Wiesbaden-Schierstein
Encyclopedia
Schierstein is a southwestern borough
of Wiesbaden
, capital of state of Hesse
, Germany
. First mentioned in historical records in 860, Schierstein was incorporated into Wiesbaden in 1926. Today the borough has about 10,000 residents. Situated on the Rhine River, Schierstein is known as the "Gateway to the Rheingau
."
settlement was located north of present-day Schierstein. The inhabitants lived on fishing and hunting. The course of the Rhine at this time extended to the edge of the forest. Here there was a large lake, which extended as far west as the Binger Loch (near Bingen am Rhein
). Sand deposits and other evidence indicates that this lake extended as far north as Blierweg (near Autobahn A-66
), Nußberg, and Freudenberg. Over the centuries, the channel at Binger Loch grew deeper and consequently the water level and area of the lake decreased. The dry land soon attracted the first settlers to present-day Schierstein.
By that time, the Roman Empire
was expanding north, building fortresses beyond the Rhine. A colony of soldiers was established in Schierstein which served as an advanced guard. The colony was established north of the present Schierstein railway station, as shown by archeological finds of bronze, stone, horn and clay discovered there. Also found from this period was a giant Jovian
pillar. Such columns were often erected by Roman landowners to show that their property stood under the protection of the deity. The Schiersteiner pillar is completely preserved. It clearly depicts a Germanic view of Jupiter, as a flying rider modelled after the Germanic god Wotan
.
Roman rule in Schierstein lasted for almost three and a half centuries. Then the Franks
settled in the Rhine Valley. To better manage the Frankish Empire, Charlemagne
divided his kingdom into individual "Gaue". Schierstein belonged to Königssondergau
, which stretched from Walluf
to Kriftel
. The region west of Schierstein received its current name of "Rheingau".
The name of Schierstein changed often over time: it was Skerdesstein in 943, Skerdisstein by 1000, and Scerstein in 1015. This last name is similar present-day vernacular pronunciation "Scherstaa". Schierstein means "Fortress of Sherto", suggesting that there was probably a castle here. This assumption is confirmed by Roman bricks found on the grounds of the Söhnlein plant. Documents dating to 1275 show that a court (German Centgericht) functioned here made up of the mayor and seven jury members.
In the following centuries, the small community suffered many armed conflicts, being spared from none of the wars that raged across the Rhineland. The population especially suffered during the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). Up to that time, the farmers had achieved a certain prosperity, but, according to a chronicle of several large estates, almost all were terribly devastated and vineyards left to grow wild. The plague
decimated the population and Schierstein fell into large debt. Therefore, the community requested the Count of Nassau
Georg August Samuel to allow the town free movement of goods without tax (which he did). Only in 1720 was the community able to cover part of its debts.
From 1745 to 1763, Schierstein was alternately occupied by French
and imperial
troops and the citizens forced to give them quarter. However, the Protestant Church was constructed at this time.
In the middle of the 19th century, Schierstein began to grow strongly due to the construction of the port. At the beginning of the 20th Century it was connected with Wiesbaden by a tram, via Biebrich
. In 1926, Schierstein was incorporated into the city of Wiesbaden.
In 1923, the Schierstein Kaserne was built east of the town center to house occupation troops of the French Army
(the 133rd and 243rd Field Artillery Regiments) following World War I
. In January 1926, the French troops were replaced in Schierstein by two English
infantry companies of the 2nd Battalion, who remained until 1930. In 1938, the Kaserne officially became a German military installation, housing the 12th German Medical Supply Depot. The depot remained at Schierstein until late 1945, when the United States Army
forces occupied Wiesbaden. The Schierstein Kaserne eventually became the headquarters of the U.S. Air Force
497th Reconnaissance Technical Group in early 1952, who remained until the site was deactivated on July 1, 1992. The site of the former Kaserne has since been redeveloped as residential housing.
Christophorus Church is located in the middle of the old town. Directly next door is the entrance to the Heritage Museum. On Bernhard-Schwarz-Straße, a green space marks the location of the destroyed synagogue.
