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Rüdesheim am Rhein is situated on the right bank of the Rhine river opposite of Bingen. Rüdesheim was first mentioned in 1074. The official status of a town was obtained in 1818.

The Nationaldenkmal (Germania Monument) [left] on top of the Niederwald (Taunus; 350 m) was created by the sculptor Johannes Schilling and the architect Karl Weisbach between 1877 and 1883. It was inaugurated on 28 September 1883 in the presence of Emperor Wilhelm I, and was dedicated to the victory of Germany over France in the war of 1870/71 and to the foundation of the German Empire in 1871. The cast-bronze sculpture of Germania (12.4 m high, weight 32,000 kg) is supported by a base of 25 m. The relief on the base shows more than 200 life-size figures, among them Wilhelm I, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and all sovereigns of the German states. A rack railway was built in 1884 to ease the access of tourists to the monument. Later, the railway was replaced by a funicular.