Oestrich-Winkel

Coordinates: 50°00′09″N 8°01′03″E / 50.0025°N 8.0175°E / 50.0025; 8.0175
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Oestrich-Winkel
Aerial view of Oestrich and Rhine river
Aerial view of Oestrich and Rhine river
Coat of arms of Oestrich-Winkel
Location of Oestrich-Winkel within Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district
Lorch am RheinRüdesheim am RheinGeisenheimOestrich-WinkelKiedrichEltvilleWallufSchlangenbadBad SchwalbachHeidenrodAarbergenHohensteinTaunussteinHünstettenIdsteinNiedernhausenWaldemsRhineland-PalatinateWiesbadenLimburg-WeilburgMain-Taunus-KreisHochtaunuskreisGroß-Gerau (district)
Oestrich-Winkel is located in Germany
Oestrich-Winkel
Oestrich-Winkel
Oestrich-Winkel is located in Hesse
Oestrich-Winkel
Oestrich-Winkel
Coordinates: 50°00′09″N 8°01′03″E / 50.0025°N 8.0175°E / 50.0025; 8.0175
CountryGermany
StateHesse
Admin. regionDarmstadt
DistrictRheingau-Taunus-Kreis
Government
 • Mayor (2019–25) Kay Tenge[1]
Area
 • Total59.53 km2 (22.98 sq mi)
Elevation
84 m (276 ft)
Population
 (2022-12-31)[2]
 • Total11,823
 • Density200/km2 (510/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
65375
Dialling codes06723
Vehicle registrationRÜD, SWA
Websitewww.oestrich-winkel.de

Oestrich-Winkel (German pronunciation: [ˈøːstʁɪç ˈvɪŋkəl]) is a town with roughly 12,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany.

Geography

Location

Oestrich-Winkel, which culturally belongs to the

winegrowing
town of Hesse.

The coordinates 50°N, 8°E lie right in the

stadtteil of Winkel, whose name, coincidentally, is German
for “angle”.

Neighbouring municipalities

Oestrich-Winkel borders in the north on the town of

Lorch and the municipalities of Welterod (Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate), Heidenrod and Schlangenbad; in the east on the town of Eltville; in the south, across the Rhine, on the town of Ingelheim (Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate) and in the west on the town of Geisenheim
.

Territorial structure

Oestrich-Winkel as a municipality consists of four

Stadtteile
:

Hallgarten as the only one of these has the status as an

Ortsbezirk
.

History

Oestrich-Winkel was founded on the 1st of July, 1972 by the merger of the municipalities of Mittelheim, Oestrich and Winkel; it was further enlarged by incorporation of Hallgarten in 1977 by law. From the very beginning Oestrich-Winkel was entitled by state government to lead the designation Stadt (town).

The double-barrelled name Oestrich-Winkel has already had a long tradition as the name of the only train station for the East Rhine Railway between Geisenheim and Hattenheim.

Politics

Mayors

Kay Tenge (CDU) was elected in 2019 for mayor.[1] Former mayors were:

  • 2013–2019: Michael Heil (CDU)[3]
  • 1995–2013: Paul Weimann (CDU)
  • 1989–1995: Heinz-Dieter Mielke (SPD)
  • 1972–1989: Klaus Frietsch (SPD)

Town council

The last municipal elections, taking place every five years, yielded the following results:[4][5]

Parties and voter communities %
2021
Seats
2021
%
2016
Seats
2016
%
2011
Seats
2011
%
2006
Seats
2006
%
2001
Seats
2001
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany 36,1 11 44,6 14 37,9 14 43,4 16 47,9 18
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany 34,8 11 30,7 9 29,7 11 29.6 11 31.1 11
GREENS
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
18,4 6 14,9 5 25,4 9 19.1 7 10.8 4
FDP Free Democratic Party 10,6 3 9,8 3 7,0 3 7.9 3 4.3 2
FWG Freie Wählergemeinschaft 6.0 2
Total 100.0 31 100.0 31 100.0 37 100.0 37 100.0 37
Voter turnout in % 60,2 55,5 52,8 51.5 60.2

Town partnerships

The town of Oestrich-Winkel maintains partnerships with the following two places and one military unit:

Coat of arms

The town's arms might be described thus: Gules a Z reversed with cross stroke argent between two mullets of six Or.

