History of the Nahe valley

The colonization of the Nahe area and Hunsrück by the people of the Late Stone Age (8000-2000 BC), the Bronze Age (2000-800 BC) and the Iron Age (800-50 BC) is documented by a number of finds. However, utensils, cult objects, weapons, and jewelry give insufficient information about the living conditions and social structure of this historical period. In the last century before Christ (58-51 BC), Roman troops under Julius Caesar invaded Gaul and pushed into areas on the left bank of the Rhine of today's Germany. At that time, the Nahe area and Hunsrück were part of the area settled by the Celts, who had built up the first high culture of western and central Europe with its own coin minting, writing and shared language. The name "Nahe" stems from this language. The Celts called the river "Nawa", which loosely translates into "torrential river". There are many indications that lead you to suppose that the Celts already had a primitive viticulture. The grounds with the ring walls on Donnersberg mountain or in Otzenhausen, which seem to be gigantic and cause even modern-day visitors to stand in amazement, are very impressive testaments to the collective contribution of the Celtic tribe of Treverians. Similar structures of, however, more modest proportions, can be found almost everywhere on the high-lying regions of the Nahe valley and Hunsrück.

Photo: The illustration shows a copper engraving of Bad Kreuznach with a view of the Rheingrafenstein Massif by Jakob Rieger from 1788.