Bingen [key], city, Rhineland-Palatinate, W Germany, where the Nahe River enters the Rhine. A busy river port, railroad junction, and tourist center, Bingen is also noted for its wine and tobacco manufactures. Dating from pre-Roman times, Bingen was fortified (1st cent. b.c.) by Drusus. In 983 it came under the rule of the archbishops of Mainz. Near Bingen, on a rock in the Rhine, is the famous Mäuseturm [Ger.,=mice tower], where, according to legend, Archbishop Hatto I of Mainz was devoured (913) by mice for wronging his subjects.
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