On Küferstraße, a well-known pair of white stork
s nests on an abandoned chimney. About 50 stork pairs breed in a nature conservation area on the grounds of the Rhine water treatment plant on the west side of Schierstein, between the borough and Walluf. The storks have been reintroduced by the Schiersteiner Storchengemeinschaft (“Schierstein Stork Association”) beginning in 1972. Since the reintroduction of the white stork in Schierstein, over 600 young storks have been born in Schierstein. Many of them now breed in other places in Germany and abroad.
Also west of the town center stands the Rheingau Palace, the former head of Sektkellerei Söhnlein. Following the acquisition of Söhnlein also by its Wiesbaden-based competitor Henkell's, the headquarters was abandoned. Today, the buildings are used for offices. Among other things, a branch of the European Business School
of Oestrich-Winkel
is located here.
To the east of the old town Schierstein borders the great industrial Äppelallee of the neighboring borough of Biebrich
. North is the Siedlung Freudenberg neighborhood, part of the borough of Wiesbaden-Dotzheim
. Northwest of Schierstein is the borough of Frauenstein
and west is the wine center of Walluf
.
today. Constructed in 1858, the port has a length of 1250 meters and has become a water sports center with a 1250 meter-long regatta
course. On its northern shore is the port promenade, which because of its Mediterranean flair, has become known as the "Schiersteiner Riviera".
Spanning the small exit from the harbor to the Rhein is the Dyckerhoff Bridge. The pedestrian bridge was donated in 1967 by the Wiesbaden cement manufacturer of that name. The bridge, with its elegant arc, was one of the first prestressed concrete bridges in Germany.
Several yacht clubs and water-sports clubs are based at the Schiersteiner Port, including the Middle Rhine Motorboat Club and the water-sports club Wassersportverein Schierstein. The port also has a boathouse for the Wiesbaden schools and the Wiesbaden-Biebrich rowing society, which offers rowing as a hobby and a competitive sport for youth and adults.
For more than 15 years, the Volkshochschule Wiesbaden has offered training for water sports at the Schiersteiner Port, including customer seminars, boat driver's licenses for sailing and motor boats, and navigation.
The "Schiersteiner Harbor Festival" is held at the Port every year in mid-July. It includes dragon boat races and a fireworks display. In addition, the Wiesbaden-Biebrich Rowing Society holds the Ruder ("Helm") Regatta at the Schiersteiner Port each year. Since August 2007, the 1.9 km swimming distance of the "Ironman 70.3 Germany Wiesbaden" Triathlon has gone through the Schiersteiner Harbor docks, at the western end of which is the first transition area for cycling.
For several years, the Schiersteiner Port regularly hosts the Wiesbaden city championship in Formula Future motorboat racing
. In this discipline, Wiesbaden has provided, since the year 2000, one European champion, two German champions, three German runners-up, four Hessen champions, and a 5th Place in the world championships. Leaders in placement and youth training is the Wiesbaden Yacht Club. For the city championship and the necessary training, a course is laid out with buoys in the eastern Harbor.
architect Anselm Franz von Ritter zu Groenesteyn
, who owned property in Schierstein, had donated a site to the church in 1750. In 1748, the Mayor of Frankfurt
, merchant and banker Johann Georg von Schweitzer (a member of the Frauenstein
Gesellschaft), had allowed the Schiersteiner curate a collection of 604 guilders in the Free Imperial City, which provided the basis for the construction of the church.
After the blueprints of Johann Georg Bager were rejected by Prince Charles of Nassau-Usingen as too big and too expensive, a cheaper plan was designed by Johann Scheffer, which the prince approved. Von Ritter contributed suggestions, especially in the interior decoration.
