While my parents were here visiting over the summer we took them to the town of Eltville am Rhein, or Eltville for short.
“Am Rhein” means “on the Rhine” and it was a beautiful day to walk along the river and through the town when we visited.
We made the 30-minute drive from our house and parked near the Electors’ Castle, the white building you see here.
It was built between 1330 and 1350 and also happens to be the place where the tourist information (TI) office is located.
The rooms in the castle tower are open to visitors, and you can climb the 123 steps up to the top of the tower.
One of the interesting things about the tower is that Johannes Gutenberg – he of printing press fame – was named a nobleman there in the year 1465.
A Latin/German dictionary, printed in 1467, is on display inside the tower as is a collection of printing equipment.
At the top of the tower is a viewing platform, and at the bottom of the tower is the dungeon.
Skipping the climb on this trip, we opted instead to just pick up a walking tour map from the TI that was available in English and headed out to explore.
As a rule, Europe is not as handicap-accessible as the United States. It was a nice to see, then, that the walking tour map included an option for a barrier-free walking tour. It also has markings to indicate where streets on the tour had uphill or downhill grades.
The first thing we saw upon leaving the TI was the beautiful Rose Garden on the castle grounds.
The garden even extends outside the castle walls and runs along the Rhine.
This building near the castle is known as the Rose House.
It dates back to 1739 in its present form, but has been around since 1480.
German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ate there during his 1814 visit to Eltville.
Frankly the man got around. Rare is the German town we’ve visited where he didn’t eat or sleep.
Martin’s Gate, seen here, is the only remaining city gate of Eltville’s original four.
Eltville is in a big winegrowing region, and winegrowers used to drive their carts full of wine casks through that gate.
The Rhine runs right in front of the gate, so the casks would then be loaded onto boats and taken away for sale.
No winegrowing town would be complete without an old wine press on public display.
That one has the year 1727 etched into the wood.
One of the things that I love about Germany in the summer is the tasting stands that are open in winegrowing areas.
That little building with the black roof is a wine stand and as you can see, people were just enjoying the day and sipping wine by the Rhine.
Life could be worse.
Eltville has numerous impressive half-timbered houses, some dating back over 500 years.
This one is from the year 1365.
I always wonder why they don’t still build half-timbered houses because they are clearly sturdy.
The Gensfleischhaus seen here is named after Friele Gensfleisch, brother of Johannes Gutenberg who was mentioned earlier.
The house is near the castle, and Gensfleisch lived here from 1434 until he died in 1447.
If you’re wondering why the brothers had different last names, Johannes’ full name was actually Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg. I’m not sure why he went by Gutenberg and his brother went by Gensfleisch, but there you have it.
Because of the exquisitely preserved and restored half-timbered houses in Eltville, the town is part of the Deutsche Fachwerkstrasse (German Timber-Frame Road).
It’s a 3,000-kilometer route covering seven different regions that contain examples of different styles of half-timbered buildings.
Of course the town has a splendid church, too.
It’s called St. Peter and Paul and is a Catholic church that was built between 1350 and 1440.
The fact that this stained glass panel is in the church is an indication of how dedicated the town is to its wine industry.
As we made our way back towards the Electors’ Castle we ended up in another section of the Rose Garden.
During the height of the season there are over 20,000 rose bushes in bloom around town.
The German Rose Association conferred the title of Rose City upon Eltville in 1988.
Here you see Sean and my dad taking a break in the castle’s courtyard.
On the way back to the car we passed this building called the Gelbes Haus or Yellow House.
It was built in the 17th century and was attached to the old city wall. It now houses a restaurant.
During our walk around town I kept commenting to Sean that I couldn’t believe we hadn’t been there before. I was so surprised that this town with so much history and charming architecture and wonderful river views was a mere 30-minute drive away.
I don’t know why it took so long for that to be our first visit but I have a feeling it won’t be our last!
