The Rheingau (; ) is a region on the northern side of 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 ...

between the German towns of

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

and Lorch near

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, reaching from the Western

Taunus The Taunus () is a mountain range in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located north west of Frankfurt and north of Wiesbaden. The tallest peak in the range is '' Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are '' Kleiner Feldberg' ...

to the Rhine. It is situated in the German state of

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

and is part of the

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 ...

administrative district Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

. It is famous for

Rheingau wine Rheingau () is one of 13 designated German wine#Regions, German wine regions (''Weinbaugebiete'') producing German wine classification#Quality categories, quality wines (''QbA'' and ''Prädikatswein''). It was named after the traditional region o ...

s, especially the "Rheingauer

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 ...

," and its many taverns.The Rheingau
/ref>

History

The Rheingau was a '' Gau'' or county of the

Frankish Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lomba ...

, bordered by the

Niddagau Nidda () is a town in the district Wetteraukreis, Wetterau, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated on the Nidda (river), Nidda river, approximately northeast of Frankfurt am Main. Division of the town The municipality consists of the districts Unter ...

, the Maingau, the Oberrheingau, and the

Lahngau The Lahngau was a medieval territory comprising the middle and lower Lahn River valley in the current German states of Hesse and (partially) Rhineland-Palatinate. The traditional names of the Gau are ''Loganahe Pagus'' or ''Pagus Logenensis''. Th ...

; the counts of the Rheingau were known as

Rhinegrave (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

s. The first Rhinegrave on record is Hato VI (937–960).Rheingraf
at ''

Meyers Konversationslexikon or was a major encyclopedia in the German language that existed in various editions, and by several titles, from 1839 to 1984, when it merged with the . Joseph Meyer (1796–1856), who had founded the publishing house in 1826, intended to i ...

'', 1888 Since the

Ingelheim Imperial Palace The Ingelheim Imperial Palace () was an important imperial palace erected in the second half of the 8th century in Germany. It served kings of Francia and later Holy Roman Emperors and Kings as a residenz and place for governance until the 11th ce ...

was on the other bank of the Rhine, important imperial assemblies have taken place in the region since

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

. In 983,

Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. Otto II was ...

, gave the Rheingau, together with other territories, to the

Archbishopric of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...

during the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

. When the Archbishopric was dissolved in 1806, the Rheingau was given to the

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German language, German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what became the Germany, German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a States of the Confederation of th ...

Gallery

Image:Assmannshausen Hoellenberg.jpg , Rheingau valley with the

Image:Burg-Rheinberg-JR-G6-2607-2008-08-17.jpg , Rheinberg castle

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

ruins, near Lorch Image:RheinPanoNiederwaldD501m.jpg, View from the Niederwald-Monument into the Rheingau Image:2010-05-16 Schloss Vollrads.jpg,

Schloss Vollrads Schloss Vollrads is a castle and a wine estate in the Rheingau wine-growing region in Germany. It has been making wine for over 800 years. History After the donation of Verona in 983 the archbishopric of Mainz, the new owner, invested in v ...

near Oestrich-Winkel Image:Drosselgasse1.jpg, The Drosselgasse in Rüdesheim File:Biedermeier-Pärchen und Kurfürstliche Burg Eltville.jpg,

Eltville Castle Eltville Castle (Burg Eltville) is an urban castle in Eltville am Rhein in the Hesse, Hessian county of Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, Rheingau-Taunus and is the symbol of the town. In German the castle is also known as the ''Kurfürstliche Burg'' (''Elec ...

File:Rheingauer Dom, Geisenheim, Northwest view 20140916 1.jpg, The

Rheingauer Dom is the colloquial name for the Catholic parish church in Geisenheim, Germany. Officially (Holy Cross), the large church in the Rheingau region is called ''Dom'' although it was never a Cathedra, bishop's seat. The present building was begun in th ...

Geisenheim Geisenheim is a town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany, and is known as ''Weinstadt'' (“Wine Town”), ''Schulstadt'' (“School Town”), ''Domstadt'' (“Cathedral Town� ...

Events

*The

Rheingau Musik Festival The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...

takes place every year in July and August in many locations throughout the region. *The Rheingau Wine Festival takes place in Wiesbaden every year in August. *Most towns celebrate their own annual wine festival.

References

External links

German wine regions: Rheingau
{{coord missing, Hesse 1866 disestablishments States and territories established in the 930s Former states and territories of Hesse Carolingian counties Upper Rhine