The Rheingau and the neighbouring UNESCO world heritage site of the Upper Middle Rhine.

Valley The Rheingau with its wildly romantic cultural landscape spans a length of approx. 40km, nestling between the banks of the Rhine and the rolling hills of the Taunus - the hills of the Rheingau region.

Due to the 400 million year-old Taunus hills, the Rhine leaves its south-north route on a level with Wiesbaden/Mainz and flows from east to west in the Rheingau, only to resume its original direction by taking a sharp curve by Rüdesheim/Bingen and then to continue its inexorable journey towards the north through the dramatically beautiful Loreley valley with all its castles as it has done for millions of years.

Archaeological findings prove that even back in the early Stone Age i.e. about 5000 years ago people were living in this region rich in history.

800 years of Diocese Mainz left their stamp on the people and the landscape just as did the over 1200 year-old wine-growing culture which started as early as the reign of Karl the Great. Hildegard of Bingen, too, who had a convent built in the Rheingau, reported almost 1000 years ago on the positive effects of wine on the health. The Cistercian monks of Kloster Eberbach (as shown in the film "The name of the rose"), also located in the Rheingau, made their contribution 800 years ago to the now indisputable world class quality of the Rheingau Riesling.

Oenological technical terms now used internationally such as Spätlese (late harvest) or Kabinett (cabinet) found their origin in the Rheingau. The Spätburgunder (burgundy) which also grows here is on a par with its French "brother" Pinot Noir.

This region on the 50th degree of latitude, attractive both in terms of climate and landscape, with its vineyards on the sun-kissed south slopes of the Rheingau hills, has attracted many members of the gentry and noble families over the centuries, whose impressive stately homes and other real estate now remind us of former times as historical monuments.

The fertility of the region, the mild climate and the top location on Europe's busiest river which has proved itself to be very beneficial for trade from ancient times on, have produced inhabitants who are hard-working, sociable and humorous and who encounter strangers with open-minded curiosity and pride.

Just 60 km (37miles) southwest of Frankfurt am Main your cultural voyage through the past and the present begins. Don't hesitate - you will love it!

A warm welcome to the Rheingau!