Von Schweitzer tasked Frankfurt sculptor Johann Daniel Schnorr with the production of the pulpit and altar. On the pulpit, Schnorr carved three coats of arms: in the middle was the emblem of Nassau-Usingen, on the right was the Schiersteiner orb with a cross, and on the left was the crest of von Schweitzer, the Frankfurt benefactor. Above the pulpit are three cherubs: one holding a chalice (representing faith), another holding an anchor (representing hope), and the third - placed higher than faith and hope - holding the Commandments (representing Love). (This is a representation of St. Paul's quotation in 1 Corinthians 13:13 - "But now remain faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love".) The four Corinthian columns of the altar area symbolize the four evangelists. The twelve Doric columns bearing the galleries represent the twelve apostles.
Scheffer, for reasons of cost, planned a small wooden bell tower instead of a stone tower. The tower was built on the eastern end of the roof, positioned directly behind the pulpit from where it could be rung.
The foundation stone was laid on May 3, 1752 and the topping-out ceremony on November 9, 1752. The costs of building of 9006 guilders was nearly double the original estimate, but it was offset by revenue of 9262 guilders obtained from loans, collections (especially from the Frankfurt collection), donations and grants, together with the proceeds from the sale of recyclable materials salvaged from the old church.
The church is a concert venue of the Schiersteiner Kantorei and of the Rheingau Musik Festival
.
(23.6%), Greece
(22.7%), Italy
(8.1%), Poland
(6.1%), and Serbia
(5.5%).
Also as of January 1, 2008, the age structure of the population was as follows:
North of the Schierstein town center, running parallel to the Rhine, is Autobahn 66
. West of Schierstein it becomes Federal Route 42, leading into the Rheingau to Rüdesheim. Northeast of Schierstein is the Schiersteiner Kreuz interchange, where Autobahn 643
intersects the A 66. The A 643 leads south to Mainz
, crossing the Rhine via the Schierstein Bridge
.
Schierstein's railway station is situated on the East Rhine railway, which connects Wiesbaden's Hauptbahnhof
(main train station) with Niederlahnstein
. The station is served by regional trains to Koblenz
and Frankfurt am Main via the Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof.
Schierstein is served by several bus routes of Stadtwerke Wiesbaden (ESWE) and the Omnibusverkehr Rhein-Nahe GmbH (ORN), which connect it with the Wiesbaden city center. In the opposite direction, ORN buses lead to the Rheingau and Taunus
. MVG Mainz and ESWE operate Community Route 9 to Mainz-Gonsenheim and route 45 to the Mainz Hauptbahnhof
via Mainz-Mombach.
The distribution of seats in the Ortsbeirat of Schierstein is as follows:
racing.
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, capital of state of Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. First mentioned in historical records in 860, Schierstein was incorporated into Wiesbaden in 1926. Today the borough has about 10,000 residents. Situated on the Rhine River, Schierstein is known as the "Gateway to the Rheingau
Rheingau
The Rheingau is the hill country on the north side of the Rhine River between Wiesbaden and Lorch near Frankfurt, reaching from the western Taunus to the Rhine. It lies in the state of Hesse and is part of the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis administrative district...
."
History
Before about 2000 years ago, a small GermanicGermanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
settlement was located north of present-day Schierstein. The inhabitants lived on fishing and hunting. The course of the Rhine at this time extended to the edge of the forest. Here there was a large lake, which extended as far west as the Binger Loch (near Bingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The settlement’s original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant “hole in the rock”, a description of the shoal behind the Mäuseturm, known as the Binger Loch. Bingen was the starting point for the...
). Sand deposits and other evidence indicates that this lake extended as far north as Blierweg (near Autobahn A-66
Bundesautobahn 66
is an autobahn in southwestern Germany. It connects the Taunus to Fulda, passing close to Frankfurt am Main. The first part of the autobahn between Wiesbaden and the Nordwestkreuz Frankfurt, was opened as early as 1934, then called the Rhein-Main-Schnellweg. It became an autobahn in 1965.The...
), Nußberg, and Freudenberg. Over the centuries, the channel at Binger Loch grew deeper and consequently the water level and area of the lake decreased. The dry land soon attracted the first settlers to present-day Schierstein.
