Kestert

The little town of Kestert on the right banks of the Rhine can probably look back onto late Roman roots. This can be documented by various finds, for example coins and remains of walls near the “Kirchköppels”. In 2005, the town celebrated 1250 years as a community that has lived mainly from wine. The church with its steeple dominates the picture of the town. The present construction goes back to the years 1778/79. There was a mediaeval church on this spot but it had always stood in the shadow of the “Mutterkirche” in the neighbouring town of Dalheim. The town really began to develop with the establishing of the railway and the navigation of the Rhine. Following a period of extreme damage to the vines, the town then changed from vines to fruit trees and the planting and harvesting of cherry trees became the main form of income. There was a large market for these sweet fruits, even as far as the lower Rhine valley and North Germany. Sadly cherries no longer play an important role for the pretty wine town. However, during the cherry blossom time, the old trees still transform the hills around Kestert into a white sea of blossoms.