Johannisberg - in The Rhinegau
Visible from a distance one sees the castle-shaped silhouette of Johannisberg overlooking the Rheingau. Its slopes covered with vineyards like small garlands that lead up to the central point of attraction.
Johannisberg Castle was built in
18th century in place of Benedictine monastery from the 12th century and was
occupied by many famous personalities like Prince Wilhelm of Orania, Napoleon,
Kaiser Franz I of Austria and Price of Metternich.
The poet and wine friend Heinrich Heine said:
“If I had the strength in me to move mountains! Then Johannisberg would be the
mountain I would have sent to me anywhere.”
In doing so he found himself in an illustrious circle of friends - Goethe,
Bettina and Clemens Brentano, Achim von Arnim and many others who had already
praised the vine covered slope before him.
On the eve of the St. Rochus fest in 1814, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was
standing on the top of Brömserburg in Rüdesheim. While he was enjoying the view
of the vineyards, he noticed:
“The Johannisberg reigns over all.”
On the 15th August in 1814 Goethe travelled from Wiesbaden, where he was
residing at a health spa, to the beautiful Rheingau and wrote for our posterity:
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Overlooking Biebrich one can see
the vast, magnificent river valley with all its settlements within the most
fertile areas (Gau) …in distance glistens, most notably, Johannisberg Monastery.
You are cordially invited to do as the poet laureates of the last century did
and get to know the special character of this historical wine growing village.