By that time, the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
was expanding north, building fortresses beyond the Rhine. A colony of soldiers was established in Schierstein which served as an advanced guard. The colony was established north of the present Schierstein railway station, as shown by archeological finds of bronze, stone, horn and clay discovered there. Also found from this period was a giant Jovian
Jupiter (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
pillar. Such columns were often erected by Roman landowners to show that their property stood under the protection of the deity. The Schiersteiner pillar is completely preserved. It clearly depicts a Germanic view of Jupiter, as a flying rider modelled after the Germanic god Wotan
Wodanaz
or is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of a god of Germanic paganism, known as in Norse mythology, in Old English, or in Old High German and in Lombardic...
.
Roman rule in Schierstein lasted for almost three and a half centuries. Then the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
settled in the Rhine Valley. To better manage the Frankish Empire, Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
divided his kingdom into individual "Gaue". Schierstein belonged to Königssondergau
Königssondergau
The Königssondergau was a Frankish gau which existed in the area north of the confluence of the Rhine and Main rivers in Germany, from Frankish times until the end of the 12th century. Often mistakenly equated with the Rheingau, the Gau was based around the former Roman administrative district...
, which stretched from Walluf
Walluf
Walluf is a community in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. With 5,581 residents in its 6.74 square kilometer area, it is the most densely populated community in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis.- Location :...
to Kriftel
Kriftel
Kriftel is a municipality in the Main-Taunus district, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 16 km west of Frankfurt .It has about 10,000 inhabitants....
. The region west of Schierstein received its current name of "Rheingau".
The name of Schierstein changed often over time: it was Skerdesstein in 943, Skerdisstein by 1000, and Scerstein in 1015. This last name is similar present-day vernacular pronunciation "Scherstaa". Schierstein means "Fortress of Sherto", suggesting that there was probably a castle here. This assumption is confirmed by Roman bricks found on the grounds of the Söhnlein plant. Documents dating to 1275 show that a court (German Centgericht) functioned here made up of the mayor and seven jury members.
In the following centuries, the small community suffered many armed conflicts, being spared from none of the wars that raged across the Rhineland. The population especially suffered during the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). Up to that time, the farmers had achieved a certain prosperity, but, according to a chronicle of several large estates, almost all were terribly devastated and vineyards left to grow wild. The plague
Black Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
decimated the population and Schierstein fell into large debt. Therefore, the community requested the Count of Nassau
Nassau (state)
Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire and later in the German Confederation. Its ruling dynasty, now extinct in male line, was the House of Nassau.-Origins:...
Georg August Samuel to allow the town free movement of goods without tax (which he did). Only in 1720 was the community able to cover part of its debts.
From 1745 to 1763, Schierstein was alternately occupied by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
troops and the citizens forced to give them quarter. However, the Protestant Church was constructed at this time.
In the middle of the 19th century, Schierstein began to grow strongly due to the construction of the port. At the beginning of the 20th Century it was connected with Wiesbaden by a tram, via Biebrich
Wiesbaden-Biebrich
Biebrich is a borough of the city of Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany. With over 36,000 inhabitants, it is the most-populated of Wiesbaden's boroughs. It is located south of the city center on the Rhine River, opposite the Mainz borough of Mombach...
. In 1926, Schierstein was incorporated into the city of Wiesbaden.
In 1923, the Schierstein Kaserne was built east of the town center to house occupation troops of the French Army
French Army
The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...
(the 133rd and 243rd Field Artillery Regiments) following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In January 1926, the French troops were replaced in Schierstein by two English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
infantry companies of the 2nd Battalion, who remained until 1930. In 1938, the Kaserne officially became a German military installation, housing the 12th German Medical Supply Depot. The depot remained at Schierstein until late 1945, when the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
forces occupied Wiesbaden. The Schierstein Kaserne eventually became the headquarters of the U.S. Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
497th Reconnaissance Technical Group in early 1952, who remained until the site was deactivated on July 1, 1992. The site of the former Kaserne has since been redeveloped as residential housing.
