A rose window at St. Catherine's Church in Oppenheim, Germany, is decorated with the coats of arms of the town councilors in 1332-33. Known as the Rose of Oppenheim, it features a design that was adopted in other buildings during the Middle Ages. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
Watching Cillian Murphy’s tour-de-force performance as the title character in the blockbuster biopic “Oppenheimer” a few years ago reminded me about a seemingly namesake city in Germany that I had often considered visiting.
As it turns out, the similarity between Oppenheim and J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb,” is pure coincidence. But the Rhine Valley town, known for its vineyards, medieval streets and historic ruins, proved well worth the trip anyway.
I brought a cheat sheet with me, a Germany guidebook that included what’s billed as a “one-hour walking tour” of Oppenheim. Joined by a German friend, I quickly realized the route would take far longer than advertised.
We visited five of the eight points on the suggested itinerary. The allure was already strong thanks to the beautiful view we’d been treated to on the way into town.
First stop was the Landskron, the husk of an imperial castle initially built by Emperor Frederick II in the early 13th century. It was rebuilt twice by Rudolf of Habsburg, who was king of the Germans in the same century and helped establish the Habsburg dynasty.
After being rebuilt yet again centuries later, the castle was set ablaze in 1621 during the cataclysmic Thirty Years War, and the keep was subsequently destroyed by the French.
Set beside a vineyard, the Landskron looms over Oppenheim, Germany. The original structure was both built and destroyed in the 13th century, and the Thirty Years War saw the burning of the rebuilt castle along with the entire town. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
The thick canopy of greenery on the steep climb to the castle provided welcome shade, while sunlight filtering through the trees illuminated a nearby flower garden in full bloom.
We enjoyed the commanding view of the town before heading “inside” for further exploration and intrigue. Nowadays, the castle also hosts cultural events and serves as a theater backdrop.
The walk down the hill, known as the Zuckerberg, took us into the medieval metaverse of Oppenheim, which during its heyday was privileged to be a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. That meant great autonomy in its own affairs.
Although I’ve strolled through many German urban spaces, the vibe in Oppenheim seemed unique somehow. Maybe it was all the flora dangling along stone walls high above, a feature I found endearing.
The striking St. Catherine's Church is one of the top attractions in Oppenheim, Germany. Made of red sandstone, it is considered the most important Gothic religious building between the world-renowned cathedrals in Cologne and the French city of Strasbourg. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
Flowers bloom amid the greenery of the garden at St. Catherine's Church in Oppenheim, Germany. The Rhine River town boasts fertile soil and a thriving wine industry to go with loads of medieval charm. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
Our next stop was St. Catherine’s Church, a striking Gothic masterpiece made of red sandstone. My companion is a gardening enthusiast, and we both marveled at the cultivated plants that made the church grounds awash in color.
Although to my disappointment much of the church’s exterior was sheathed in scaffolding, I was awed by the stained glass artistry the second I entered the vast nave. Besides being luminous and spiritually uplifting, it doubled as a gallery of German history.
Right next to St. Catherine’s is a chapel dedicated to St. Michael, but the draw of the latter is decidedly different, in a Halloween night sort of way.
St. Michael's Chapel in Oppenheim, Germany, dates from the 13th century and was built in the Gothic style. But its primary calling card is the macabre ossuary beneath the chapel. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
Bones of thousands of citizens of Oppenheim, Germany, who died between 1400 and 1750, are stacked in the ossuary of St. Michael’s Chapel. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
If, like me, you’re OK with letting morbid curiosity get the better of you, the bones of 20,000 Oppenheim residents stacked in the basement should do the trick. The ossuary, or beinhaus in German, is behind a metal gate next to the walkway outside the church.
From there, we made our way down Merianstrasse past the city museum, which unfortunately had closed for the day about 30 minutes earlier.
After spending a little while soaking up the scene of the market square, with its quaint buildings and various bright yellow adornments, we set off for the Rathofkapelle, a former chapel that now houses a restaurant, where we planned to have dinner and call it a day.
The plan changed when we arrived to find the eatery closed for a celebration of the owner’s mother’s 90th birthday. So we settled on the Greek restaurant To Tzaki.
The market square in Oppenheim, Germany, is part of the old town, which is set off from the Rhine River to the east. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
The Rathofkapelle in Oppenheim, Germany, is no longer a chapel, as the name implies. The former house of worship was converted into a restaurant, beyond which is a plaque on the onetime site of a synagogue destroyed by the Nazis in 1938. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
As befits a place so dedicated to winemaking, Oppenheim is home to the German Wine Museum, but I wasn’t up for that one. A total snub on that score seemed rude, though, so I made up for it by ordering a glass of the house pinot gris.
Our meal on the outdoor patio put a fabulous finishing touch on Oppenheim’s debut appearance in my itinerary. I definitely want to go back at some point to see the collection at the city museum, and I’m somewhat intrigued by the cellar labyrinth tour as well.
In addition, poking around the Oppenheim website gave me some further ideas for a return visit. There is a themed tour led by costumed night watchmen that is billed as “an evocative journey through time” as night falls.
And another tour is led by reenactors of the beguines, members of a Catholic sisterhood who lived together in a community but didn’t take religious vows.
Because the movement was prevalent in the Low Countries, the beguine complexes in Amsterdam and Bruges are common visitor destinations, and I think it would be fascinating to see the Oppenheim variation on that theme.
The city museum in Oppenheim, Germany, is between the market square and St. Catherine's Church. Next door is a cellar labyrinth tour. (David Edwards/Stars and Stripes)
On the QT
Parking: Choose either Goldeck Parking at Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse 21 or Zentralparkplatz Kellerlabyrinth at Gaustrasse 2.
Hours: For St. Catherine’s Church: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 12-5 p.m. For the city museum: Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.. For the German Wine Museum: Friday, 2-5 p.m.; Saturday, Sunday and public holidays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Cost: Ranges from 7.50 euros for the cellar labyrinth tour and 8 euros for the night watchman tour to 160 euros for a private beguine guided tour.
Information: www.stadt-oppenheim.de; www.stadt-oppenheim.de/gaestefuehrungen
