Known all over the world for its wine
Located vis-à-vis of Mainz, a city which was very important in Roman times as well, Hochheim was settled densely even then. From the time of the birth of Jesus Christ also dates the beginning of wine production which has kept its importance up to our days. In Great Britain Riesling wines from the Rheingau region are said to be called “hock” as a way to pronounce and shorten the name “Hochheim”. Mentioned officially in a historic document for the first time in the year of 754, Hochheim in the late Middle Age came to the Electoral Prince and Bishop of Mainz, to be made a part of the Duchy of Nassau after the Napoleonic Wars. 1928 it became incorporated into the rural district Main-Taunus-Kreis, and since the end of WW 2 it is part of the Federal State of Hessen.
Visually Hochheim is dominated by dozens of stud work houses most of which are protected as historic monuments, but also the silhouette of the church Peter and Paul high about the Main river and the verdant vineyards stretching along the slopes above the Main near its estuary to the Rhine river. In the church built in “Baroque” style important frescoes by the artist Johann Baptist Enderle were discovered and laid open.
With 241 hectares of vineyards Hochheim is one of the biggest wine-producing communities in the famous Rheingau region. Well-known proveniences are the “Domdechaney”, “Kirchenstück”, “Königin-Viktoria-Berg (Queen-Victoria-Hill)”, “Berg”, “Herrenberg”, “Stein” and “Schlossgarten” (in Massenheim), each promising wonderful and distinct bouquets coveted by connoisseurs. Much visited is the annual fair “Hochheimer Markt”, held since 1484 and one of the biggest autumnal annual fairs throughout Germany. Not to forget the annual “Wine Festival” held during the first weekend of July which also attracts more than 100,000 visitors each year. Hochheim is situated at the bicycle routes “Hessischer Radfernweg” (Hessen Bicycle Route, following the Rhine, Main and Kinzig rivers), the Main-Radweg (from the source of the Main to its confluence with the Rhine) and the D-Route 5 (Saar, Moselle, Main, from Saarbrücken to Bayreuth).
Visitors of Hochheim with ample time to spend should take a stroll of about two kilometres to the so-called “Flörsheimer Schweiz (Suisse of Flörsheim) with its attractive Nature Conserve District and the picturesque restaurant “Wiesenmühle” at the banks of a brook. You should try its chicken liver which is simply delicious, but also seasonal meals like for example asparagus at the end of May.
More information: http://en.hochheim.de/
Photo: PHB.cz (Richard Semik)/Shutterstock
