century, additions and conversions in the 18th and 20th centuries * Schaarplatz 4 – five-axis brick building, mixed building styles from Classicist and

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

, marked 1887 * Steingasse 6 – timber-frame house, partly solid, earlier half of the 17th century, addition in the 18th century * Unterstraße 1 – timber-frame house, partly solid, marked 1658, possibly conversion in the 19th century * Unterstraße 8 – ''Haus Schönburg''; L-shaped, three-floor quarrystone building, second fourth of the 19th century (before 1850), essentially possibly mediaeval, Schönburg coat of arms, ''Schönburger Turm'' (tower) of the town wall incorporated * Unterstraße 12-14 – estate of the Eberbach Monastery with Saint Catherine's Chapel; aisleless church, possibly from the latter half of the 14th century; two-winged estate building, solid and Fachwerk, earlier half of the 18th century; whole complex of buildings * Unterstraße 18 – ''Haus Gertum'', quarrystone building, hipped roof, about 1830 * Wernerstraße 1 – plastered timber-frame house, 18th century * Border stones, west of town – seven border stones, one marked 1616 *

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

graveyard (on the ''Graue Lay'', northwest of Oberwesel) (monumental zone) – opened in the earlier half of the 18th century, expanded possibly in the earlier half of the 19th century with building of the two main paths; with iron pale fence and gate with Star of David from the late 19th century; fenced area with 66 gravestones: 9 from the 18th century, mainly 19th and early 20th century, newest gravestone 1942 * ''Kalvarienbergkapelle'' (“Mount Calvary Chapel”) and Stations of the Cross, Auf’m Kalvarienberg – Gothic Revival quarrystone aisleless church, 1843–1845; remnants of a Crucifixion group; 12 Stations of the Cross, '' Bildstock'' type, including two small chapels, from 1849 on;

Lamentation of Christ The Lamentation of Christ is a very common subject in Christian art from the High Middle Ages to the Baroque. After Jesus was crucified, his body was removed from the cross and his friends mourned over his body. This event has been depicted by m ...

, 16th century; whole complex of buildings * Warriors’ memorial 1866 and 1870/1871, near the Schönburg, across from the youth hostel – towards 1895, design by Heinrich Schuler,

Kirchheimbolanden Kirchheimbolanden (), the capital of Donnersbergkreis, is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, south-western Germany. It is situated approximately 25 km west of Worms, and 30 km north-east of Kaiserslautern. The first part of the name, ''Ki ...

* Niederbachstraße 120 – ''Schneidersmühle'' (mill), timber-frame house, partly solid, 18th century, essentially older, marked 1607, painting work from the 19th century, millrace; whole complex of buildings with shed * Transformer tower, at the castle gate on the ''Momering'' – 1922, architect possibly T. Wildeman * Tunnel portals – portals of the ''Kammerecktunnel'' and ''Bettunnel'', mid 19th century

Weiler-Boppard

* Am Weinberg 60 –

Saint Apollonia Saint Apollonia ( el, Αγία Απολλωνία, cop, Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲁⲡⲟⲗⲗⲟⲛⲓⲁ) was one of a group of virgin martyrs who suffered in Alexandria during a local uprising against the Christians prior to the persecution of Decius ...

’s Chapel (''St.-Apollonia-Kapelle''); aisleless church, earlier half of the 18th century * Near Am Weinberg 60 – bakehouse, one-floor plastered building, 1830/1840

Dellhofen

* Holy Cross Catholic Church (''Kirche zum Heiligen Kreuz''), Rheinhöhenstraße 24 – tower of the previous, Gothic Revival church, 1875/1876, nave under asymmetrically set saddle roof, 1961 * Rheinhöhenstraße 19 – timber-frame ''Quereinhaus'' (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), partly solid and slated, early 19th century * Rheinhöhenstraße 26 – bakehouse; one-floor brick building, latter half of the 19th century * Schulweg 6/8 – single-peak building; timber-frame building, mid 18th century

Engehöll

Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of Sorrows ( la, Beata Maria Virgo Perdolens), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows ( la, Mater Dolorosa, link=no), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names ...

