Hallgarten as the only one of these has the status as an Ortsbezirk.
History
Oestrich-Winkel was founded on the 1st of July, 1972 by the merger of the municipalities of Mittelheim, Oestrich and Winkel; it was further enlarged by incorporation of Hallgarten in 1977 by law. From the very beginning Oestrich-Winkel was entitled by state government to lead the designation Stadt. The double-barrelled name Oestrich-Winkel has already had a long tradition as the name of the only train station for the East Rhine Railway between Geisenheim and Hattenheim.
Politics
Mayors
Michael Heil was elected in 2013 for mayor with 51,3 % of the vote.
Former mayors:
1995 - 2013: Paul Weimann
1989 - 1995: Heinz-Dieter Mielke
1972 - 1989: Klaus Frietsch
Town council
The municipal election held on 26 March 2006, yielded the following results:
Town partnerships
The town of Oestrich-Winkel maintains partnerships with the following two places and one military unit:
The town's arms might be described thus: Gules a Z reversed with cross stroke argent between two mullets of six Or. The Z is a variant of a common German heraldiccharge known in German as a Wolfsangel or Doppelhaken, and its appearance here apparently refers to its use for dealing with wolves in earlier times. The arms themselves go back to the 17th century.
Culture and sightseeing
Wine culture
Oestrich-Winkel is characterized by winegrowing. The following places are cultivated:
The Oestricher Kran, Oestrich-Winkel's main landmark, is a former wine-loading crane from the 18th century for loading and unloading ships. Completed in 1745, it was working until 1926. Inside the crane are two treadmills in each of which two men used their body weight to work a winch, which could then lift loads onto or off ships. It is the last preserved wine-loading crane on the Rhine's right bank. There were once also such cranes in Lorch, Eltville and Rüdesheim. These cranes can still be found in existence along the Rhine at Andernach and Bingen. In Mittelheim is found one of Germany's oldest stone churches, St.-Aegidius-Basilika. In Winkel stands Germany's oldest stone house, the Graues Haus. For a long time it was believed that Rabanus Maurus lived and in 856 died there. Schloss Vollrads, outside Winkel, with its ancient watertower likewise belongs among the noteworthy sights. On the town's northeast limit near Hattenheim stands Schloss Reichartshausen with its outbuildings, which about 1900 were remodelled to look like follies. It nowadays houses the European Business School. In the middle of the community stands the Brentanohaus. Here, Goethe spent some time in 1814 as a guest of the Frankfurt banking family Brentano. The family's children were Clemens, Gunda and Bettina Brentano. Karoline von Günderrode, a poet and one of Bettina's friends, stabbed herself here in Winkel in 1806 on the Rhine's bank out of lovesickness and life weariness. Since 2003, the barn across from the Brentanohaus has hosted the cultural and event venue Brentanoscheune.
Regular events
These include the Lenchenfest, the Dippemarkt and Jazz Week.
The Rheingau Musik Festival has its office in Oestrich in a former winery, the presshouse converted to a hall for intimitate concerts and events. Festival concerts have taken place in the basilica St. Aegidius, such as a recital of Elisabeth Scholl.
Oestrich-Winkel lies right on Bundesstraße 42, which is particularly well developed towards the east, and which seamlessly feeds into the A 66 near Wiesbaden. The town lies on the Frankfurt am Main–Wiesbaden–Oestrich-Winkel–Koblenz railway line and belongs to the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund. Furthermore, between 6:00 and 21:00, a ferry shuttles across the Rhine between Mittelheim and Ingelheim, where there is a link with the A 60.
Andreas Joseph Hofmann,, Metternich's teacher, revolutionary, France's agent in London, and in 1793 German history's first Parliamentary president in the Rhenish-German National Convention
