View source for Lorch am Rhein

{{short description|Place in Hesse, Germany}}
{{Infobox German place  
|type               = Stadt
|name              = Lorch
|image_photo       = Lorch-rs-01s.jpg
|image_coa            = DEU Lorch (Rheingau) COA.svg
|coordinates       = {{coord|50|2|39|N|7|48|12|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan = Lorch in RÜD.svg
|state        = Hesse
|region  = Darmstadt
|district         = Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis
|elevation              = 81 - 450
|area            = 54.43
|postal_code               = 65391
|area_code           = 06726
|licence               = RÜD
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 06 4 39 010
|divisions         = 3 districts
|website           = [http://www.stadt-lorch-rheingau.de/ www.stadt-lorch-rheingau.de]
|mayor             = Ivo Reßler<ref>{{cite web|url=https://statistik.hessen.de/sites/statistik.hessen.de/files/2022-10/direktwahlen_09_2022_10102022.xlsx|title=Ergebnisse der letzten Direktwahl aller hessischen Landkreise und Gemeinden|language=de|date=5 September 2022|publisher=[[Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt]]|format=XLS}}</ref>
|leader_term       = 2019&ndash;25
}}
'''Lorch am Rhein''' ({{IPA|de|ˌlɔʁç ʔam ˈʁaɪn}}) is a small town in the [[Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis]] in the {{lang|de|[[Regierungsbezirk]]}} of [[Darmstadt (region)|Darmstadt]] in [[Hesse]], [[Germany]]. It belongs to the [[Rhine Gorge|Rhine Gorge World Heritage Site]].

== Geography ==

=== Location ===
The town is characterized by [[winegrowing]] and [[tourism]].
[[Image:Wisper fg01.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Wispertal]]
Lorch lies in the southwestern part of the [[Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis]] in the foothills of the Rheingaugebirge (range), some 10&nbsp;km north of the bend in the [[Rhine]] near Rüdesheim. The town owes its picturesque setting in the Middle Rhine Valley between [[Rüdesheim am Rhein]] and [[Sankt Goarshausen]] to its location at the mouth of the [[Wisper]]  and to its steep [[vineyard]]s. The town's municipal area stretches into the richly wooded Wisper valley along ''Landesstraße'' (State Road) 3033 between Lorch and the district seat of [[Bad Schwalbach]]. The town is a state-recognized recreational resort (''Erholungsort''). The [[Rheinsteig]], the new [[hiking]] trail on the Rhine's right bank leading from [[Wiesbaden]] to [[Bonn]], runs on the Rhine heights. In the Rhine near Lorch lies the island and nature conservation area called Lorcher Werth.

=== Constituent communities ===
Lorch's ''[[Ortsteil|Stadtteile]]'' (subdivisions of the town), besides the main town, also called Lorch, are Lorchhausen, Espenschied, Ransel, Ranselberg, and Wollmerschied.

== History ==
The area was settled quite early on, first by the [[Celts]], and then, during the Christian Era, by the [[Ubii]] and later the [[Mattiaci]]. In the first century CE,{{clarify|date=February 2022}} the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] advanced to the [[Taunus]]. The [[Alamanni]] followed, and with the onset of the [[Migration Period]], the [[Franks]].

The town's oldest documentary mention is a document from 1085 in which Archbishop [[Wezilo]] documented a donation, from [[Mainz Cathedral]] Canon Embricho to the cathedral chapter, of a number of holdings, among them a house and vineyards in Lorch.

In the [[Middle Ages]], Lorch served as the northern bastion of the [[Archbishopric of Mainz]] facing toward the [[Rheingau]]. Beginning in the twelfth century, Lorch found itself at the southern end of the ''Rheingauer Gebück'', a kind of border defence made out of an impenetrable “hedge” of stunted trees (the word itself comes from the [[German language|German]] root of ''bücken'', meaning “stoop”, a reference to the trees’ thick, low boughs). This was put in place by the Archbishops of Mainz.

In the thirteenth century, a parish first documented in 1254 was established in Lorch.

In 1460, 1631, 1794, and in the final phase of the [[Second World War]], there was warfare in Lorch, which sometimes brought considerable destruction.

