Oberwesel Kulturhaus

Rhine Valley


Every April, Oberwesel crowns not a Weinkönigin (wine queen), as in most Rhine towns, but a Weinhexe (wine witch) – a good witch who is said to protect the vineyards. Photos of all the Weinhexen crowned since 1946 are on display in the cellar of Oberwesel’s Kulturhaus, whose local history exhibits feature ice age skeletons of mammoths, aurochs (extinct wild cattle) and prehistoric horses found in the area, along with 19th-century engravings of the Romantic Rhine and models of Rhine riverboats.

An excellent English visitors’ brochure is available at reception.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Rhine Valley attractions

1. St-Martins-Kirche

0.22 MILES

Easily spotted on a hillside at the northern end of town is the enormous early 14th-century St-Martins-Kirche, popularly known as the ‘white church’. It…

2. Liebfrauenkirche

0.38 MILES

In the southern Altstadt, the High Gothic Liebfrauenkirche, known as the ‘red church’ for the colour of its facade, dates from the early 14th century and…

3. Loreley Besucherzentrum

2.34 MILES

On the edge of the plateau above the Loreley outcrop, 4km southeast of St Goarshausen, this visitors centre covers the Loreley myth and local flora, fauna…

4. Pfalzgrafstein

2.52 MILES

Across the river from the village of Kaub, the boat-shaped toll castle Pfalzgrafstein, built in 1326, perches on an island in the middle of the Rhine. A…

5. Lorelei Sculpture

2.65 MILES

At the tip of a narrow breakwater jutting into the Rhine, a bronze sculpture of Loreley's famous maiden perches lasciviously atop a rocky platform. Access…

6. Burg Rheinfels

3.22 MILES

Once the mightiest fortress on the Rhine, Burg Rheinfels was built in 1245 by Count Dieter V of Katzenelnbogen as a base for his toll-collecting…

7. Postenturm

3.77 MILES

Once part of the city's 14th-century fortifications and now surrounded by vineyards, this tower on the upper section of the wall affords panoramic views…

8. Peterskirche

3.87 MILES

This late-Romanesque-style Protestant church, completed in 1269, has some columns with vivid capitals – look for the naked woman with snakes sucking her…