The monument

is the landmark of Wicker. Today, the 8 m high round column carries the republican eagle, the original Prussian eagle was destroyed during WWII.

A portrait of King Wilhelm of Preussen (1861-1888), before he became Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany adorns the pedestal, which also carries the inscriptions "from the rock to the ocean" and "God with us".

Wilhelm I evidently very much enjoyed the wine from Wicker. In 1866, he permitted his court supplier, Georg Kroeschell of Hochheim, to name this vineyard "König Wilhelmsberg" on the occasion of the transferral of the dukedom Nassau to Prussia. The monument was created by the sculptor Adam Kramer from Fulda, and erected in 1875 for 1500 Gulden.

In 2001, the monument was restored by the wine estate Wilhelm Hück with the support of the town Flörsheim and the board of trustees of the Taunus-Sparkasse.

The vineyard
The Wickerer Berg was formed by the erosive action of the Wickerbach. During the ice age the stream carved its way deep into the landscape and created the basis for every good vineyard – a slope. The southwest slope is ideally orientated towards the sun. As a result, König Wilhelmsberg has been classified as a premium vineyard "Erstes Gewächs Rheingau“ (First growth Rheingau). The Wickerbach also exposed the old bedrock: heavy silty clay marl from the lower Tertiary. These soils with their high clay content are difficult to till and are colloquially known as "Letten".

Soil profile König Wilhelmsberg

A carbonaceous and base enriched, periodically waterlogged location.

Soil properties

• large water retention capacity, however the availability to plants is restricted
• restricted rootability
• moderate aeration, cool, waterlogged in spring
• very high nutrient potential, lime-rich