Catholic Church (branch church; ''Filialkirche zur Schmerzhaften Muttergottes''), Am Kapellenberg – quarrystone aisleless church, 1923–1925

Langscheid

* Saint Nicholas’s Catholic Church (branch church; ''Filialkirche St. Nikolaus''), Pfalzgrafenstraße 2 – aisleless church, 1782/1783, lengthening and new tower; whole complex of buildings with surrounding area * Bacharacher Straße 2 – bakehouse; plastered timber-frame building, marked 1888 * Brunnenweg 1 – timber-frame ''Quereinhaus'', late 19th or early 20th century * Kirchweg 1 – timber-frame ''Quereinhaus'', partly solid, marked 1718, barn 19th century; whole complex of buildings * Oberweseler Straße 4 – timber-frame ''Quereinhaus'', partly solid, stable building; whole complex of buildings * Pfalzgrafenstraße 1 – school; plastered timber-frame building, partly slated, 1841 * Pfalzgrafenstraße 51 – timber-frame ''Quereinhaus'', partly solid, 1916; former village smithy, partly slated, marked 19(2)3; whole complex of buildings

Further information about buildings and sites

The town wall, which was built in the early 13th century and some of whose parts are open to the public, was expanded and strengthened in the 14th century, and with 16 defensive towers – among them the ''Hospitalgassenturm'' (“Hospital Lane Tower”), the ''Steingassenturm'' (“Stone Lane Tower”), the ''Katzenturm'' (“Cats’ Tower”) and the ''Ochsenturm'' (“Ox’s Tower”), which is crenellated and has an octagonal top tower, making it a type of

butter-churn tower A butter-churn tower (german: Butterfassturm) is a two-part defensive tower in which the upper section has a smaller width than the lower section. This design provides a ledge or fighting platform about half-way up that acts as a chemin de rond ...

(''Butterfassturm'') – is the best preserved girding wall anywhere on the Rhine Gorge. There was planning to open further sections to the public in 2006. “Saint” Werner's Chapel is nowadays more properly known as the ''Mutter-Rosa-Kapelle'', since its consecration to Werner has been rescinded and Werner has been stricken from the roll of saints. The chapel is now named after Rosa Flesch, the founder of a Franciscan order in the 19th century. Physically, it actually consists only of the quire of the chapel attached to the hospital, which itself was destroyed in 1689. Building work on the Church of Our Lady (''Liebfrauenkirche'', or ''Pfarrkirche Liebfrauen'' as it is styled above) began in 1308. In 1331, the church was consecrated and it was completed in 1375. It was built on the spot once occupied by another church, which was first mentioned in 1213. From the old church, the new one took over an endowment for secular clergy (as opposed to regular clergy). Given its architecture and appointments (golden altar, rood screen, wall paintings), it is among the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

’s most important Gothic churches. Giordano-Bruno-Stiftung Haus Weitblick

Saint Martin’s Church, too, is a Gothic building that arose on a foregoing church’s old site. It was built in 1350, but was not finished owing to strained finances. The tower, which in the Wesel War was incorporated into the town wall as a defensive structure, is an illustrative example of ecclesiastical defensive architecture in the Rhineland. Much of the Gothic appointments has been destroyed. Preserved, however, are a few wall paintings from about 1500 to 1600. The Minorite monastery was a Franciscan institution founded in 1242 and dissolved in 1802 by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. In the great town fire of 1836, it was destroyed, and has been a ruin ever since. ''Haus Weitblick'' was opened in 2011. It is the seat of the Giordano Bruno Foundation and the seat of the Institute for Secular Law.

