Lorch, Hesse
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Lorch am Rhein () is a small town in 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 ...
in the 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 the ...
in
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 ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. It belongs to the Rhine Gorge World Heritage Site.


Geography


Location

The town is characterized by winegrowing and
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
. Lorch lies in the southwestern 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 ...
in the foothills of the Rheingaugebirge (range), some 10 km north of the bend in 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 ...
near Rüdesheim. The town owes its picturesque setting in the Middle Rhine Valley between Rüdesheim am Rhein and Sankt Goarshausen to its location at the mouth of the Wisper and to its steep
vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...
s. The town's municipal area stretches into the richly wooded Wisper valley along ''Landesstraße'' (State Road) 3033 between Lorch and the district seat of Bad Schwalbach. The town is a state-recognized recreational resort (''Erholungsort''). The Rheinsteig, the new hiking trail on the Rhine's right bank leading from
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 ...
to
Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
, runs on the Rhine heights. In the Rhine near Lorch lies the island and nature conservation area called Lorcher Werth.


Constituent communities

Lorch's '' Stadtteile'' (subdivisions of the town), besides the main town, also called Lorch, are Lorchhausen, Espenschied, Ransel, Ranselberg, and Wollmerschied.


History

The area was settled quite early on, first by the
Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
, and then, during the Christian Era, by the
Ubii 350px, The Ubii around AD 30 The Ubii were a Germanic tribe first encountered dwelling on the east bank of the Rhine in the time of Julius Caesar, who formed an alliance with them in 55 BC in order to launch attacks across the river. They were ...
and later the Mattiaci. In the first century CE, the Romans advanced to the Taunus. The Alamanni followed, and with the onset of the
Migration Period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...
, the
Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
. The town's oldest documentary mention is a document from 1085 in which Archbishop Wezilo documented a donation, from Mainz Cathedral Canon Embricho to the cathedral chapter, of a number of holdings, among them a house and vineyards in Lorch. In the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, Lorch served as the northern bastion of the Archbishopric of Mainz facing toward 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 ...
. Beginning in the twelfth century, Lorch found itself at the southern end of the ''Rheingauer Gebück'', a kind of border defence made out of an impenetrable “hedge” of stunted trees (the word itself comes from the German root of ''bücken'', meaning “stoop”, a reference to the trees’ thick, low boughs). This was put in place by the Archbishops of Mainz. In the thirteenth century, a parish first documented in 1254 was established in Lorch. In 1460, 1631, 1794, and in the final phase of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, there was warfare in Lorch, which sometimes brought considerable destruction.


Twentieth century

On 10 January 1919, the Free State of Bottleneck, a provisional statelike entity between occupation zones after the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, was proclaimed, with Lorch as ''de facto'' “capital”. Even today, many of the microstate’s
coats of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic ac ...
in the town still recall this time. In the early 1960s, the Bundeswehr came to town with its ''Flugabwehrregiment 5'' (“Antiaircraft Regiment 5”). A new settlement, the Ranselberg, was built for soldiers and their families. The barracks in the picturesque Wisper Valley represented an important economic factor for the town of Lorch. Many local people found work in the barracks, the attached post administration, the munitions depot, the equipment depot, and the sanitary depot. In the course of Bundeswehr reform, the barracks were closed in 1993. At the site, the underground ''Gerätehauptdepot Lorch-Wispertal'' (“Main Equipment Depot”) and the likewise underground ''Sanitätshauptdepot Lorch-Rheingau'' (“Main Sanitary Depot”) remained. In November 2003, the complete abandonment of the Bundeswehr post was announced. The sanitary company was to be withdrawn in early 2008. By 31 December 2007, the ''Sanitätshauptdepot'' was to be dissolved, and a year later the ''Gerätehauptdepot'' was to disappear. Some 280 civilians would thereby lose their jobs. Meanwhile, various businesses have set up in the abandoned Bundeswehr facilities, which has offset the job losses due to the military's pullout to a certain extent.


Religion

Lorch's character is mostly
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, and serving this community is the Gothic church St. Martin. St. Bonifatius, Lorchhausen, serves the Lorchhausen village. Since 1908, the
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
parishioners have been gathering in a church room in a house at Oberweg 4.


Politics


Town council

The five-yearly municipal elections yielded the following results:


Mayor

On June 16, 2019, Ivo Reßler (independent) was elected mayor with 51.2 percent of the votes in a runoff against incumbent Jürgen Helbing (CDU). Voter turnout was 63.6 percent. He took office on February 1, 2020.


Former Mayors


Town partnerships

* Ligugé, Vienne,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
since 1976 * Saint-Benoît, Vienne, France since 1976 "Adopted wine town": * Gütersloh,
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...


Culture and sightseeing

Culturally and politically, Lorch is part of the Hessian
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 ...
.


Museums

The ''Robert-Struppmann-Museum'' is the town's local history
museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...
. It houses valuable carvings, documents, sculptures, and sacral objects, among other things a woodcarving of
John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
's severed head from the twelfth century and the seated Madonna with Christ Child and grapes from the early fourteenth century. It is open weekend afternoons in spring, summer, and autumn and also serves as a tourist information centre. There are many brochures to be had there for free. Moreover, books about Lorch's history and winegrowing are on sale there.