The Z is a variant of a common German heraldic charge known in German as a Wolfsangel or Doppelhaken, and its appearance here apparently refers to its use for dealing with wolves in earlier times (the Wolfsangel is believed to have been used as a wolf trap). The arms themselves go back to the 17th century.

Culture and sightseeing

Wine culture

Weingut H. T. Eser in Oestrich-Winkel

Oestrich-Winkel is characterized by

winegrowing
. The following places are cultivated:

  • Oestrich: Lenchen, Doosberg, Klosterberg, Pfaffenberg
  • Mittelheim: Edelmann, St. Nikolaus, Goldberg
  • Winkel: Dachsberg, Hasensprung, Gutenberg, Jesuitengarten, Bienengarten,
    Schloß Vollrads
  • Hallgarten: Jungfer, Würzgarten, Schönhell, Hendelberg, Mehrhölzchen

Sightseeing

The Oestricher Kran, Oestrich-Winkel's main landmark, is a former wine-loading

Lorch, Eltville and Rüdesheim. These cranes can still be found in existence along the Rhine at Andernach (stone; loaded tuff, millstones and wine barrels) and Bingen
(wood, loaded mainly wine barrels).

In Mittelheim is found one of Germany's oldest stone churches, St.-Aegidius-Basilika (“Saint Giles’s Basilica”).

In Winkel stands Germany's oldest stone house, the

European Business School. In the middle of the community stands the Brentanohaus. Here, Goethe spent some time in 1814 as a guest of the Frankfurt banking family Brentano. The family's children were Clemens, Gunda and Bettina Brentano. Karoline von Günderrode, a poet and one of Bettina's friends, stabbed herself here in Winkel in 1806 on the Rhine's bank out of lovesickness
and life weariness. Since 2003, the barn across from the Brentanohaus has hosted the cultural and event venue Brentanoscheune (Scheune means “barn”).


Regular events

These include the Lenchenfest (a wine festival),

funfair[7]
the Christmas market (Weihnachtsmarkt) and Jazz Week (Jazzwoche).

Rheingau Musik Festival

The Rheingau Musik Festival has its office in Oestrich in a former winery, the presshouse (Kelterhalle) converted to a hall for intimitate concerts and events.[8] Festival concerts have taken place in the basilica St. Aegidius, such as a recital of Elisabeth Scholl.[9]

Economy and infrastructure

Education

Since 1980 Oestrich-Winkel has been the seat of the

EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht. Further educational institutions are, among others, the Clemens-Brentano-Schule (primary school and Hauptschule
), the Rabanus-Maurus-Schule (primary school and Hauptschule with orientation level) and Hallgarten primary school.

Transport

Oestrich-Winkel lies right on

railway line and belongs to the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund. Furthermore, between 6:00 and 21:00, a ferry shuttles across the Rhine between Mittelheim and Ingelheim, where there is a link with the A 60
.

Famous people

Sons and daughters of the town

  • Richard von Greiffenklau zu Vollrads (1467–1531), Archbishop and Elector of Trier, was born at Schloss Vollrads
  • Peter Spahn (1846–1925), German politician (ZENTRUM), Member of the Reichstag, Member of the Landtag (Prussia), Prussian Justice Minister, was born in Winkel

Others with links to the town

Rabanus Maurus, left, Alcuin, center, Martin of Tours (right)
  • Carolingian
    academic, died in Winkel
  • Karoline von Günderrode (1780–1806), Romantic poet, committed suicide in Winkel
  • Metternich's
    teacher, revolutionary, France's agent in London, and in 1793 German history's first Parliamentary president in the Rhenish-German National Convention

References

External links

Documents