Geisenheim is a town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the '' Regierungsbezirk'' of

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

in Hessen, Germany, and is known as ''Weinstadt'' (“Wine Town”), ''Schulstadt'' (“School Town”), ''Domstadt'' (“Cathedral Town”) and ''Lindenstadt'' (“Linden Tree Town”).

Geography

Location

Geisenheim lies on the Rhine’s right bank between Wiesbaden and Rüdesheim, 3 km away to the west. Mainz lies 21 km away to the east.

Neighbouring communities

Geisenheim borders in the north on the town of Lorch, in the east on the town of Oestrich-Winkel, in the south on the towns of Ingelheim and Bingen (both in Mainz-Bingen in Rhineland-Palatinate) and in the west on the town of Rüdesheim.

Constituent communities

The town of Geisenheim is divided into four '' Stadtteile'': the main town (also called Geisenheim), Johannisberg (Grund, Berg, Schloßheide), Marienthal and Stephanshausen. Johannisberg might well be the best known of Geisenheim’s constituent communities, being the birthplace of '' Spätlese'' (more precisely, the systematic production of '' Auslesen''), and being known worldwide for its appellation. 50th quadrilateral

At '' Schloss Johannisberg'', a statue today still recalls the unknown ''Spätlesereiter'' (“Late Harvest Rider”). Through the vineyards here, below the ''Schloss'' runs the 50th parallel of north latitude. Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich acquired the ''Schloss'' domain in 1816 after the Congress of Vienna from its former holder, Emperor Franz I as a gift. Marienthal gets its name from the nearby Marienthal Monastery. The monastery is well known for its ''Marienwallfahrt'' ( pilgrimage), and here was also the world's first monastery printing shop.

Climate

Geisenheim has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

( Köppen: ''Cfb''), although slightly more extreme than coastal cities, the city is still strongly influenced by the west winds due to flat relief and the presence of inland seas. The relatively mild climate makes the cidae one of the leading regions of quality wines, as well as elsewhere in

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

(covered with hills that protect from the cold in the

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

). The weather station has been operating since 1884 and is maintained by the

DWD The () or DWD for short, is the German Meteorological Service, based in Offenbach am Main, Germany, which monitors weather and meteorological conditions over Germany and provides weather services for the general public and for nautical, aviati ...

's Department of Agricultural Meteorology, near the local state university. The annual precipitation of precipitation is higher than 50 mm between May and September being the most humid, and between January and April the precipitation is less than 40 mm, being the driest. Being close to or equal to 50 °N the duration of sunshine varies greatly between winter and summer ranging from 1.2 hours to 7.2 hours, from December to July. July is the warmest with 23.9 °C high average, going from fresh to hot. The average low in the winter is -1.2 °C, although they are above average during the afternoon.

History

Geisenheim had its first documentary mention in 772 and has belonged since the Middle Ages to the

Archbishopric of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz (german: Kurfürstentum Mainz or ', la, Electoratus Moguntinus), 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 ...

and later to the Duchy of Nassau, the Kingdom of Prussia and the state of Hesse. Since 1864, Geisenheim has held town rights.

Politics

Town council

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:

Coat of arms

File:Wappen Geisenheim.png, Geisenheim's old arms until 1977 File:Wappen-Geisenheim.png, New arms since 1977 with the Stephanshausen dragon File:DEU Johannisberg (Geisenheim) COA.png, Johannisberg's former arms File:DEU Stephanshausen COA.png, Stephanshausen's former arms The town's

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

might be described thus: Argent two towers with peaked roofs, between them a covered passage at the second floor, in the chief a wheel spoked of six, in the base a two-legged, winged, fire-breathing dragon sinister reguardant, a lance thrust through its mouth, the point protruding from the neck, the whole gules. After municipal reform in 1972, the town's arms were also adjusted insofar as the charges were altered to reflect the town's absorption of several nearby villages, at least two of which had borne arms. The two former wheel charges – the “ Wheels of Mainz” – were replaced with charges from the arms formerly borne by these outlying centres, above with a rather similar-looking wheel, but with six spokes instead of eight (from Johannisberg's arms), and below with a dragon pierced through the mouth and neck with a lance (from Stephanshausen's arms).

Town partnerships

The town of Geisenheim maintains partnerships with the following places: * Puligny-Montrachet,

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.France *

Chauvigny Chauvigny (; Poitevin dialect, Poitevin: ''Chôvigni'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Vienne Departments of France, department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regions of France, region in western France. Chauvigny is located east of Poitiers ...

, Vienne, France *

Trino Trino ( pms, Trin) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vercelli in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about southwest of Vercelli, at the foot of the Montferrat hills. Trino borders the following mun ...

, Vercelli, Piedmont, Italy * Szerencs, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Hungary

Culture and sightseeing

Right before the town hall is found the great Linden tree, which stands as a symbol of the town. This tree is believed to be 700 years old. In the 1970s the tree lost its top to disease. Each year in the second week of July, the ''Lindenfest'' is held with the ''Stunde der Heimat'' (the “Homeland’s Hour”, during which citizens who have distinguished themselves are honoured) in the streets between the cathedral and the town hall.

Buildings

Resembling a cathedral, the

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church ''Heilig Kreuz'' (Holy Cross) was finished by twin-towers only in the 19th century, similar to the cathedral in Cologne, and is therefore also called

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 bishop's seat. The present building was begun in the 16th ...

. The architect of the neo-gothic facade and the towers was Philipp Hoffmann who also built landmarks in Wiesbaden. Nave and quire from the early 16th century, important tombs and rich interior décor and the rare Stumm

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

from the romantic period make it worth seeing. At the ''Pfefferzoll'' (“Pepper Toll”), ships sailing by town were once charged a

toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road toll (historic) The road toll was a historical fee charged to travellers and ...

in what was then a valuable spice. The little house with the lovely

oriel window An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window is most commonly found pro ...

today stands more than 200 m from the Rhine in the southeast Old Town. Furthermore, there is the Evangelical church, built in the Romanesque Revival style about 1897.

