Rheingau
County of the Rhine district, The Rhinegraviate Grafschaft der Rheingau, Rheingrafschaft | |||||||||
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937–1866 | |||||||||
![]() The Rheingau shown on a 1905 map of Hesse-Nassau | |||||||||
Status | State of the Frankish Empire State of the Holy Roman Empire | ||||||||
Capital | Rheingrafenstein in Kreuznach; later Eltville | ||||||||
Government | Principality | ||||||||
Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Established | ca 937 937 | ||||||||
• : given to Abp Mainz | 983 | ||||||||
1806 | |||||||||
1866 1866 | |||||||||
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The Rheingau (German: [ˈʁaɪ̯nɡaʊ̯] (listen), literally "Rhine District") consists of the district 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 Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis administrative district. It is famous for Rheingau wines, especially the "Rheingauer Riesling," and its many taverns.
History[]
The Rheingau was as a Gau or county of the Frankish Empire, bordered by the Niddagau, the , the , and the Lahngau; the counts of the Rheingau were known as Rhinegraves. The first Rhinegrave on record is (937–960).[1]
In 983, Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor, gave the Rheingau, together with other territories, to the Archbishopric of Mainz during the Diet of Verona. When the Archbishopric was dissolved in 1806, the Rheingau was given to the Duchy of Nassau.
Following the marriage between (1383–1428) and Adelheid, scion of the Wildgraves of Kyrburg, (1476–95) inherited several territories in the , to the left of the Rhine (from the Nahegau, on the river Nahe and in the Alsace) from the Wildgraves and the counts of Salm, and these territories were also linked to their name, with the counts using the title "Wild- and Rhinegraves of Salm".[1]
Gallery[]
Rheingau valley with the Rhine
Rheinberg castle keep ruins, near Lorch
View from the Niederwald-Monument into the Rheingau
Schloss Vollrads near Oestrich-Winkel
The Drosselgasse in Ruedesheim
Electoral castle in Eltville
The Rheingauer Dom in Geisenheim
Events[]
- The Rheingau Musik Festival 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[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b (in German) Rheingraf at Meyers Konversationslexikon, 1888
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rheingau. |
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Rheingau. |
- 1866 disestablishments
- States and territories established in the 930s
- Former states and territories of Hesse
- Carolingian counties
- Upper Rhine