=== Twentieth century ===
On 10 January 1919, the [[Free State of Bottleneck]], a provisional statelike entity between occupation zones after the [[First World War]], was proclaimed, with Lorch as ''de facto'' “capital”. Even today, many of the [[microstate]]’s [[Coat of arms|coats of arms]] in the town still recall this time.

In the early 1960s, the [[Bundeswehr]] came to town with its ''Flugabwehrregiment 5'' (“Antiaircraft Regiment 5”). A new settlement, the Ranselberg, was built for soldiers and their families. The barracks in the picturesque Wisper Valley represented an important economic factor for the town of Lorch. Many local people found work in the barracks, the attached post administration, the [[munitions]] depot, the equipment depot, and the sanitary depot.

In the course of Bundeswehr reform, the barracks were closed in 1993. At the site, the underground ''Gerätehauptdepot Lorch-Wispertal'' (“Main Equipment Depot”) and the likewise underground ''Sanitätshauptdepot Lorch-Rheingau'' (“Main Sanitary Depot”) remained. In November 2003, the complete abandonment of the Bundeswehr post was announced. The sanitary company was to be withdrawn in early 2008. By 31 December 2007, the ''Sanitätshauptdepot'' was to be dissolved, and a year later the ''Gerätehauptdepot'' was to disappear. Some 280 civilians would thereby lose their jobs.

Meanwhile, various businesses have set up in the abandoned Bundeswehr facilities, which has offset the job losses due to the military's pullout to a certain extent.

== Religion ==
Lorch's character is mostly [[Catholic church|Catholic]], and serving this community is the Gothic church [[St. Martin, Lorch|St. Martin]]. [[St. Bonifatius, Lorchhausen]], serves the Lorchhausen village. Since 1908, the [[Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau|Protestant]] parishioners have been gathering in a church room in a house at Oberweg 4.

== Politics ==

=== Town council ===
{{update section|date=July 2021}}
The five-yearly municipal elections yielded the following results:
{|  class="wikitable"
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" |Parties and voter communities
! colspan="2" |2021
! colspan="2" |2016
! colspan="2" |2011
! colspan="2" |2006
! colspan="2" |2001
|--- class="hintergrundfarbe5"
!  %
!Seats
!  %
!Seats
! %
! Seats
! %
! Seats
! %
! Seats
|----
!LiLo
!Liste Lorch
|39.8
|8
|–
|–
| align="right" |–
| align="right" |–
| align="right" |–
| align="right" |–
| align="right" |–
| align="right" |–
|----
!FWG
!Free Voters
|23.3
|4
|28.6
|5
| align="right" |22.9
| align="right" |4
| align="right" |21.7
| align="right" |4
| align="right" |14.2
| align="right" |3
|----
!CDU
!Christian Democratic Union of Germany
|21.8
|4
|41,3
|8
| align="right" |40.4
| align="right" |8
| align="right" |45.6
| align="right" |9
| align="right" |49.1
| align="right" |11
|----
!SPD
!Social Democratic Party of Germany 
|15.1
|3
|30.1
|6
| align="right" |26.2
| align="right" |5
| align="right" |25.2
| align="right" |5
| align="right" |29.2
| align="right" |7
|-
!Grüne
!Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (Greens)
|–
|–
|–
|–
|align="right" |10.5
|align="right" |2
|align="right" |7.5
|align="right" |1
|align="right" |7.5
|align="right" |2
|--- class="hintergrundfarbe5"
! colspan="2" |Total
!100.0
!19
!100.0
!19
!100.0
!19
!100.0
!19
!100.0
!23
|----
! colspan="2" |Voter turnout in %
! colspan="2" |60.7
! colspan="2" |57.3
! colspan="2" |54.7
! colspan="2" |55.0
! colspan="2" |60.6
|}

=== Mayor ===
On June 16, 2019, Ivo Reßler (independent) was elected mayor with 51.2 percent of the votes in a runoff against incumbent Jürgen Helbing (CDU). Voter turnout was 63.6 percent. He took office on February 1, 2020.<ref>{{cite web|title=Direktwahlen in Lorch, Stadt|periodical=Statistik Hessen|publisher=[[Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt]]|url=https://www.statistik-hessen.de/themenauswahl/wahlen/daten/direktwahlen/lorch-stadt/index.html|url-status=|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|last=|date=|year=|language=|pages=|quote=}}</ref><ref>Jahrbuch 2020 des Rheingau-Taunus-Kreises, S. 222: Lorch. Ivo Reßler schafft die Sensation. Unabhängiger gewinnt die Bürgermeisterwahl / Kitas bleiben in der Diskussion.</ref>