Buildings

* The
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
''Pfarrkirche St. Martin'' (Saint Martin's Parish Church) was completed in the fourteenth century. The Gothic building was built over the remains of a still partly preserved Late Romanesque
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...
. Its centrepiece is the high
altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...
by the master Hans from
Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...
, installed in 1483. As the biggest, and perhaps first-carved altar, originally conceived as monochrome, it is of outstanding value for
art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...
.St. Martin, Lorch
on the World Heritage website The church therefore is secured, but open for visitors between Easter and October on Saturdays between 14:00 and 17:00 and on Sundays between 11:00 and 17:00. * ''Hilchenhaus'', from the mid sixteenth century, is well known as the "loveliest
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
building on the Middle Rhine". At this time, however, it is a ruin owing to a failed hotel-building venture whose construction work wrought various damages and marring. Sadly, there is no money to renovate it again. * Nollig ruins, are the remains of the old town fortifications on a craggy ridge overlooking the town. * The ''Strunk'' (“Stump”), is an old fortification tower from 1527, which once also served as a prison. * ''Leprosenhaus'' (“Leprosy House”) with Round Tower – here in the Middle Ages, lepers were given care; at the time it still lay outside the town. * ''Hexenturm'' (" Witches' Tower") – this served in the Middle Ages to keep wrongdoers and witches under lock and key. It was last used in the early eighteenth century.


Regular events

* ''Tal total'' is held yearly on the last Saturday in June. On this day, ''
Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...
'' 42 between Rüdesheim and
Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...
on the Rhine's right bank and ''Bundesstraße'' 9 on the left between Bingen and Koblenz are closed to motorized traffic and left free for cyclists and skaters. * '' Kerb'' (church consecration festival) is held yearly on the weekend after 8 September. * ''Kulturtage'' (“Culture Days”), occurs in late September and early October; theatre, concerts, exhibitions. * ''Weihnachtsmarkt'' (“Christmas Market”), is held annually on the Saturday before the onset of Advent. * Rheingau Musik Festival has held an annual concert in the church St. Martin, typically an organ concert, since 1988.


Economy and infrastructure


Transport

Lorch lies on ''
Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...
'' 42 (
Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...
–Wiesbaden) and the
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
line that roughly parallels it. It is some 40 km to the
Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...
interchange in
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 ...
where the B 42 meets the A 66 going towards
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 ...
. There is a connection to the Autobahn “cross” at
Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
( A 61/ A 60, Cologne/Koblenz/Ludwigshafen) across the Wiesbaden-Schierstein bridge over the Rhine; and by way of the Rhine ferries at Lorch and Kaub to the on-ramps at Laudert and Rheinböllen (about 15 km). The town is served by regional services on the East Rhine Railway sponsored by the
Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund The Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) is a List of German transport associations, transport association that covers the Public transport, public transport network of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main area in Germany. Its head offi ...
. Moreover, there is the Wiesbaden-Lorchhausen ORN (''Omnibusverkehr Rhein-Nahe'') busline. The Rheinsteig, the new hiking trail from
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 ...
to
Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
by way of the Ehrenbreitstein fort runs on the Rhine heights of Lorch. After dealings with the '' Bundesvermögensverwaltung'' (“Federal Estate Administration”), the town of Lorch managed to build an industrial park with some 20 firms on the lands formerly occupied by the barracks.


Winegrowing

Winegrowing in Lorch is run within the Rheingau winegrowing region under the ''Großlage'' (roughly “vineyard group” or “appellation”) “Burgweg”. The individual vineyards are ''Schlossberg'' (53 ha), ''Kapellenberg'' (58 ha), ''Krone'' (13 ha), ''Pfaffenwies'' (35 ha), and ''Bodental-Steinberg'' (23 ha). The dominant grape variety is Riesling, but
Pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...
has a growing share of the harvest. From the wines, ''Edelbrände'' and sekt are also produced. The grapes grow in hillside vineyards on stony, heat-storing slate- and quartzite-bearing earth. The great expanse of water that is the Rhine accounts for the temperature balance, working as a reflector off which sunlight shines, thereby strengthening it.


Education

* Wisperschule (
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
)


Famous people

The town's noble family named itself “von Lorch”. Their most important representative was Johann Hilchen (1484–1548), knight and Imperial
field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...
.


Sons and daughters of the town

* Dr. Gerhard Schwenzer (b. 1938). From 1983 to 2005 he was the
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Bishop of
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
.


People with links to the town

* Dr. Peter Paul Nahm (1901–1981), German politician ( CDU) and ''Staatssekretär'' (deputy to a cabinet minister).


References


Further reading

* Robert Struppmann: ''Chronik der Stadt Lorch im Rheingau.'' 1981, 1988 * Holger Simon
''Das Hochaltarretabel aus Lorch am Rhein. Grundlegende Überlegungen zum neuzeitlichen Bildbegriff''
in: Norbert Nussbaum/Claudia Euskirchen/Stephan Hoppe (publisher), Wege zur Renaissance. Beobachtungen zu den Anfängen neuzeitlicher Kunstauffassung im Rheinland und den Nachbargebieten um 1500. Köln 2003. S. 364-389. (in German)


External links


Documents


Bild von Lorch 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 der Ruine Nollingen 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 von Lorchhausen 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 World Heritage Sites in Germany Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis Rheingau