Kiedrich

Kiedrich
Kiedrich
Location of Kiedrich within Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district
Coordinates	50°2′27″N 8°5′5″E
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Admin. region	Darmstadt
District	Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis
Mayor	Winfried Steinmacher (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	12.35 km2 (4.77 sq mi)
Elevation	150 m  (492 ft)
Population	3,927 (31 December 2010)
- Density	318 /km2 (824 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	RÜD
Postal code	65399
Area code	06123

Kiedrich is a community in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany.

Geography

Location

The community lies in the Rheingau on the south slope of the Taunus, some 2 km north of the town of Eltville am Rhein and 3 km from the banks of the Rhine.

Neighbouring communities

Kiedrich borders in the north on the community of Schlangenbad and in the east, south and west on the town of Eltville.

History

Fränkische Dorfschmiede

Kiedrich had its first documentary mention in a document from the Archbishopric of Mainz. Although the document is not dated, it is known to have come from Archbishop Frederick’s time (937-954). About 1160, building work began on Scharfenstein Castle. Winegrowing in Kiedrich was first mentioned as early as 1131.

The community belonged to Electoral Mainz (the Archbishopric), passing in 1806 to the Duchy of Nassau. In 1866 it passed to Prussia. Kiedrich managed to avoid being amalgamated with any other municipality in the course of Hesse’s municipal restructuring.

Politics

Community council

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

Parties and voter communities		% 2006	Seats 2006	% 2001	Seats 2001
CDU	Christian Democratic Union of Germany	28.4	6	33.4	8
SPD	Social Democratic Party of Germany	60.5	14	57.5	13
FDP	Free Democratic Party	11.1	3	9.1	2
Total		100.0	23	100.0	23
Voter turnout in %		49.5		65.9

Through political activities in the three parties that are active in Kiedrich (SPD, CDU, FDP), Kiedrichers have also been involving themselves in the framework of the local Agenda 21.

Mayor

The office of mayor in Kiedrich is currently held by Winfried Steinmacher (SPD), who was directly elected in the first vote in November 2005 with 77.7% of the vote.

Town partnerships

• Hautvillers, Marne, France since 1981

Culture and sightseeing

Music

The organ in the parish church with its roughly 950 pipes is dating from the Late Gothic period and one of Germany’s oldest playable organs. The choir of boys and men, Die Kiedricher Chorbuben (lately including a few girls) has, according to documents, been practising since 1333 a special dialect of liturgical Latin plainsong at services, the so-called Mainz choral dialect, which is only preserved here. The choir performs a Latin mass almost every Sunday except during school vacations. Countertenor Andreas Scholl was a member of the choir, his sister Elisabeth Scholl was the first girl to be accepted.

With the bells – the oldest bell from 1389 – the Gothic can not only be seen in Kiedrich, but also heard.

Buildings

Saint Valentine’s Catholic parish church

Church and chapel

former villa of John Sutton and now Robert Weil wine estate

Owing to its Gothic churches, Kiedrich is also called Schatzkästlein der Gotik (“Little Treasure Chest of Gothic”).

Worth seeing are:

• The Catholic pilgrimage church consecrated to Saint Valentine – completed in 1493 – and the neighbouring Saint Michael’s Chapel (Michaelskapelle) from1444 with its ossuary and great two-sided candlestick Madonna (from about 1520)
• the Renaissance Town Hall from 1585
• at the churchyard wall, the oldest market well in the Rheingau, from 1541 with Kiedrich’s coat of arms and the old Mainz overlord, Elector and Cardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg’s arms.
• Burg Scharfenstein (castle, built about 1160, in ruins since the 16th century) was part of Archiepiscopal Mainz’s border fortifications. The tower (keep), which is still standing, along with the Wheels of Mainz, has been borne as a charge in the community seal from the time of the oldest known court seal of about 1420.
• Benefactor and patron Baronet Sir John Sutton’s (1820–1873) house, today the well known Weil wine estate.
• Virchow-Quelle (spring), lithium-laden saltspring with healing powers (24°).

