The Rheingau Mountains or Rheingau Hills form the westernmost section of the

High Taunus The High Taunus () is the name of a major natural region unit (no. 301) in the Hessian Central Uplands range of the Taunus mountains and forms the area immediately around the main ridge of the Taunus. It should not be confused with the term Hoc ...

and extend for 20 kilometres in a south-west to north-east direction between the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

valley near Lorch and

Assmannshausen Assmannshausen is, since its incorporation in 1977, a quarter of Rüdesheim am Rhein in the Rheingau, located on the Rhine in the state of Hesse, Germany. The village has a lithium spring, spa and a Kurhaus, and is famed for its red wine (Assmannsh ...

in the west and the Walluf valley near Schlangenbad in the east. The highest point is the 619-metre-high mountain of Kalte Herberge. The

Rheinhöhenweg Trail The Rheinhöhenweg Trail is a popular hiking trail on the mountains of the Rhine Valley. It leads from the Lower Rhine in Bonn passing the Lorelei, Loreley up to the Upper Rhine. There is a Rheinhöhenweg Trail on both sides of the Rhine River ...

on the right bank of the Rhine runs along the ridgeline of the mountains which are part of the main crest of the Taunus.

Location and surroundings

The Rheingau Mountains are part of the

Rheingau The Rheingau (; ) is a region on the northern side of the Rhine between the German towns of Wiesbaden and Lorch, Hesse, Lorch near Frankfurt, reaching from the Western Taunus to the Rhine. It is situated in the German state of Hesse and is part ...

region and lie within the county of

Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis Rheingau-Taunus is a Kreis (Districts of Germany, district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis is part of the Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt region; its main administrative seat is Bad Schwalbach. Outposted sections of the local ad ...

. The centre of the Rheingau Mountains is formed by the

ridge line A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphology, geomorphologic landform, Structural geology, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow ...

from the Kalter Herberge to the 580p-metre-high Erbacher Kopf. There is no point in four kilometres that is lower than 560 metres. About one kilometre southeast of the Kalter Herberge, and thus in front of the ridge line, the Hallgarter Zange also reaches a height of 580 meters. Here is a highly visible observation tower, which has been accessible again since the opening of an

adventure park An adventure park is a place which can contain a wide variety of elements, including but not limited to, rope climbing exercises, obstacle courses, bouldering, rock climbing, target oriented activities, and zip-lines. They are usually intended for ...

in 2015. Due to its south-facing location, the Hallgarter Zange appears from the Rhine as the highest elevation and partially covers the ''Kalte Herberge''. To the south, the Rheingau Mountains drop steeply down to the vineyards of the Rheingau. To the north, it is adjoined by the wooded valleys of the

Wisper The Wisper is a river in Hesse, Germany, right tributary of the Rhine. Its source is in the western Taunus, Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district, near a small village named Wisper (municipality Heidenrod). It flows southwest through a densely forested ...

valley, such as the ''Äpfelbachtal'' and the

Ernstbach Ernstbach is a -long river of Hesse, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Wisper River in the Taunus mountains, part of the Rhine River system. See also *List of rivers of Hesse This is a list of rivers of Hesse, Germany: A * Aar, tribu ...

valley nestling in the unpopulated area of hinterland forest. North of the summit ridge runs the ''Rheingau Gebück'', the historical Rheingau

Landwehr ''Landwehr'' (), or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national army, armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fo ...

References

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