Oberdiebach between vineyards and World Heritage

Oberdiebach brings together the history of winegrowing, hiking trails and historic cultural heritage along the Rhine. The Schellengang runs through a valley along the Rhine associated with the historic border between the Electoral Palatinate and the Electorate of Mainz. Riesling has been grown on the vineyard slopes for more than 500 years. Since 2002, Oberdiebach has been part of the UNESCO Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage Site. For planning your trip, this means that landscape, hiking and architectural history offer distinct points of interest.

Hiking the Schellengang

The Schellengang is an 11.3-kilometer premium hiking trail in Oberdiebach. It offers changing views across the Rhine and its side valleys and passes through forests, open fields and an area used for a grazing project. Fürstenbergblick is a rest area along the route. The distance can help you gauge how much hiking to include in your stay; forests, fields and views mark the changing landscape. A connecting path provides access to the RheinBurgen Trail and the Schellengang circular route in about ten minutes. Signage and access conditions may change; check them before setting out.

Nature and landscape management at Bischofshub

The rare wryneck occurs at Bischofshub; its presence was documented in 2021 and may change with ecological conditions. Grazing of the former vineyard land at Bischofshub by GNOR, documented in 2021, began in 2010 with Exmoor ponies; goats were added later. This management may change. The site thus connects the history of winegrowing with a specific example of how the landscape is evolving, without implying that it is currently open to visitors.

St. Moritz: architecture and historic furnishings

St. Moritz Church is a three-aisled Gothic hall church with five bays; its choir ends in a 5/8 shape. The lower storey of the west tower has been preserved in Romanesque style. A three-aisled hall church divides the interior into three aisles; a bay is a section of the space, and 5/8 describes the polygonal shape of the choir’s end. The Romanesque pillar basilica that preceded it is first mentioned in 1258; this date therefore refers to the history of the earlier building. St. Moritz retains heavily restored wall paintings dating from the construction period in the first third of the 15th century and from around 1470 to 1480. There are also remains of the choir stalls dating from 1508.

Visiting conditions and cycling route

Fürstenberg Castle is privately owned and not open to visitors. The garden at the Old Rectory in Oberdiebach is also private; it covers approximately 1,000 square meters and belongs to the listed Old Rectory, built in 1773. Check the current arrangements for visiting the garden before traveling there.

For cyclists, a Turner Route location in Rheindiebach is situated on a meadow by the banks of the Rhine, next to the Rhine Cycle Route and near the barbecue hut. The site can be reached by bicycle from the Rhine Cycle Route without a detour. The Vierthälerbus offers free door-to-door rides in the surrounding municipalities, including to medical appointments, hairdressers and shops. If you would like to include the service in your plans, confirm the current operating arrangements in advance.

Winegrowing in the wider regional context

The wider Mainz-Bingen destination includes Rheinhessen, which, with 26,300 hectares of vineyards, is Germany’s largest wine-growing region. This regional winegrowing context complements the long Riesling tradition on Oberdiebach’s vineyard slopes without attributing the characteristics of the entire region to the town.

Discover more destinations: Undenheim, Dienheim, Genheim, Münster-Sarmsheim, Lörzweiler, Uelversheim, Oberheimbach, Stadecken-Elsheim.

Go to the main travel overview: Mainz-Bingen.