General description
The old town center with its narrow alleys is situated upstream of the Schiersteiner Port. The RococoRococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
Christophorus Church is located in the middle of the old town. Directly next door is the entrance to the Heritage Museum. On Bernhard-Schwarz-Straße, a green space marks the location of the destroyed synagogue.
On Küferstraße, a well-known pair of white stork
White Stork
The White Stork is a large bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on its wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average from beak tip to end of tail, with a wingspan...
s nests on an abandoned chimney. About 50 stork pairs breed in a nature conservation area on the grounds of the Rhine water treatment plant on the west side of Schierstein, between the borough and Walluf. The storks have been reintroduced by the Schiersteiner Storchengemeinschaft (“Schierstein Stork Association”) beginning in 1972. Since the reintroduction of the white stork in Schierstein, over 600 young storks have been born in Schierstein. Many of them now breed in other places in Germany and abroad.
Also west of the town center stands the Rheingau Palace, the former head of Sektkellerei Söhnlein. Following the acquisition of Söhnlein also by its Wiesbaden-based competitor Henkell's, the headquarters was abandoned. Today, the buildings are used for offices. Among other things, a branch of the European Business School
European Business School International University Schloss Reichartshausen
The EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht in Wiesbaden and Oestrich-Winkel, Germany, was founded in 1971. The university's activities focus on 3 core areas: undergraduate, postgraduate programs and executive education...
of Oestrich-Winkel
Oestrich-Winkel
Oestrich-Winkel is a town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany.- Location :This is a young town with roughly 12,000 inhabitants, having come into being in 1972 through the merger of the self-governing communities of Mittelheim, Oestrich and Winkel;...
is located here.
To the east of the old town Schierstein borders the great industrial Äppelallee of the neighboring borough of Biebrich
Wiesbaden-Biebrich
Biebrich is a borough of the city of Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany. With over 36,000 inhabitants, it is the most-populated of Wiesbaden's boroughs. It is located south of the city center on the Rhine River, opposite the Mainz borough of Mombach...
. North is the Siedlung Freudenberg neighborhood, part of the borough of Wiesbaden-Dotzheim
Wiesbaden-Dotzheim
Dotzheim is a western borough of Wiesbaden, capital of the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the largest borough of the city by area and, with over 26,000 inhabitants, it is the second-most populated of Wiesbaden's suburban boroughs. It was the largest village in the former Duchy of Nassau...
. Northwest of Schierstein is the borough of Frauenstein
Wiesbaden-Frauenstein
Frauenstein is the western-most borough of the city of Wiesbaden, located in the Rhine Main Area near Frankfurt and capital of the federal state of Hesse, Germany. The borough has a population of approximately 2,400. The formerly independent village was incorporated into Wiesbaden in 1928.The...
and west is the wine center of Walluf
Walluf
Walluf is a community in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. With 5,581 residents in its 6.74 square kilometer area, it is the most densely populated community in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis.- Location :...
.
Schiersteiner Port
The Schiersteiner Port is situated along the Rhine (km 506.0) in Schierstein. The Port is largely used as a marinaMarina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
today. Constructed in 1858, the port has a length of 1250 meters and has become a water sports center with a 1250 meter-long regatta
Regatta
A regatta is a series of boat races. The term typically describes racing events of rowed or sailed water craft, although some powerboat race series are also called regattas...
course. On its northern shore is the port promenade, which because of its Mediterranean flair, has become known as the "Schiersteiner Riviera".
Spanning the small exit from the harbor to the Rhein is the Dyckerhoff Bridge. The pedestrian bridge was donated in 1967 by the Wiesbaden cement manufacturer of that name. The bridge, with its elegant arc, was one of the first prestressed concrete bridges in Germany.
Several yacht clubs and water-sports clubs are based at the Schiersteiner Port, including the Middle Rhine Motorboat Club and the water-sports club Wassersportverein Schierstein. The port also has a boathouse for the Wiesbaden schools and the Wiesbaden-Biebrich rowing society, which offers rowing as a hobby and a competitive sport for youth and adults.
