the manour house of the domdechant werner wine-growing estate in hochheim.
this december marks my two-year setback of blogging in realtime, which i think should be celebrated with this post from december 2019 😂! it's also the last post from that year and we'll finally set our feet into the doomed year of 2020, the year the corona virus turned all our lives around. yay! by now i personally think it's the funniest thing i am so behind to posting more timely, i wonder if i will still remember the memories made in my head at some point! on the other hand, isn't it nice to look back and reminisce about all the little adventures you had that long ago, realizing that you've been quite active, even if your memory sometimes tells you otherwise? that you've not been the homebody you keep telling yourself you are? i admit, i prefer a good mix of staying home and going on walks, so homebody can't really be applied to myself, but sometimes, between all the work stress and social activities one has to endure every now and then, it feels like one has led a very boring live during it all. so it's kinda nice to look back and remind myself of the opposite even. in the end, i barely have time to blog on time, so that surely must mean i am a busy bee, right?
this post will be about a walk i did on one of the very last days of december 2019, which led me to hochheim, a small town east of wiesbaden. it's a typical winegrowing town of the rheingau region, well-known for producing high quality wines and sparkling wines. i had never thoroughly explored the town before and figured it was about time, since my knowledge about everything east to wiesbaden is generally quite spotty ( even in frankfurt there are still too many white spots on my personal exploration map - after living 10 years in hesse and close to that mega city, that's some kind of sacrilege 😅 ). i had to realize that hochheim has a very charming old city and its vineyard hills were scenically overlooking a plain that reaches from the city of darmstadt, to the odenwald & bergstraße mountains, and also over to another winegrowing region - rhenish hesse, which is situated in the state of rhineland-palatinate!
hochheim is also known to be a host of one of the oldest german folk festivals - the hochheimer markt, which always takes place in autumn and dates back to the 15th century. it's also one of the biggest festivals in my region, too ( and therefore has never been on my radar, because i dislike huge human gatherings 😅 - apparently many people seem to adore it, though ).
close-up of the manor house, which is situated on the vineyard site 'hochheimer domdechaney'. the manor was built in 1864 and serves as a representative venue for the company, housing events like wine tastings, family celebrations and other social happenings.
the domdechaney vineyards were historically in possession of the deans of the mainz cathedral chapter, they had a palace on the ground that served as summer residence. as the vineyard is very close to the rhine river it also was quite a good investment - the good water supply makes the vines happy and the wine coming out of this soil is one of the best ones you can purchase in the whole wine region, making it a treasurable product to deal with.
another former estate mansion, with a late classicist facade from the 1850ies. buildings like these indicate the wealth of their former owners who all made quite the profit off of their vineyards.
all these buildings have an extremely sprawling view down onto the river plains, probably making them a high-sought after real estate. no wonder that the deans chose these exact spots to build their residences. the former deanery is from the 1760ies and at some point later was repurposed into the local district court. these days it seems like it's used for residential purposes.
view towards the canon's house of the deanery and towards st. peter & paul church.
getting and idea of how beautiful the view around hochheim is.
the canon's house is also called 'schlösschen' ( little castle ) and was used as the summer residence of the deans and canons of the mainz cathedral.
directly adjoined to the litte castle is st. paul & peter's church - built in 1730/31 by johann farolsky to replace a former church. it's well known for its late baroque frescos inside the church which were painted by johann baptist enderle.
both the little castle and the church were built on a super visible point on the vineyard hills, they can be seen from a far distance and build a very memorable ensemble.
beautiful colourful sexton house ( from 1746 ) that can be found on the property of the church. it also has an integrated gate at the back of the house, leading pilgrims into the city. unfortunately i didn't take a proper photo of it, but you may understand what it looks like when you click this here link ;)
i don't know about you, but houses like these make me want to move in immediately. they are so adorable!
