Labyrinth attracts visitors to Oppenheim

By PRIYA CHALAM
School of Communication
University of Miami

OPPENHEIM, Germany— The best-kept secret in this part of Germany lies buried beneath the village of Oppenheim, just 20 minutes south of Mainz.

Dating back to Roman times, Oppenheim's Kellerlabyrinth of underground passageways was built for storage space and refuge in times of crisis. Today, it serves as a tourist attraction and link to the city's past.

A visitor walks down wooden steps into the labyrinth (Photo by Ericka Miller).

So, book a tour and hop a train. You might just be lucky enough to explore the medieval city and discover what lies beneath.

“Oppenheim was not a farming town but an imperial city with offices, trading and government buildings,” Hans Bodderas, manager of Oppenheim's labyrinth and native of the town, explained.

“The neighboring villages around were bigger in farming space and this is why the labyrinth was built, for greater storage capacity. It was only later that [the passageways] were used for an escape.”

Located along an ancient Roman trading route, Oppenheim boasts a population of 7,000 and reputation of commerce, wine and Gothic architecture. Yet, the quaint medieval town, blessed with famous vineyards and breathtaking views of the Rhine River Valley has survived a rather rocky history.

Darkened images of the labyrinth locations are superimposed on this map of the village streets with the (Photo by Ericka Miller).

Razed in the fire of 1689 by French troops in the Palatinate Inheritance War, Oppenheim's remaining original structures include St. Katharinenkirche (St. Catherine Church), the Western Gate and the illustrious Kellerlabyrinth.

After the fire, the town was completely rebuilt and villagers, not intending them for eventual linkage, independently hollowed out new passageways.

"There was no plan," Bodderas clarified. "The labyrinth system was created by fluke.

5Most parts of the labyrinth were built between the 12th and 16th Century, though the oldest sections date back to medieval times.

Passageways have caved in over the years because they were initially built too close together, forming a maze of interconnected corridors 1,600 meters long under the city today.

Built into a hill of loess— an easily penetrable mineral terrain reminiscent of sand— Oppenheim was the perfect location for underground construction.

One of the many passageways of the labyrinth (Photo by Ericka Miller).

“This special soil made it possible for the caves to be built,” Ingo Lenz, our tour guide, explained.

“It’s kind of like putting two pieces of glass together with water, they will slide across each other but you can't ply them apart.”

This makes the soil sturdy, yet easy to dig while keeping the passageways from collapsing.

Eight meters at its deepest point, the 1,600-meter labyrinth consists of 600 passageways connecting various houses and city buildings in the Old Town sector. New passageways are discovered each year, largely by mistake; yet, only one-half to three-quarters of the underground is open to the public.

“The labyrinth wasn't used anymore after World War II. It was forgotten," said Bodderas. “We only started to do the renovation and sanitation of it in the 1980s because if the underground collapses, the houses on top collapse, too.”

For this reason, the village was compelled to give the labyrinth its full and undivided attention.

A renovated entrance to the labyrinth (Photo by Ericka Miller).

One would think Oppenheim to be a prime attraction for visitors.

But when a town escapes the map of the country and World Wide Web, how are we to know?

“We've only had it on the market for a year now,” defended Bodderas.

“But we have been mentioned in several TV shows. We’re currently marketing more in England, Japan and China, the markets of the future I like to say.”

Though the first tours of the underground started up last summer, Bodderas assured me that the labyrinth is mounting in popularity with an international audience, though the largest group of visitors is German. He strongly believes the tour is well worth the 100 Euros that it costs for a group of 20 persons.

Complete with construction hats and hairnets, my three friends and I decided to plunge into the dark mystery of the underground maze.

Led by three tour guides in-training, we stumbled our way through the ancient ruins and corridors, ducking under archways and low rocky ceilings. Spelunking deeper into the labyrinth, we made our way through a theater space, water storehouse and even a “graveyard for the piss-pots”— a dank room filled with garbage, chamber pots and human remains.

One of many dark and damp passageways (Photo by Ericka Miller).

A musky stench filled the space, reminiscent of my grandmother's basement, pursuing us all the way through the maze until we reached daylight once more.

After 70 minutes of walking, we came out just five feet from our entrance point.

“Laws in Germany prohibit anything historic from being destroyed for they are representatives of our national identity and culture,” Bodderas explained, referring to the German government's responsibility for funding the labyrinth's restoration.

An old entrance (Photo by Ericka Miller).

This, largely European, tradition differs from the U.S. philosophy, where old buildings are restored only if it can save a dime.

Though much of Oppenheim is closed on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, tours are available through the information center in the Old Town Hall.

“To describe it is not the right way. You really have to see it,” he added smiling.

And so I say to you what Bodderas said to me “the rest is up to you.”

For more information about traveling to Oppenheim, read Julie Major's article.

 

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