Museums

* ''Museum der Stadt Oberwesel'' (town museum at the ''Kulturhaus Oberwesel - Kulturstiftung Hütte'')

Regular events

* Yearly concert ''Wir machen Musik'' (“We make/are making music”) staged by the Oberwesel “Kolping” family * ''Weinhexennacht'' (“Wine Witches’ Night”) * ''Mittelalterliches Spectaculum Oberwesel'' (“Mediaeval Spectacle”) at

Whitsun Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the ...

in even-numbered years * ''Mittelrhein-Marathon'' from Oberwesel to Koblenz in June * ''

Rhein in Flammen Rhein in Flammen (English: "Rhine in Flames") is the name of five different firework displays along the river Rhine in Germany. The displays take place annually, at various locations along the river. On the five different dates, brightly illuminat ...

- Nacht der 1000 Feuer'' (“Night of the Thousand Fires”) with traditional parade on following Sunday, each year on the second Saturday in September * Wine market on the marketplace and on Rathausstraße, on each second and third weekend in September

Winegrowing

Within the Middle Rhine wine region, Oberwesel is one of the biggest

winegrowing Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

centres. The winemaking appellation – ''Großlage'' – of Schloss Schönburg encompasses 72 ha. Individual winemakers within this appellation – ''Einzellagen'' – are Sieben Jungfrauen, Oelsberg, Bienenberg, St. Martinsberg, Goldemund, Bernstein and Römerkrug. The

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...

s are steeply terraced and 80% of the area is planted with

Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...

and 20% with other white grape varieties (

Müller-Thurgau Müller-Thurgau is a white grape variety (sp. ''Vitis vinifera'') which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882 at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute in Germany. It is a crossing of Riesling with Madeleine ...

, Kerner,

Pinot blanc Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produces white ...

) and less often with red varieties ( Pinot noir,

Dornfelder Dornfelder is a dark-skinned variety of grape of German origin used for red wine.

). All kinds of wine (mild, half-dry and dry) and quality levels (''Prädikat Kabinett'' to the odd

ice wine Ice wine (or icewine; german: Eiswein) is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, allowing for a more concentrated grape ...

) are produced. Recently in the Oelsberg vineyards, some light '' Flurbereinigung'' was undertaken, and the now newly planted vineyards have been provided with an irrigation facility. This was meant to safeguard this traditional ''Einzellage'', for not only will it spare the winemakers some work, but it will also ensure good yields even in dry summers. Some of the 30 or so winemaking estates in town have been under family ownership for more than 200 years; some also keep wine bars in the town.

Famous people

Sons and daughters of the town

* Johann von Wesel (b. 1425; d. 1481 in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

), German theologian * Joseph Adamy (b.1778; d. 1849), mine owner and politician * August Zeuner (b. 6 September 1913; d. 1976), German politician ( CDU), Member of the Landtag (Rhineland-Palatinate) * Johann Peter Josten (b. 15 July 1915), German politician (CDU), Member of the Bundestag, (Rhineland-Palatinate) * Wilhelm Lauer (b. 1923; d. 2007), geographer and university professor * Alfred Gottschalk (b. 7 March 1930; d. 12 September 2009), German-born American

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

, leader in the

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...

movement * Robert Brahm (b. 25 August 1956), auxiliary bishop in Trier * Eberhard Lauer (b. 1956), church musician * Carl Johann Haag (b. 20 April 1820, d 17 January 1915) Orientalist watercolour painter and Höfmaler to the Duke of Saxe Coburg Gotha

References

External links

*
Town's official webpage

''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Sankt Goar-Oberwesel

by

Georg Braun Georg Braun (also ''Brunus, Bruin''; 1541 – 10 March 1622) was a German topo-geographer. From 1572 to 1617, he edited the ''Civitates orbis terrarum,'' which contains 546 prospects, bird's-eye views and maps of cities from all around the ...

and Frans Hogenberg {{Authority control Towns in Rhineland-Palatinate Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis Middle Rhine