in the rose garden next to the church overlooking the plains stands a peculiar statue, 'great rythm', created by rudolf j. kaltenbach, who had been an altar server at the church for a long time. it got installed in 2006, but was sculpted in 2000. the material it is made from black gabbro - a volcanic rock that's usually very coarse-grained, but looked exceptionally fine-grained in processed form.
i love smoothed rocks like this, they are so wonderful to touch! it's amazing what you can make out of rocks, just by looking at this you would never guess it was one! it looks so sinuous and malleable!
i stepped into the church for a short moment to check out the famed interiors. the rococo furnishings were quite beautiful and the late winter sun shining through the church windows intensified the devotional atmosphere.
looking up you'll discover rich rocaille work framing the holy family.
the altar was abundantly decorated with typical rococo elements, lots of gold and exquisite stone retable screens. the painting on the ceiling is one of enderle's creations. it depicts the transfiguration of the saints and glorification of the church.
the nave's painting is an incredible and massive depiction of st. peter and paul's martyrdom. pictures really can't do it any justice.
outside again saying one last goodbye to the sexton house.
a look into a winemakers property. the small doors at each side of the entrance are leading
down to the wine cellars.
since hochheim is such a wine town you'll find wineries around every corner. this tithe barn was part of the deanery i mentioned before, the one that also owned the little palace next to st. paul & peter's.
you'll encounter plenty of timber-framed houses on your walk through the old town.
some really intricately built! and of course tiny alleyway should not be missed either, they do have the most charming houses! the house on the right is from the beginning of the 17th century.
some houses i can't definitely assign to a special time, they probably were altered in a way and therefore didn't make it onto the memorial lists. so all that's left to do when looking at these houses is to enjoy them and wishing to move in immediately ;D
some of these details, though 😍 such beautiful carvings.
since it was shortly after chistmas most of the decorations were still up. especially in these old towns you can often find that the most effective decor is the very simple ones. hanging up a wooden star or putting up a cone on a thread or wrapping tiny chains of lights around a cactus, these are very simple but beautiful ways to upgrade your ancient home!
i fell so in love with the tiny alleyways of the old city 😍 the wintergasse was absolutely charming with its timber-framed houses!
this particular house took my heart by storm, i loved its turquoise colour, the cobblestone foundation, the tiny windows and the old wooden yard gate! that's what an early 18th century german fairytale house should look like 😍
i loved the decorations as well! tiny cute stuff for tiny cute windows. the visible studwork additionally enhances the aesthetic!
when worn-out sandstone steps lead up to a tiny entrance door, you know that i can't resist exclaiming my love for this house anymore! the wooden gate's decorational press cuts also were such a wonderful detail 😍
the sun arrived again for a short magical moment to enlighten this street scenery.
love finding tiny gimmicks like this little bird feeder in front of an old wall...
... or dragons on roofs. 🐉
this entrance gate from 1756 belongs to a former winery.
gorgeous late baroque manorial residential building from 1742. in this building resides a silversmithing, jewellery and ceramics art gallery, which might be interesting for some to see. some of the artists exhibited here really have some beautiful work on display.
more beautiful latticework 😍 this house was probably built around 1609, the inserted lattices were elaborately carved with little noses and upsweeps.
another beautiful alleyway - the rathausstraße. the house on the right ( probably built after 1650 ) charms with nicely coloured latticework :3
the entrance to domdechant werner's wine-growing estate! several more buildings belong to the manor, on the left a former depot which is now a housing unit and on the right a three-side farmyard from the 17th century. the manor itself looks like a tpyical french classic era villa with its folding shutters.
another random window situation i adored ❤
the same street, just shot into the opposite direction. on the right the aforementioned three-side farmstead with shingled upper floor. i also am a great friend of cobblestone walls as seen on the left side 😍
this whole ensembe once belonged to a champagne producer called carl graeger ( the company has now moved to a different location in a different city ). i don't know when these two buildings were built, but are probably older than 1877, which was when the company started producing in hochheim.