For more than 15 years, the Volkshochschule Wiesbaden has offered training for water sports at the Schiersteiner Port, including customer seminars, boat driver's licenses for sailing and motor boats, and navigation.
The "Schiersteiner Harbor Festival" is held at the Port every year in mid-July. It includes dragon boat races and a fireworks display. In addition, the Wiesbaden-Biebrich Rowing Society holds the Ruder ("Helm") Regatta at the Schiersteiner Port each year. Since August 2007, the 1.9 km swimming distance of the "Ironman 70.3 Germany Wiesbaden" Triathlon has gone through the Schiersteiner Harbor docks, at the western end of which is the first transition area for cycling.
For several years, the Schiersteiner Port regularly hosts the Wiesbaden city championship in Formula Future motorboat racing
Motorboat racing
Motorboat racing takes several forms:*Drag boat racing*Hydroplane racing*Jet sprint boat racing*Offshore powerboat racing*F1 Powerboat World Championship...
. In this discipline, Wiesbaden has provided, since the year 2000, one European champion, two German champions, three German runners-up, four Hessen champions, and a 5th Place in the world championships. Leaders in placement and youth training is the Wiesbaden Yacht Club. For the city championship and the necessary training, a course is laid out with buoys in the eastern Harbor.
The Christophorus Church
The Protestant Church of St. Christopher was built in 1752. It replaced an older church from the 9th Century, which had become so dilapidated that in January 1752 parts of the church tower collapsed. The congregation had already contemplated building a new church for several years, since the old building had become too small. The BaroqueBaroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
architect Anselm Franz von Ritter zu Groenesteyn
Anselm Franz von Ritter zu Groenesteyn
Anselm Franz Freiherr von Ritter zu Groenesteyn was a Chamberlain of Electoral Mainz, privy counsellor, Majordomo, temporarily Vitztum , High Director of Building and exceptionally gifted architect...
, who owned property in Schierstein, had donated a site to the church in 1750. In 1748, the Mayor of Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, merchant and banker Johann Georg von Schweitzer (a member of the Frauenstein
Wiesbaden-Frauenstein
Frauenstein is the western-most borough of the city of Wiesbaden, located in the Rhine Main Area near Frankfurt and capital of the federal state of Hesse, Germany. The borough has a population of approximately 2,400. The formerly independent village was incorporated into Wiesbaden in 1928.The...
Gesellschaft), had allowed the Schiersteiner curate a collection of 604 guilders in the Free Imperial City, which provided the basis for the construction of the church.
After the blueprints of Johann Georg Bager were rejected by Prince Charles of Nassau-Usingen as too big and too expensive, a cheaper plan was designed by Johann Scheffer, which the prince approved. Von Ritter contributed suggestions, especially in the interior decoration.
Von Schweitzer tasked Frankfurt sculptor Johann Daniel Schnorr with the production of the pulpit and altar. On the pulpit, Schnorr carved three coats of arms: in the middle was the emblem of Nassau-Usingen, on the right was the Schiersteiner orb with a cross, and on the left was the crest of von Schweitzer, the Frankfurt benefactor. Above the pulpit are three cherubs: one holding a chalice (representing faith), another holding an anchor (representing hope), and the third - placed higher than faith and hope - holding the Commandments (representing Love). (This is a representation of St. Paul's quotation in 1 Corinthians 13:13 - "But now remain faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love".) The four Corinthian columns of the altar area symbolize the four evangelists. The twelve Doric columns bearing the galleries represent the twelve apostles.
Scheffer, for reasons of cost, planned a small wooden bell tower instead of a stone tower. The tower was built on the eastern end of the roof, positioned directly behind the pulpit from where it could be rung.
The foundation stone was laid on May 3, 1752 and the topping-out ceremony on November 9, 1752. The costs of building of 9006 guilders was nearly double the original estimate, but it was offset by revenue of 9262 guilders obtained from loans, collections (especially from the Frankfurt collection), donations and grants, together with the proceeds from the sale of recyclable materials salvaged from the old church.
