Matthei Wallreuther, born circa 1651, was a praetoris in Kiedrich. His son, Johann Anton Wallruether, born in Kierich in 1673, was the Bishop of Worms from 1731 to his death in 1734. Another son, Johann Christopher Wallreuther born 1688 in Kiedrich maried Anna Amelia Kieser. They were the parents of Anne Marie Margarethe Wallreuther born 1719 in Worms. Anne Marie Margarethe Wallreuther marred Phillip Anton Heyl. They were the parents of Marie Franziska Heyl born 1753 in Worms. Marie Franziska married Wendelin Harbauer. They were the parents of Lorenz Harbauer born 1791 in Herrnsheim. Lorenz Harbauer married Margarethe Scheer. They were the parents of Margarethe Louisa born 1823 in Herrnsheim who married Franz Goehle. Their son Peter Goehle born in Herrnsheim in 1852 immigrated to New York City in 1873.

Kiedrich is a typical German wine village situated three miles from the Rhine on the south slope of the Taunus mountain range west of Wiesbaden. Wine has been grown in the area since at least the late 700s. Winegrowing in Kiedrich was first mentioned in 1131.

The town is very old having first been mentioned in 954.

The Plague hit the area in 1666.

In 1668 there were 303 inhabitants in Kiedrich. In 1728 there were 978 inhabitants. In 1840 there were 1,375 inhabitants in Kiedrich.

The historic district is intact, partly because the town has never had a major fire. The church of St Valentine, a jewel of medieval architecture, was built circa 1300 with extensions in 1480 to 1493. Sunday mass at 9:30 is song by the boys choir in the Germanic Gregorian style.

The church contains: the oldest playable organ in Germany (circa 1500), the Kiedrich Madonna (1330/50), the hand-Gestuhl from the 16th century and more.

Across from St Valentine is the chapel of St. Michael built in 1440/44. St Michael is a Cemetery Chapel with an Ossuary.

The towns boasts: a city hall built in 1585, castle ruins at Burg Scharfenstein (1215), half timber buildings, the Cistercian monastery of Eberbach not far away.

Kierich is called the Schatzkastlein der Gotik "Little Treasure Chest of Gothic".

The community belonged to the Archbishopric of Mainz. In 1806 it passed to the Duchy of Nassau. In 1866 it passed to Prussia.

About IV2 M. to the N.W., concealed amidst vine-clad hills, lies the large village of Kiedrich (Engel; Krone), a great resort of pilgrims. The Gothic church of St. Valentine, and the chapel of *St. Michael, erected in 1440 in the ornate late Gothic style, restored in 1858, merit a visit. Near Kiedrich is the Grafenberg, one of the most celebrated vineyards of the Rheingau; it is crowned by the castle of Scharfenstein, which was erected by the Archbishops of Mayence at the close of the 12th cent., dismantled by the Swedes in 1632, and finally by the French in 1682.

The Rhine from Rotterdam to Constance: Handbook for travellers By Karl Baedeker (Firm), 1877

About 2 1/3 M. to the N.W. of Eltville (oinn. twice daily in 1/2 hr.) lies the large village of Kiedrich (410 ft.; Engel, very fair; Krone; Burg Scharfenstein), with some quaint half-timbered houses. The. Gothic church of St. Valentine (14-15th cent.), restored in 1857-74, with a pulpit of 1493 and other works of art, and the chapel of St. Michael, erected in 1440-44 in the ornate late-Gothic style, restored in 1845-58, merit a visit. Near Kiedrich is the Grtlfenberg, one of the most celebrated vineyards of the Rheingau; it is crowned by the castle of Scharfenstein (view), which was erected by the Archbishops of Mayence at the close of the 12th cent., dismantled by the Swedes in 1632, and finally by the French in 1682. The Virchow-Quelle, a mineral spring rising near Kiedrich, resembles the Wiesbaden springs, but its temperature is much lower (75°). - Kiedrich is l 1/2 M. from Eberbach (p. 250) via Eichbcrg.

The Rhine, including the Black Forest & the Vosges: handbook for travellers By Karl Baedeker, 1911

Close above me, standing proudly on its rock, and pointing to a heavy white cloud which happened at the moment to be passing over it, was the great pillar or tower of Sharfenstein, a castle formerly the residence of the bishops of Mainz. The village of Kiedrich lay crouching at a considerable depth beneath, the precipitous bank which connected us with it being a vineyard, in which every here and there were seen flights of rough stone steps, to enable the peasants to climb to their work. By a rocky path, about a foot or nine inches broad, Katherinchen, with Luy following as if tied to her tail, diagonally descended through this grape garden, until we at last reached the village mill, the wheel of which I had long observed indolently turning under a stream of water scarcely heavy enough for its purpose. The little village of Kiedrich, as I rode by it, appeared to be a confused congregation of brown hovels and green gardens, excepting a large slated mansion of the Baron von Ritter, whose tower of Sharfenstein now seemed in the clouds, as if to draw the lightning from the village; and almost breaking my neck to look up to it, I could not help feeling, as I turned towards the east, how proud its laird must be at seeing every morning its gigantic shadow lying across the valley, then paying its diurnal visit to every habitation, thus eclipsing for a few moments, from each vassal, even the sun in the heavens.

After passing Kiedrich, I again entered the forest, and for above an hour there was little to be seen except the noble trees which encompassed me; but the mind soon gets accustomed to ever so short a tether, and though I could seldom see fifty yards, yet within that distance there existed always plenty of minute objects to interest me.