the former head-office in the back still presents carl graeger's signature. their sparkling wines were world-renowned until the 1st world war, after that the company suffered great loss in revenues. the family had to sell the company in the 1970ies to a new owner who moved the production to bingen in the 1990ies. they kept the name though and still produce sparkling wine today.
my little weird brain sent fast signals to my heart when it saw this building and it beat faster immediately upon seeing the patterned facade. '1970ies or 1980ies', my brain said, 'postmodern for sure'. unfortunately these kinda buildings have often no lobbies in the architecture scene, so it's hard to find information on their architects or other details.
it also sort of stands out like 'a sore wound' as some would say, it was directly next to all kinds of medieval architecture. i loved the ceramic-looking tiles of the facade and the 3D effect they created!
and these decorational glazed tiles as well, especially in combination with the glass modules!
close-up. the colours and the glazing 😍 so beautiful!
returning to good old timber-frame patterns in seasonal dress!
this square historically was part of a bigger market square in medieval times, now it is quite small but it still boasts a special sculpture, a madonna with child under a cast-iron baldachin. the madonna is dating back to 1770, though legend says it might have existed earlier. the restaurant la grotta in the back is situated in a house from probably the same era, too.
this statue surely is a gem of the city, really prettifies the otherwise quite unassuming square. it is said that it protects the city from all evil!
colourful houses and beautiful entrances will catch your eyes everywhere 😍 the kaiserhofgalerie is an assortment of beautiful houses lined up left and right a small alleyway and there's also all kinds of cute little shops everywhere and restaurants and cafes, too.
i discovered what seemed to be like a technical museum, with all kinds of apparatuses, like telephones from way back when they were invented or old radios and televisions. i love looking at old technical devices and am always super smitten with how simple yet effective they were. unlike the highly developed machines of today where you're not even able to try to repair them on your own and most often have to throw them away, these surely could be saved and their lives prolonged.
all the gadgets came from the pool of a local company for stage equipment and event management. i don't know about you, but i wouldn't say no tho these chic radios 😍
this one from 1951 was beautiful!
grammophones were also part of the exhibit. sometimes i wish that grammophones were still en vogue, i would certainly love to possess one and listen to music with these gorgeous devices.
exploring more of the narrow little alleyways of the kaiserhofgalerie.
finding little fountains and wells everywhere.
and other little trinkets like santa moons.
i absolutely love discovering passages and backyards. it almost feels like finding secret portals to an invisible world.
in the kaiserhofgalerie you can find several vaulted cellars, which can be rented for any kind of social happenings and events. this one once belonged to an inn and was built in 1884. it's called 'schwanenkeller' after the inn's name 'gasthaus zum schwanen'. the swans are indicative of that, too!
i eventually left the old city for a bit to check out newer parts, but i wasn't as mesmerized by what the rest of the city offered. occasionally i would stumble upon some post-modern tidbits, like this entrance situation.
or cute tiled store fronts like this one that offered household goods.
breathes the air of the golden times of consumerism ( maybe late 50ies to early 70ies?)
would you please look at this absolutely fantastic display of patterns? what a gorgeous garage 😍
the last image i shot in hochheim before heading back to the car. the brickstone-clad house in the front was a wine press house historically ( built in 1890 ), but now it houses the hochheim housing society.
thus ends the last post from the year 2019. while it wasn't a bombastic finale maybe, with fireworks and glowing lights, it sure was a nice walk through a part of my homeland away from home that i don't visit too often. it always makes me realize how much more there is still to uncover and is reminding me to hold my eyes and mind open for places that are not usually situated in areas full of natural beauty. quite frankly, hochheim's most notable feature when it comes to nature is that it's situated high above the rhine river on a big wineyard hill, but other than that, it's relatively unremarkable. still the little town has a charm that is not easy to overlook and makes you want to return again for further explorations!
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