=== Former Mayors ===
{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|
* 2008  – 2020  : Jürgen Helbing (CDU)
* 1990  – 2008  : Günter Retzmann (SPD)
* 1984  – 1990  : Alexander Schneider
* 1972  – 1984  : Wolfgang Muno (CDU)
* 1948  – 1971  : Karl Hofmann<ref>[https://pedestrial.de/2017/07/20/d-65391-der-lorcher-rundwanderweg-nr-2/ Local walking route with memorial stone to Karl Hofmann (died 10 October 1971]</ref>
* 1946  – 1948  : Dipl. Ing. Diel
* 1921  – 1945  : Edmund Pnischeck (Zentrum)
* 1913  – 1921  : Ferdinand Travers
* 1903  – 1913  : Dr. Freiherr von Scheibner
* 1891  – 1903  : Jakob Schulte
* 1877  – 1891  : Friedrich Altenkirch
* 1868  – 1877  : Franz Carl Dahlen
* 1862  – 1868  : Jakob Germersheimer
* 1848  – 1862  : Thomas Travers
* 1846  – 1848  : P. Meister
* 1815  – 1846  : Thomas Germersheimer
* 1809  – 1815  : Lorenz Altenkirch
* 1781  – 1809  : J. M. Travers
* 1768  – 1779  : Peter Happ
* 1735  – 1761  : J. J. Molitor
* 1733  – 1734  : Johannes Peter Zipf
* 1726  – 1733  : Hilarius Walter
* 1687  – 1725  : Johann Gottfried Perabo
* 1685  – 1687  : Wilhelm Oliger
* 1645  – 1685  : Balthes Schmitt
* 1640  – 1645  : Johann Schnocks
* 1634  – 1640  : Adam Heil
* 1631  – 1634  : Paulus Pistorius
* 1623  – 1624  : Johann Rapenecker
* 1606  – 1620  : Elias Buschkink
* 1582  – 1606  : Jakob Sauth
* 1574  – 1582  : Johannes Dreis
* 1560  – 1574  : Daniel Kogler
* 1556  : Johann von Stockheim
* 1544  : Friedrich von Stockheim
* 1532  : Friedrich Schlüchterer
* 1518  : Friedrich von Stockheim
* 1517  : Diether Hilchen
* 1507  : Wilhelm Jud
* 1485  : Johann Hilchen
* 1477  : Heinrich von Bergen
* 1476  : Heinrich von Staffel
* 1468  : Frederich Hilchen
* 1466  : Heinrich von Staffel
* 1461  : Frederich Hilchen
* 1460  : Junker Werner Broich
* 1458  : Ritter Philip Hilchen
* 1448  : Ritter Philip Hilchen
* 1445  : Clais von Scharpenstein
* 1443  : Ritter Philip Hilchen
* 1441  : Gerlach von Breitbach
* 1404  : Johann Saneck von Waldeck
* 1401  : Friedreich Gawer von Waldeck
* 1368  : Johann Saneck von Waldeck
* 1363  : Ritter Johann Herwin
* 1353  : Jakob von Ebernsheim
* 1337  : Johann Marschall von Waldeck and Ritter Heinrich von Glimendal
* 1319  : Johann Marschall von Waldeck
* 1316  : Hermann Helkin
* 1298  : Johann von Waldeck
* 1284  : Hugo Helkin
* 1254  : Ritter Petrus
* 1167  : Ritter Hugo
}}

=== Town partnerships ===
*{{flagicon|France}} [[Ligugé]], [[Vienne (department)|Vienne]], [[France]] since 1976
*{{flagicon|France}} [[Saint-Benoît, Vienne|Saint-Benoît]], Vienne, France since 1976

"Adopted wine town":
*{{flagicon|Germany}} [[Gütersloh]], [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]

== Culture and sightseeing==
[[Image:Lorch72.jpg|thumb|Lorch]]
Culturally and politically, Lorch is part of the Hessian [[Rheingau]].