Table talk: essays on men and manners By William Hazlitt, 1845

The village of Kiedrich, and further inland the ruins of Scharfenstein with its round towers, have just come in sight, and with them the Eichberg lunatic asylum, established in 1843. A great number of historic associations are crowded together here, and from yonder Lower Ingelhcim pcers at us, while above us already towers the Juhannisberg.

We must next mention Kiedrich and Scharfenstein, and the long-decayed family of Lowentrotz, the most powerful noble house of the Rheingan, rich in strongholds, with their different family branches, all of which have perished. Kiedrich appears as early as the tenth century, under the name of Cherdercho, while Seharfenstein, on the right bank of the Rhine, may be named as the oldest of the castles.

It was decidedly the largest if, as tradition tells us, it sheltered the whole of the tribe, whose common interests demanded their cohesion. The family of the Scharfenstein must have bcen one of the most wealthy, and consequently one of the most powerful, since it possessed the greatest number of castles and fiefs.

It seems that either the Scharfensteins began with the decline of the lords of Kiedrich, or that the latter merged into the Counts of Scharfenstein when this stronghold was given in foe to them by the Archbishop of Mayence, whose most trusty servants they became. The chronicle names as different branches of this family, the Greens, the Browns, the Blacks, the Gennens, the Eselwecks, the Steins, and the Crazzes von Scharfenstein. Their principal stronghold scems to have been specially destined to be a refuge for the archhishops, and under their protection there were often great doings within the walls of Scharfenstein, till Albert of Austria appeared before it in 1301, in order to besiege it. He retreated, after storming it in vain for thirty days.

The Rhine From Its Source To The Sea, 1898

From Elfeld we turned our horses' heads towards Eberbach passing through the village of Kiedrich. Here we alighted a moment to look into the church, distinguished only for some curious ancient carved wood-work; but the little chapel of St. Michael, standing hard by, dating from the year 1440, is a perfect gem.

Built on a mound, by which you ascend three or four steps, the ruthlessness of war, time and neglect, have left this beautiful chapel a mournful relic of decay; windows of stone fret-work, once glazed with colored glass of which you detect a few fragments up high in the peaks; all now open to the weather; great crevices in the walls; shattered carved oaken doors nailed up; colored frescoes of Saints washed by the storm; curiously beautiful towers mouldering and rapidly hastening to ruin, one looks upon it with an interest, that would arrest if possible its passing away. But Kiedrich is dead; a few houses of quaint architectural pretentions indicate what it once was, when the proud Bishops of Mayence had a residence here, that of Scharfenstein, of which but one remaining tower indicates the site.

Impressions of Germany By Mary Sands Griffin, 1866

The Rheingau is an area bounded on the south by the Rhine, on the north by the Rheingau Mountais, on the west by the Wisper River. It contains the cities of Eltville, Rudesheim, Geiseneim, Lorch. Until 1806 it was a purely Catholic area.

Information from Genealogy homepage for Niederwalluf and the Rheingau by Norbert Michel

Kiedrich in Rheingau

St. Valentinuskirche

The church is a basilica minor dedicated to the saints Dionysius and Valentine. The church was a place of pilgrimage for sufferers of epilepsy.

Chor u. Altar in der St. Valentinus-kirche zu Kiedrich i. Rheingau

Orgel der St. Valentinus Kirche zu Kiedrich

Pfarrkirche [parish church] Mittelschiff mit Lettner

Pfarrkirche [parish church] Lettner (Edne des 15 Jahrhunderts) und Johannisaltar

Altare aus der St. Valentinus Kirche zu Kiedrich 1. St Johannes Altar 2. St Katherinen altar

St Valentinuskirche

Ansichten aus dem Inneren der St Valentinus-Kirche zu Kiedrich i Rheingau

Totenkapelle St Michael erbaut um 1400

Gruss aus Kiedrich St. Michaelskapelle

Inneres der St. Michaels Kappelle - Kiedrich i. Rheingau

Kiedrich (Rheingau) Historisches Gasthaus zum Engel - Aufenthaltsstatte Konig Gustave Adolfs, 1631 und mehrmaliger Aufenthalt Fridrich III - Weinbau und Versand

Historic Guest House (Inn) Engel - King Gustave Adolph styed here in 1631 and Friedrich the Third stayed here numerous times - Vine and shipping

Gustavus Adolphus (1594 - 1632) was king of Sweden.

Friedrich III (1831 - 1888) was Emperor of Germany for 99 days in 1888.

The Inn is still in operation.

Scharfenstien - bie Kiedrich (westl. Taunus). Burgruine n. d. Grafenberg m. schoner Aussicht, im 12. Jahrh. v. d. Erzbischof von Mainz erbaut. Nr 11

[Scharfenstien - near Kiedrich (western Taunus). n. d. ruins Grafenberg with a panoramic view, built in the 12th Century by the Archbishop of Mainz. No 11]

Schafenstein is the remains of a ruined castle near the town of Kiedrich. It was built in 1160 as part of the Archbishops of Mainz' boarder fortifications.

Kiedrich Web site

Kiedrich

Wallreuther in Kiedrich, Worms and Herrnsheim

Anne Marie Margarethe Wallreuther married Phillip Anton Heyl in 1744. For more information on the Wallreuther family go to Wallreuther

Kieser in Kiedrich

Anna Amelia Kieser married Johann Christopher Wallreuther. For more information on the Kieser family go to Kieser

Goehles in Herrnsheim

For information on the Goehle family in Herrnsheim go to Goehles in Herrnsheim

Peter Goehle in New York City

For information on Peter Goehle and his family in New York city go to Peter

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE
Goehle Connection page
Herrnsheim
Worms
Life and Customs in Germany
Home