German Wine Route
The German Wine Route - or German Wine Road - (Deutsche Weinstrasse) stretches through the middle of the Palatinate (Pfalz, former Rheinpfalz), the biggest coherent wine growing area in Germany. It starts at the German Wine Gate in Schweigen-Rechtenbach on the french border and ends after 85 km at the House of the German Wine Route in Bockenheim. The German Wine Route is the oldest Wine Road worldwide and was opened on the 19. october 1935 by NSDAP Gauleiter Josef Buerckel.
Palatinate Forest and Northern Vosges in green, German Wine Route in red
The hilly Palatinate that is traversed by the German Wine Route is often described a mediterranean landscape due to growing figs, kiwis or oleander. The wine road is protected from prevailing winds and rain by the Palatinate Forest, the biggest forest in germany, adjacent on its eastern side is the upper rhine valley (or rhine rift). The wine road region is up to 15 km wide, many villages directly on the route have the addition "an der Weinstrasse" (on the Wine Route).
The German Wine Route has lots of superlatives, for example:
- Biggest barrel in the world, the giant barrel in Bad Duerkheim with a diameter of 13,5 m, containing a wine restaurant inside.
- Biggest wine fest worldwide in Bad Duerkheim with more than 600000 visitors each year.
- Biggest winemaker parade worldwide in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse.
- Biggest winemaker township in germany, rivaled by Landau (2039 ha) and Neustadt (2012 ha).
- Oldest vineyard in Germany, the about 400 year old Traminerweinberg, a vineyard with Gewuerztraminer (Gewurztraminer) in Rhodt unter Rietburg.