Wicker Village by the stream
The Wickerbach stream has affected life in this valley since ancient times. The name of the village Wicker is also derived from the Wickerbach. The origins of the name can be traced to the Germannic word "wikro". Which means, bending, yielding and winding. The front row of trees in the valley follows the winding course of the Wickerbach. The outer row of trees traces the course of the old millstream, which was diverted from the Wickerbach to power the mills in Wicker.
The first settlement in the Frankish period was located in the valley, where the Wickerbach crosses the old military road from Mainz to Hochheim, Wicker, continuing to the Wetterau region (today the B519). The oldest settlement remains from the Bronze Age were found some time ago during an excavation on the site of the waste dump.
Wicker Village on the mountain
The wine-growing village Wicker in its beautiful setting on the summit of Wicker Hill is first officially recorded as wiccrino marca more than 1100 years ago. On April 6. 910 AD, the Archbishop of Mainz, Hatto I., bequeathed his property in Wicker to the Abbey of Fulda. A document from 927 AD already mentions a church.
Old lot names point to the location of the village near the Strassenmühle mill. Presumably, this settlement near the stream was periodically flooded and abandoned in favour of a more elevated location.
"Breathing history"
The Frankish emperor Otto I owned an estate in Wicker, which he bequeathed to the St. Johannis Abbey near Magdeburg in 970 AD. The first officially recorded pastor of the church on the present site on the hill began his work in 1294.
In the 13th century, Wicker was ruled by the Counts of Eppstein, whose coat-of-arms can be seen on the vaulted ceiling of the old church tower. Their reign was followed by that of the archbishopric of Mainz until the secularisation.
Around 1540, the village was fortified by a 4 m high and 1 m thick wall, whose remains can be seen in many places today. About 70 houses, barns and stables were located within the town wall. The old village centre of Wicker around the "Gate to the Rheingau" you can breathe history it is well worth a visit.