Palaces

In the town's east and west stand old palaces. Schloss Schönborn from 1550 stands at the railway station in the middle of an enclosed vineyard and is a popular spot for photographers. This palace today still belongs to the Counts of Schönborn-Wiesenheidt. Great parts of the palace complex, however, are in a bad state. Other palaces: * Palais Ostein, a horseshoe-shaped complex from the 18th century, about 1815 the grand middle building was abandoned owing to a division of the estate. Today owned by the ''St. Ursula-Schule''. * Villa Monrepos, representative building in a great park, builder: Eduard von Lade (founder of the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute), built in the 19th century. * Schloss Kosakenberg (formerly Ingelheim), complex above the railway station, from the 17th century, today a winery, restaurant and music school. * Zwierleinsches Palais, standing above Schloss Kosakenberg, after many conversions, it today serves as a multiple dwelling; the Baroque park has given way to a housing estate.

Sport

* ''Rheingaustadion'' with grass playing field and plastic athletics complex (''Kellersgrube'') * ''Rheingaubad'' (indoor

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

, together with Rüdesheim and the district)

Regular events

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, ...

at Schloss Johannisberg, in the Rheingau CathedralRheingauer Dom
on the Rheingau Musik Festival website (German/English) (and in the whole Rheingau) * Second weekend in July: ''Geisenheimer Lindenfest'' with the ''Stunde der Heimat'' * First weekend in September: Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute's ''Tage der offenen Tür'' (“Open-Door Days”)

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Running by Geisenheim is '' Bundesstraße'' 42 linking Wiesbaden with

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...

. On the

Right Rhine railway The East Rhine Railway (German: ''Rechte Rheinstrecke'', literally 'right (of the) Rhine railway') is a major, double-track, electrified railway line, running along the right bank of the Rhine from Cologne to Wiesbaden. The -long line forms two D ...

, Wiesbaden can be reached within 30 minutes, or in about an hour on the regional bus. Since 2007, the Köln-Düsseldorfer Rheinschiffahrt, a well known Rhine passenger ship concern, has linked the centres of Marienthal, Johannisberg and Stephanshausen with Geisenheim. There is even a landing stage for small, private boats without a set route plan.

Education

Geisenheim has its cluster of schools to thank for its reputation as a school town: * Geisenheim primary school and

Hauptschule A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...

* St. Ursula-Schule (private, Catholic Gymnasium) * Internatsschule Schloss Hansenberg (

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

), school for exceptional students * Rheingauschule (Gymnasium) * Vocational schools with, among other things, ''Handelsschule'' and ''Fachoberschule'' * Berufliche Schulen Rheingau, Geisenheim (vocational school) * Leopold-Bausinger-Schule (

special school Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

) * Geisenheim municipal library Since 1872, Geisenheim has been home to the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute for

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 ...

and horticulture. In 1894 the

Geisenheim Yeast Breeding Center The Geisenheim Yeast Breeding Center was founded in 1894 and is located in the town of Geisenheim, in Germany's Rheingau. History In 1876 Swiss-born professor Hermann Müller joined the Geisenheim Institute, where he developed his namesake gr ...

was founded. In Johannisberg is found Schloss Hansenberg. Since 2003 it has been an ''Oberstufengymnasium'' for especially well performing students.

Famous people

Sons and daughters of the town

Jakob Christmann Jakob Christmann (born November 1554 in Johannisberg ( Rheingau), Geisenheim – 16 June 1613 in Heidelberg) was a German Orientalist who also studied problems of astronomy. Life Christmann, a Jew who converted before 1578 to Christianity, ...

, (1554-1613), Orientalist, born in Johannisberg * Philipp Hoffmann, (1806-1889), architect and building master * Peter Josef Blum, (1808-1884), Bishop of Limburg * Heinrich Eduard von Lade, (1817-1904), banker, diplomat, gardener and plant cultivator as well as amateur astronomer. Founder of the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute, Geisenheim's first honorary citizen * Gustav Dresel, (1818-1848), writer * Lorenz Werthmann, (1858-1921), founder of Caritas * Peter Spring, (1882-1945 in

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

), gardener, learned fruit-growing technologist, social democrat and pacifist * Hans Burgeff, (1883-1976), botanist * Gustav Gundlach, (1892-1963), Catholic social ethicist, social philosopher and social scientist * Helmut Becker, (1927-1990), grape cultivator and lecturer.

People associated with the town

Heinrich Birk Heinrich Birk (1898 – 1973) was a German viticulturist. He was head of the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute. Heinrich Birk studied philosophy at the University of Giessen after his initial graduation 1920–1923 in agronomy at the university ...

(1898–1973), winegrowing expert, died in Geisenheim * Franz Schramm (1887–1966), Hessian minister of culture 1946–1947 * Franz Josef Jung (born 1949), politician (CDU), jurist, defence minister 2005-2009 and former student at the Rheingauschule

References

External links

*
Marienthal Monastery
*

Documents

Bild 1 von Geisenheim aus J.F. Dielmann, A. Fay, J. Becker (Zeichner): F.C. Vogels Panorama des Rheins, Bilder des rechten und linken Rheinufers, Lithographische Anstalt F.C. Vogel, Frankfurt 1833Bild 2 von Geisenheim aus J.F. Dielmann, A. Fay, J. Becker (Zeichner): F.C. Vogels Panorama des Rheins, Bilder des rechten und linken Rheinufers, Lithographische Anstalt F.C. Vogel, Frankfurt 1833
{{Authority control Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis Rheingau