Schloss Johannisberg () is a neoclassical palace and historic winery located in the village of Johannisberg, west of Wiesbaden in Hesse, within the Rheingau wine region of Germany. Originally founded as a Benedictine monastery, the estate was transformed into a Baroque palace and winery in the early 18th century under the ownership of the Prince-Abbots of Fulda.
In the early 19th century, the estate came into the ownership of Austrian diplomat Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich. It was bestowed upon him by Emperor Francis I in recognition of his role at the Congress of Vienna. The Metternich family owned and managed the estate’s winemaking for over 150 years.
Schloss Johannisberg considers itself the oldest Riesling vineyard in the world with a wine-making history over 900 years. The 50-hectare vineyard is known for its late-harvest wines (Spätlese) and ice wine (Eiswein).winepros.com.au.
The palace also serves as a cultural venue. It is a prominent location for the Rheingau Musik Festival, a role made possible by co-founder princess Tatiana von Metternich-Winneburg, who ensured the estate's continued contribution to the arts.
History
Beginnings and monastic winery
According to legend, the establishment of a vineyard on a mountain along the northern bank of the Rhine near Mainz dates back to the time of Charlemagne. From his palace in Ingelheim, Charlemagne is said to have observed that snow on Johannisberg melted earlier than on surrounding hills as spring arrived, inspiring the cultivation of vines on its slopes.
The earliest documented history of the area dates to 772, when lands in Geisenheim were donated to the Abbey of Fulda. In 817, the monks exchanged these holdings with Louis the Pious for lands in the Wetterau region. The contract explicitly mentioned the parcel's location along the Elsterbach stream, which runs at the foot of Johannisberg. By 983, Emperor Otto II had granted sovereignty over the western Rheingau to the Archbishops of Mainz, although the vineyard was already known by then as "Bischofsberg" ("Bishop's Mountain").Wine Spectator (30 September 2006). "Wine in Northern Europe". p. 124.
Around 1100, Archbishop Ruthard gifted the vineyard to the Benedictine monastery of St. Alban in Mainz. The monks were tasked with establishing a new monastic community on the site, which they dedicated to Saint John (Johannes). This foundation, and its subsequent naming, were associated with the tragic Rhineland massacres of 1096 (known in Hebrew as Gzerot Tatnó), which took place during the First Crusade on 27 May, the feast day of Pope John I. The monastery's establishment was regarded as an act of atonement by Archbishop Ruthard and his brother-in-law, Count Richolf of Rheingau, even from a Jewish perspective.David Nirenberg, 'The Rhineland Massacres of Jews in the First Crusade, Memories Medieval and Modern', in Medieval Concepts of the Past: Ritual, Memory, Historiography, pp. 279–310
By the mid-12th century, the estate was first referred to as "Sankt Johannisberg" ("Saint John's Mountain"). Until 1130, Johannisberg functioned as a priory of St. Alban's Abbey. It was subsequently elevated to the status of an independent abbey by Adalbert of Saarbrücken. Around this time, a grand three-nave pillar basilica with nine bays and a prominent transept was constructed on the site, of which only its foundations remain today.
For a time, the monastery at Johannisberg even oversaw a priory that would later develop into the Eberbach Abbey. In its early years, Kloster Johannisberg operated as a double monastery, with an adjoining women's hermitage. One such hermitage, the Saint George's Hermitage (), was located at the foot of the mountain. First mentioned around 1170, it existed until 1452 and later lent its name to the present-day wine estate "Johannisberger Klaus".
Decline of the monastery After an initial period of prosperity, the monastery experienced a gradual decline. In 1451, Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa lamented that "the monastery has decayed both internally and externally" due to "the disorderly lifestyle of the monks." However, the monks expressed a willingness to reform, on the condition that the hermitage and its associated estates be assigned to them to secure their livelihood. This request was granted, and in 1457, the convent joined the reform-oriented Bursfelde Congregation, ushering in a new period of revival.
The German Peasants' War of 1524/25 marked the beginning of the monastery's final decline, and the raid by Margrave Albert Alcibiades of Brandenburg-Kulmbach during the Margrave's War in 1552 ultimately ruined it. When the last abbot died in 1563, Archbishop Daniel Brendel von Homburg of Mainz decreed the dissolution of the monastery, and its properties were placed under secular administration.
In 1635, during the Thirty Years' War, Archbishop Anselm Casimir of Mainz was forced to pawn Johannisberg to cover the costs of the Swedish occupation of the Rheingau. Imperial Treasurer Hubert von Bleymann received all wine revenues as interest on a loan of 20,000 Reichsthaler he had provided. The debt was increased by 10,000 Reichsthaler in 1641, and the contract was later transferred to the creditor's descendants, Georg von Gise and his son Johann Heinrich. However, by the early 18th century, the family appears to have lost interest in Johannisberg. During the Thirty Years’ War and the period of the pawning, the monastic church suffered great damage.
The Prince-Abbots of Fulda
In 1716, Archbishop Lothar Franz von Schönborn sold Johannisberg to the Prince-Abbot of Fulda, Konstantin von Buttlar, who spent a total of 75,392 gulden on the acquisition. He expanded the estate into his summer residence for an additional 148,000 gulden.
