Discover Kiedrich: Wine, Organ and History
Accommodation in Kiedrich
Kiedrich is a Gothic wine village with distinctive cultural and musical attractions: the Riesling Festival, the Kiedrich Madonna and an organ dating from around 1500. St. Michael’s Chapel and the forest hiking trail also shape the range of things to discover. You can plan your stay around culture, wine or a longer tour, and give the different sides of the village the emphasis you want in your own itinerary.
St. Valentinus, Kiedrich, Southeast view 20140909 1
Photo: DXR via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE
Wine and Event Dates
The Kiedrich Riesling Festival is one of the highlights of the annual events calendar and takes place every year on the third weekend in May. If you want to plan your trip around the festival, check the current events calendar for the exact dates in your chosen year.
Another wine destination is the Kiedrich wine-tasting stand in the Wasseros vineyard, below the Weil winery’s agricultural hall. Seating is available around the stand.
Art, Organ and Kiedrich Traditions
The Kiedrich Madonna, dating from around 1330 to 1350, is preserved in Kiedrich. Another point of reference in time is the organ: Kiedrich is home to Germany’s oldest playable organ. It dates from around 1500 and has about 960 pipes. Together, the Madonna and organ offer a reason to keep different eras in mind on a cultural walk.
St. Michael’s Chapel stands opposite St. Valentine’s Church. It was built in 1440/44 as a cemetery chapel, with an ossuary, or charnel house. Music is also part of Kiedrich’s cultural life: the Choral High Mass with the Kiedrich Choir Boys takes place on the second, third and fourth Sunday of each month at 9:30 a.m. No services are held during the Hessian school holidays. Check the current service schedule if you want to plan your visit around a specific date.
The Schnorrer Festival takes place in Kiedrich on the Thursday before Carnival. Its date therefore falls during the Carnival season, while the Riesling Festival is associated with the third weekend in May. If you’re planning a stay around an event, it’s worth considering these two different dates when choosing your travel dates.
Vineyards, Forest and Views
The Kiedrich forest hiking trail is a route of around 18 kilometres. It leads from the cultural sights of the Gothic wine village through vineyards and into the nearby forest. This adds a transition into woodland to the route’s views of local history and wine. The approximate distance can help with planning; check current conditions before setting out.
Scharfenstein Castle ruins also combine scenery with an important note about access. For safety reasons, the keep is not open to everyone. You can enquire at 06123/9050-11; the keep is closed during the bird-nesting season from mid-March to mid-July. Check the details before visiting. From the barbecue area in front of the tower, you can look across the vineyards towards Kiedrich and the Rhine Valley. The view from the barbecue area should be distinguished from access to the keep.
Regional Context: Rheingau-Taunus District
Within the broader travel destination of the Rheingau-Taunus District, the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site offers a distinct landscape setting: the district is part of it through the municipal areas of Rüdesheim am Rhein and Lorch. The cultural landscape there is shaped by steep river slopes, steep-slope and terrace viticulture, numerous castles, historic townscapes and the Rhine. The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes also runs for about 35 kilometres through the Rheingau-Taunus District; it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since July 2005. These regional connections complement Kiedrich’s themes with broader cultural landscapes and history.
Discover More Destinations
Discover more destinations: Hünstetten, Aarbergen, Bad Schwalbach, Idstein, Walluf, Taunusstein, Lorch, Hohenstein.
Back to the main travel overview: Rheingau-Taunus District.