=== Museums ===
The ''Robert-Struppmann-Museum'' is the town's local history [[museum]]. It houses valuable carvings, documents, sculptures, and sacral objects, among other things a [[woodcarving]] of [[John the Baptist]]'s severed head from the twelfth century and the seated Madonna with Christ Child and grapes<!--Is that right?--> from the early fourteenth century. It is open weekend afternoons in spring, summer, and autumn and also serves as a tourist information centre. There are many brochures to be had there for free. Moreover, books about Lorch's history and winegrowing are on sale there.

=== Buildings ===
[[File:20111004 LorchStMartin1.JPG|thumb|St. Martin, Lorch]]
[[File:2011 LorchHilchenhaus1.jpg|thumb|Hilchenhaus]]
* The [[Roman Catholicism|Catholic]] ''Pfarrkirche St. Martin'' (Saint Martin's Parish Church) was completed in the fourteenth century. The [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] building was built over the remains of a still partly preserved Late [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] [[basilica]]. Its centrepiece is the high [[altar]] by the master Hans from [[Worms, Germany|Worms]], installed in 1483. As the biggest, and perhaps first-carved altar, originally conceived as monochrome, it is of outstanding value for [[art history]].<ref>[http://welterbe-mittelrheintal.de/index.php?id=269&L=3 St. Martin, Lorch] on the World Heritage website</ref> The church therefore is secured, but open for visitors between Easter and October on Saturdays between 14:00 and 17:00 and on Sundays between 11:00 and 17:00.
* ''Hilchenhaus'', from the mid sixteenth century, is well known as the "loveliest [[Renaissance]] building on the Middle Rhine". At this time, however, it is a ruin owing to a failed hotel-building venture whose construction work wrought various damages and marring. Sadly, there is no money to renovate it again.
* [[Ruine Nollig|Nollig ruins]], are the remains of the old town fortifications on a craggy ridge overlooking the town.
* The ''Strunk'' (“Stump”), is an old fortification tower from 1527, which once also served as a prison.
* ''Leprosenhaus'' (“Leprosy House”) with Round Tower &ndash; here in the Middle Ages, lepers were given care; at the time it still lay outside the town.
* ''Hexenturm'' ("[[Witches' Tower]]") &ndash; this served in the Middle Ages to keep wrongdoers and witches under lock and key. It was last used in the early eighteenth century.

=== Regular events ===
* ''Tal total'' is held yearly on the last Saturday in June. On this day, ''[[Bundesstraße]]'' 42 between [[Rüdesheim am Rhein|Rüdesheim]] and [[Koblenz]] on the Rhine's right bank and ''Bundesstraße'' 9 on the left between [[Bingen am Rhein|Bingen]] and Koblenz are closed to motorized traffic and left free for cyclists and skaters.
* ''[[Kermis|Kerb]]'' (church consecration festival) is held yearly on the weekend after 8 September.
* ''Kulturtage'' (“Culture Days”), occurs in late September and early October; theatre, concerts, exhibitions.
* ''Weihnachtsmarkt'' (“Christmas Market”), is held annually on the Saturday before the onset of Advent.
* [[Rheingau Musik Festival]] has held an annual concert in the church St. Martin, typically an organ concert, since 1988.

== Economy and infrastructure ==

=== Transport ===
Lorch lies on ''[[Bundesstraße]]'' 42 ([[Koblenz]]–Wiesbaden) and the [[railway]] line that roughly parallels it. It is some 40&nbsp;km to the [[Autobahn]] [[interchange (road)|interchange]] in [[Wiesbaden]] where the B&nbsp;42 meets the [[Bundesautobahn 66|A&nbsp;66]] going towards [[Frankfurt]]. There is a connection to the Autobahn “cross” at [[Mainz]] ([[Bundesautobahn 61|A&nbsp;61]]/[[Bundesautobahn 60|A&nbsp;60]], Cologne/Koblenz/Ludwigshafen) across the [[Wiesbaden-Schierstein]] bridge over the Rhine; and by way of the Rhine ferries at Lorch and [[Kaub]] to the on-ramps at Laudert and Rheinböllen (about 15&nbsp;km).