The dilapidated monaster buildings were demolished and the leading Mainz architects, Andrea Gallasini and Johann Kaspar Herwarthel, constructed a three-winged Baroque palace with a courtyard located to the north. Of this building, the two outer pavilions and the courtyard gate remain unchanged today. Within the palace grounds, the pressing house was given a central position. The Romanesque church was rebuilt and its interior was redesigned in a baroque style according to the plans of Johann Dientzenhofer.
In 1721, the impressive 260-meter-long vaulted cellar was completed. Significant investments were also made in the vineyards. The vineyard area grew from 14.3 to 18.9 hectares, with half of it newly planted. Almost exclusively Riesling was planted, with only a small portion reserved for the Orléans (grape) — then still dominant, for example, in the Rüdesheim hills — and Muscat (grape). For this reason, Schloss Johannisberg still considers itself the oldest Riesling vineyard in the world. The planting density at that time was significantly higher than today; in 1720 and 1721 alone, 293,950 vines were planted, which corresponds to at least 30,000 vines per hectare. By the second half of the 18th century, larger quantities of Johannisberger wine were being bottled—usually after ten years of barrel aging. Bottling took place in the cellar of the orangery at Fulda's city palace. This cellar, where the finest Johannisberger wines were stored, was overseen by the "secret cabinet," the private treasury of the Prince-Abbot or Prince-Bishop (from 1762 onward).
These "cabinet" wines were, by today's standards, selections of late-harvest or botrytized (noble rot) grapes, systematically produced by the Johannisberg estate starting in the last quarter of the 18th century. This tradition almost certainly began in 1775. That year, the courier responsible for delivering a sample of Johannisberg grapes to Fulda to obtain harvest permission was delayed by eight days. In the meantime, the grapes had been affected by Noble rot; nevertheless, wine was pressed from them. On 10 April 1776, administrator Johann Michael Engert remarked that he had never experienced such an excellent flavor. From that point forward, harvests were postponed as long as possible. The first wine officially labeled as a "cabinet" selection Auslese was likely produced at Schloss Johannisberg in 1779, with the first Ice wine following in 1858.
A monument in the courtyard of Schloss Johannisberg commemorates the "Spätlesereiter" (late-harvest rider). However, these were not the first wines made from noble rot-affected grapes. Such wines are documented as early as the 16th century, and in 1757 a "delicate wine" made from botrytized grapes was also pressed at Schloss Johannisberg.
The estate changed hands several times during the Napoleonic Wars: after the expropriation caused by the secularization in 1802, it became property of prince William V of Orange, the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who gave it to his son, hereditary prince William, who later became the first king of the Netherlands. But in 1806, he was expropriated as he refused to join the Confederation of the Rhine, and Napoleon granted the vineyard and palace to Marshal Kellermann, the first duke of Valmy.
When the excellent year of 1807 was followed by several poor vintages, the then-manager Adelaide Marco felt compelled to sell the 1811 vintage to the banker Peter Arnold Mumm from Frankfurt. This so-called "comet vintage" became the best of the entire century. Mumm, who had invested only 32,000 guilders in it, received over 150,000 guilders and was able to use the profit to establish his own winery in Johannisberg.
At the Congress of Vienna in 1814, it was decided that Johannisberg became Austrian, although the Rheingau became part of the Duchy of Nassau.
The Princes of Metternich
In 1816 the Austrian emperor Francis I, granted it to the Austrian Chancellor Klemens von Metternich, Prince von Metternich in exchange for an annual payment of one-tenth of the yield from the vineyards that were over twelve years old to the House of Habsburg. This tithe has survived all political upheavals to this day. Since 1945, it has been paid in cash, whereas previously, the barrels were allocated by lot. The current tithe beneficiary is Karl von Habsburg-Lothringen. Originally, the estate was intended to revert to the Habsburg family as a fideicommis upon the extinction of the princely Metternich-Winneburg line. However, this arrangement was abolished with the end of noble privileges in 1920. Austria only renounced its political sovereignty claims over Johannisberg in 1851, which resulted in back taxes being paid to the Nassau state treasury.
In 1826, the Prince of Metternich remodeled the main building of Schloss Johannisberg in a neoclassical style with help of Georg Moller, court architect of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. The reconstruction created a striking contrast: the earlier Baroque design emphasized verticality, whereas the later Neoclassical style shifted the focus to horizontal elements. Furthermore, prince Metternich had a park designed in the English style. Initially, the Frankfurt city gardener Sebastian Rinz was enlisted for this purpose; later plans were carried out by Heinrich Siesmayer, the creator of the Frankfurt botanical Palmengarten. Note that Schloss Johannisberg was not the main country seat of the princes of Metternich, as this were Kynžvart Castle and Plasy monastery in Bohemia.
Designs by Georg Moller
In the first half of the 19th century, Johannisberg became a destination for the emerging Rhine tourism; visitors enjoyed the famous wine right on the castle terrace. Even today, the wine bar remains in this location, surrounded by vine-covered pergolas, espaliered fig trees, and a chestnut-lined avenue. The German artist Carl Hemerlein from Mainz created a book of watercolor drawings depicting Schloss Johannisberg, which he prepared for Prince Metternich. This work is now in the Metternich collections at Kynžvart.
Johannisberg Drawings by Carl Hemerlein