The church is a concert venue of the Schiersteiner Kantorei and of the Rheingau Musik Festival
Rheingau Musik Festival
The Rheingau Musik Festival is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres...
.
Religious life
Besides the Church of St. Christopher, the Protestant community of Schierstein also includes the over forty year-old Church of the Resurrection in North Schierstein (the part of the borough north of the railway line). Schierstein is also home to the Roman Catholic Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, consecrated in 1968. The portal displays hammered-copper symbols of the primary occupations of the residents of Schierstein (fishing, agriculture, viticulture, industry), as well as the historical symbol of Schierstein (the royal orb) and the symbols for the two patron saints (a key and sword, respectively).Demographics
As of November 30, 2008, Schierstein has 10,106 inhabitants, of whom 5,228(51.7%) are women and 4,878 (48.3%) are men. The percentage of foreigners is 13.7% (1,384). As of January 1, 2008, the primary countries of origin of the foreign citizens were TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
(23.6%), Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
(22.7%), Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(8.1%), Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(6.1%), and Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
(5.5%).
Also as of January 1, 2008, the age structure of the population was as follows:
| Age (years) | Percentage of Population |
| Younger than 6 | 5.1 |
| 6 to 17 | 10.4 |
| 18 to 49 | 41.4 |
| 50 to 64 | 19.3 |
| 65 to 74 | 14.2 |
| 75 and older | 9.7 |
Transportation
Bundesautobahn 66
is an autobahn in southwestern Germany. It connects the Taunus to Fulda, passing close to Frankfurt am Main. The first part of the autobahn between Wiesbaden and the Nordwestkreuz Frankfurt, was opened as early as 1934, then called the Rhein-Main-Schnellweg. It became an autobahn in 1965.The...
. West of Schierstein it becomes Federal Route 42, leading into the Rheingau to Rüdesheim. Northeast of Schierstein is the Schiersteiner Kreuz interchange, where Autobahn 643
Bundesautobahn 643
is a short autobahn in Germany. The long motorway crosses the Rhine River, connecting the cities of Wiesbaden and Mainz, the capital cities of the federal states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, respectively...
intersects the A 66. The A 643 leads south to Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, crossing the Rhine via the Schierstein Bridge
Schierstein Bridge
The Schierstein Bridge is long, four-lane highway bridge in Germany. It carries Bundesautobahn 643 over the Rhine River between Mainz-Mombach, Rhineland-Palatinate and Wiesbaden-Schierstein, Hesse...
.
Schierstein's railway station is situated on the East Rhine railway, which connects Wiesbaden's Hauptbahnhof
Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Wiesbaden, the state capital of the German state of Hesse. It is a terminal station at the southern edge of the city center and is served by over 500 long-distance and regional trains and used by more than 30,000 travelers each day.-History:The current station...
(main train station) with Niederlahnstein
Niederlahnstein
Niederlahnstein is a part of the city of Lahnstein in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany.-Description and history:Niederlahnstein is situated on the right bank of the Rhine. In 1905, it had a population of 4,351 people. By 1939, this had grown to 6,812. It has two Roman Catholic churches. In 1911, the...
. The station is served by regional trains to Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
and Frankfurt am Main via the Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof.
Schierstein is served by several bus routes of Stadtwerke Wiesbaden (ESWE) and the Omnibusverkehr Rhein-Nahe GmbH (ORN), which connect it with the Wiesbaden city center. In the opposite direction, ORN buses lead to the Rheingau and Taunus
Taunus
The Taunus is a low mountain range in Hesse, Germany that composes part of the Rhenish Slate Mountains. It is bounded by the river valleys of Rhine, Main and Lahn. On the opposite side of the Rhine, the mountains are continued by the Hunsrück...
