RUDESHEIM  , a

town of Germany in the Prussian Rhine province on the right bank of the Rhine, 19 m . S.W. of Wiesbaden by the main line from Frankfort-on-Main to Cologne . Pop . (1905) 4773 . Its situation, at the lower end of the famous vineyard district of the Rheingau, opposite Bingen and just above the romantic gorge of the Rhine, renders it a popular tourist centre . Behind the town rises the majestic Niederwald (985 ft.), on the crest of which stands the national monument, " Germania," commemorating the war of 1870-71 . Rtidesheim has some interesting towers . The Bromserburg, or Niederburg, a massive structure built in the 13th century, formerly belonging to the archbishops of Mainz; the Boosenburg, or Oberburg, which was rebuilt in 1868, with the exception of the keep; the Adlerturm, a relic of the fortifications of the town; and the Vorderburg, the remains of an old castle . The Gothic church of St James has some interesting paintings and monuments, and there is also a Protestant church . The town has electrical works, but its industries are mainly concerned with the preparation of wine, the best kinds being Rudesheimer Berg, Hinterhaus and Rottland . See J, P . Schmelzeis, Rudesheim im Rheingau (Rudesheim, 1881); and Heiderlinden, Rudesheim and seine Umgebung (Rudesheim, 1888) .