The town is served by regional services on the [[East Rhine Railway]] sponsored by the [[Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund]].

Moreover, there is the Wiesbaden-Lorchhausen ORN (''Omnibusverkehr Rhein-Nahe'') busline.

The [[Rheinsteig]], the new hiking trail from [[Wiesbaden]] to [[Bonn]] by way of the Ehrenbreitstein fort runs on the Rhine heights of Lorch.

After dealings with the ''[[Bundesvermögensverwaltung]]'' (“Federal Estate Administration”), the town of Lorch managed to build an industrial park with some 20 firms on the lands formerly occupied by the barracks.

=== Winegrowing ===
[[Winegrowing]] in Lorch is run within the [[Rheingau (wine region)|Rheingau winegrowing region]] under the ''Großlage'' (roughly “vineyard group” or “appellation”) “Burgweg”. The individual vineyards are ''Schlossberg'' (53&nbsp;ha), ''Kapellenberg'' (58&nbsp;ha), ''Krone'' (13&nbsp;ha), ''Pfaffenwies'' (35&nbsp;ha), and ''Bodental-Steinberg'' (23&nbsp;ha).

The dominant grape variety is [[Riesling]], but [[Pinot noir]] has a growing share of the harvest. From the wines, ''Edelbrände'' and [[sekt]] are also produced.

The grapes grow in hillside vineyards on stony, heat-storing [[slate]]- and [[quartzite]]-bearing earth. The great expanse of water that is the Rhine accounts for the temperature balance, working as a reflector off which sunlight shines, thereby strengthening it.

=== Education ===
* Wisperschule ([[primary school]])

== Famous people ==
The town's noble family named itself “von Lorch”. Their most important representative was Johann Hilchen (1484–1548), knight and [[Holy Roman Empire|Imperial]] [[field marshal]].

=== Sons and daughters of the town ===
* Dr. [[Gerhard Schwenzer]] (b. 1938). From 1983 to 2005 he was the [[Roman Catholicism|Catholic]] Bishop of [[Oslo]].

=== People with links to the town ===
* Dr. Peter Paul Nahm (1901–1981), German politician ([[Christian Democratic Union (Germany)|CDU]]) and ''Staatssekretär'' (deputy to a cabinet minister<!--NOT Secretary of State in the U.S. sense-->).

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Robert Struppmann: ''Chronik der Stadt Lorch im Rheingau.'' 1981, 1988
* Holger Simon: [http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/artdok/volltexte/2006/206 ''Das Hochaltarretabel aus Lorch am Rhein. Grundlegende Überlegungen zum neuzeitlichen Bildbegriff''] in: [[Norbert Nussbaum]]/Claudia Euskirchen/Stephan Hoppe (publisher), Wege zur Renaissance. Beobachtungen zu den Anfängen neuzeitlicher Kunstauffassung im Rheinland und den Nachbargebieten um 1500. Köln 2003. S. 364-389. (in German)

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Lorch (Rheingau)}}
{{Wikivoyage|Lorch am Rhein}}

=== Documents ===
*[http://www.dilibri.de/content/pageview/3275 Bild von Lorch aus J.F. Dielmann, A. Fay, J. Becker (Zeichner): F.C. Vogels Panorama des Rheins, Bilder des rechten und linken Rheinufers, Lithographische Anstalt F.C. Vogel, Frankfurt 1833]
*[http://www.dilibri.de/content/pageview/3274 Bild der Ruine Nollingen aus J.F. Dielmann, A. Fay, J. Becker (Zeichner): F.C. Vogels Panorama des Rheins, Bilder des rechten und linken Rheinufers, Lithographische Anstalt F.C. Vogel, Frankfurt 1833]
*[http://www.dilibri.de/content/pageview/3273 Bild von Lorchhausen aus J.F. Dielmann, A. Fay, J. Becker (Zeichner): F.C. Vogels Panorama des Rheins, Bilder des rechten und linken Rheinufers, Lithographische Anstalt F.C. Vogel, Frankfurt 1833]

{{Towns and municipalities in Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Germany]]
[[Category:Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis]]
[[Category:Rheingau]]