. MVG Mainz and ESWE operate Community Route 9 to Mainz-Gonsenheim and route 45 to the Mainz Hauptbahnhof
Mainz Hauptbahnhof
is the Hauptbahnhof for the city of Mainz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is used by about 80,000 travellers and visitors each day and is therefore one of the busiest 21 stations in Germany...
via Mainz-Mombach.
Industry
Schierstein has two industrial areas - on the east side of the borough along the A-643 and a smaller area north of the railroad line. Major companies include Dow Corning, bearing-manufacturer Federal Mogul(formerly Glyco Metall), and chemical distributor A. + E. Fischer-Chemie.Politics
Election results for representatives to the borough assembly (Ortsbeirat) of Schierstein are given in the following table (expressed in percent):| Christian Democratic Union Christian Democratic Union (Germany) The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum... |
Social Democratic Party Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir... |
Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party (Germany) The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government... |
Free Voters Free Voters Free Voters is a German concept in which an association of persons participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it is a locally organized group of voters in the form of a registered association . In most cases, Free Voters are active only at the... |
Other | Voter turnout Voter turnout Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s... |
|
| 2006 | 39.5 | 47.3 | 9.5 | 2.7 | --- | 1.0 | 41.9 |
| 2001 | 36.4 | 49.6 | 8.0 | 6.0 | --- | --- | 50.4 |
| 1997 | 35.0 | 50.8 | 10.5 | 3.6 | --- | --- | 65.2 |
| 1993 | 32.5 | 42.3 | 10.0 | 5.5 | 9.6 | --- | 68.6 |
| 1989 | 32.6 | 55.4 | 7.1 | 5.0 | --- | --- | 74.3 |
| 1985 | 42.0 | 48.6 | 5.0 | 3.7 | --- | 0.6 | 70.9 |
| 1981 | 45.9 | 46.0 | --- | 7.3 | --- | 0.8 | 69.1 |
| 1977 | 46.8 | 47.6 | --- | 5.6 | --- | --- | 73.4 |
| 1972 | 34.3 | 59.2 | --- | 6.5 | --- | --- | 77.9 |
The distribution of seats in the Ortsbeirat of Schierstein is as follows:
| CDU | SPD | The Greens | FDP | Free Voters Free Voters Free Voters is a German concept in which an association of persons participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it is a locally organized group of voters in the form of a registered association . In most cases, Free Voters are active only at the... |
Total | |
| 2006 | 5 | 5 | 1 | - | - | 11 |
| 2001 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | - | 11 |
| 1997 | 4 | 6 | 1 | - | - | 11 |
| 1993 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| 1989 | 4 | 6 | 1 | - | - | 11 |
| 1985 | 6 | 8 | 1 | - | - | 15 |
| 1981 | 7 | 7 | - | 1 | - | 15 |
| 1977 | 7 | 8 | - | - | - | 15 |
| 1972 | 5 | 9 | - | 1 | - | 15 |
Borough Directors of Wiesbaden-Schierstein
|
Sports
In Schierstein there is a community sports club, Turngemeinde Schierstein 1848, with offerings in handball, track and field, tennis, and gymnastics. Schierstein is also home to several football clubs - FSV Schierstein 08 eV, SV Schierstein 1913 eV, SG Schierstein 1979 and Hellas Schierstein; Freie Turnerschaft Schierstein 1913 eV, and the water-sports club Wassersportverein Schierstein. In addition, in recent years, the Schierstein Port has become one of the German centers of dragon boatDragon boat
A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft traditionally made, in the Pearl River delta region of southern China - Guangdong Province, of teak wood to various designs and sizes. In other parts of China different woods are used to build these traditional watercraft...
racing.
Sources
This article incorporates text translated from the corresponding German Wikipedia article, and the German Wikipedia article on the Schierstein Port, as of 2008-12-28.External links
- Schierstein, City of Wiesbaden official website (in German)
- Schierstein in Pictures (in German)
- Historical Photographs of Schierstein (in German)
- Historical Photographs of Schierstein Port (in German)
- Private Unofficial Schierstein website (in German)
- Wiesbaden-Schierstein on the Internet (in German)