A historical review

Of all the villages of the Main-Taunus District, Massenheim has the largest and best-preserved historical town centre and one of the oldest half-timbered houses in the district, built in 1564. The first official record of a church dates back to 909 AD. Neolithic relics, as well as Celtic, Roman and Alemanni remains bear witness to a long settlement history of the Massenheim parish. The subsequent Frankish influence is seen in the "…heim" ending of the town name and in the architecture of some of the homesteads. Typically, these will have a small entrance door built next to the large main gate

The town is first officially recorded in a deed dated from 819 AD, in which Emperor Ludwig (son of Charlemagne) bestows his Villa Massenheim to Fulda Abbey. The Abbey exercised its jurisdiction and collected tithes until 1660. By this time, the devastation brought on by the Black Death and the 30-Year War had left the district barren. In 1637, only 75 persons occupied 18 houses.  The secular rulers at the beginning of the 13^th century were the Münzenberger dynasty. They were followed by the Eppsteiners, the Landgrave of Hessen (1492), the Nassauer (1803) and from 1866 onwards by the Prussians. The new development of the town began with the influx of war refugees after 1945. Since the construction of the Gartenstadt (1972- 1975), the population has grown to 1,750. Massenheim has been incorporated to the town of Hochheim. 

Wine was grown on a much larger scale in previous centuries than today – even extending into the Taunus Mountains. But the vineyards of Igstadt, Wallau or Diedenbergen are now long gone. All that remains today of these winegrowing activities are the names of lots and streets ("Am Weinberg“, Weinbergsweg etc.)

There is still one active wine producer in Massenheim today. The vineyard Massenheimer Schlossgarten (20 ha) was named after a baroque stately home built in 1740. Princess von Anhalt-Köthen lived here from 1770 until her death. The vineyard produces quality wines, a circumstance that is directly related to the presence of the Wickerbach stream, which carved the sunny southwest slope into the landscape. In the upper part of the slope, the vines grow on a sandy-gravelly, carbonate-free sediment of an ice-age Main river terrace. The vines growing on the lower slope are rooted in carbonaceous silty clay marl ("Cyrena Marl"), which was deposited during the Oligocene (28 million years ago).