Regular events

• Champagnerfest (first Sunday in June, organizer: Freundschaftsbund Kiedrich-Hautvillers)
• Rieslingfest (last weekend in June, organizer: Ausschuss Kiedricher Rieslingfest)
• Hahnwaldlauf (walk, early July, organizer: Turnerschaft Kiedrich)
• Adventsbasar (first day in Advent, organizer: local SPD club)
• Schnorrerrallye (Thursday before Ash Wednesday, organizer: Kiedricher Carneval Verein Sprudelfunken)
• Rosenmontagszug (parade, Shrove Monday, organizer: Kiedricher Carneval Verein Sprudelfunken)
• Mundartmatinée (first Sunday in August, organizer: Community of Kiedrich)
• Rheingau Musik Festival, usually a concert of sacred music in the church and a concert at Weingut Robert Weil

Economy and infrastructure

Winegrowing

In Kiedrich, many high-grade wines are grown. The vineyards (Weinlagen) Gräfenberg, Wasseros, Klosterberg, Sandgrub and Turmberg, as well as the greater winegrowing area (Großlage) Heiligenstock are said to be the Rheingau’s top wines. The Kiedrich winemakers’ winegrowing tradition goes back to the year 1480, when wine was already being grown by the winemaker’s house that is still in business now, under the name Adelsgut Langenhof.

The local winemakers’ coöperative has existed since 1893, making it the oldest one in the Rheingau.

Public institutions

St. Valentinushaus, psychiatric hospital founded in 1884, today also a nursing home.

Education

• Chorschule neben der Kirche, school endowed by Baronet John Sutton in 1865 for vocal training and promotion of plainsong.
• John-Sutton-Schule, primary school of the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis: Jena plan school, set opening times, whole-day care including lunch until 16:00 through coöperation with the parent initiative Betreuende Grundschule.
• Integrative Kindertagesstätten "Hickelhäusje" und "St. Valentin": whole-day care, “wood” group
• secondary schools in Eltville am Rhein, Geisenheim and Wiesbaden.

Famous people

• John Sutton (1820–1873), patron and endower of the choral school (1865)
• Anton Raky, oil drilling pioneer, grew up in Kiedrich and developed a special boring bit during his apprenticeship
• Gerson Stern, writer, lived from 1920 to 1937 in Kiedrich and wrote his novel Weg ohne Ende (1934) here.
• Andreas Scholl, world-famous countertenor, former Kiedrich choirboy (Kiedricher Chorbube), Kiedrich citizen.
• Elisabeth Scholl, soprano, sister of Andreas Scholl, the first girl accepted in the boys choir Kiedricher Chorbuben

Further reading

• Clemens Jöckle: Kiedrich im Rheingau. (= Kunstführer; Nr. 1465). 9. Auflage. Schnell und Steiner, Regensburg 1997, ISBN 3-7954-6036-0
• Josef Staab: Kiedrich in alten Ansichten. Europäische Bibliothek, Zaltbommel 1992, ISBN 90-288-5174-7
• Josef Staab (publisher): St.-Valentinuskirche in Kiedrich. 1493–1993. Zur 500Jahrfeier ihrer Vollendung. Katholisches Pfarramt St. Valentin, Kiedrich 1993, ISBN 3-921865-04-2
• Josef Staab, Bruno Kriesel, Rudolf Fenzl: Kiedrich im Rheingau, das gotische Weindorf. Geschichte, Kunst, Kultur von A-Z. Förderkreis Kiedricher Geschichts- und Kulturzeugen, Kiedrich 2003, ISBN 3-9808438-4-X
• Förderkreis Kiedricher Geschichts- und Kulturzeugen e.V. "Kiedricher Persönlichkeiten aus sieben Jahrhunderten", ISBN 978-3-00-025555-7

External links

• Community’s official webpage (German)
• Timeline and information on local history (German)
• Kiedrich at the Open Directory Project (German)

This article incorporates information from the German Wikipedia.