Barossa Valley
| Barossa Valley | |
|---|---|
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| Basic data | |
| State | South Australia |
| Geographical location | 34 ° 32 ' S , 138 ° 57' E |
| mayor | Brian Hurn |
| surface | 912 km² |
| Residents | 20,386 (2004) |
| Population density | 22.4 / km² |
| places | Angaston Bethany Cockatoo Valley Eden Valley Light Pass Lyndoch Mount Pleasant Moculta Nuriootpa Penrice Springton Stockwell Tanunda Williamstown |
| Website | The Barossa Council |
The Barossa Valley is an area about 70 km northeast of Adelaide in the Australian state of South Australia . With a vineyard area of around 10,000 hectares, it is the most famous wine-growing region in Australia.
history
Before European colonization, the Barossa Valley was home to a small group of Aborigines who lived on seeds that they processed into damper and on kangaroos, wallabies, possums, lizards and fish that they hunted.
The first European to venture into the Barossa area was Colonel William Light , the surveyor general of South Australia, in December 1837. In 1839 the German mineralogist Johannes Quantity came to the northern part of the valley and described the area with great enthusiasm. This became known to Charles Flaxman, an employee of George Fife Angas , who was a merchant and chairman of the South Australia Company , which was founded in 1836 to colonize South Australia. Angas and the pastor August Kavel were connected to each other through the old Lutheran faith. Angas financed the travel expenses of the German resettlers in 1838 and leased the land to them.
The valley's name comes from the surrounding Barossa Ranges , which are part of the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia and were named by William Light after a battle in Spain in which he fought and which the British had won. Due to an error in official documents, the Spanish “Barrosa” became the Australian “Barossa”.
The first groups of settlers in the approximately 13 km long and 14 km wide Barossa Valley were of English descent (from Cornwall ) and settled in the vicinity of Lyndoch , but as early as 1838 the first Germans who were looking for (religious) freedom from Silesia followed , Prussia and Posen had emigrated and were now starting over in Klemzig and Bethany.
Further settlements in the 1840s took place in the central part of the Barossa Valley, in Bethany, Langmeil, Tanunda, Light Pass, Krondorf, Hoffnungsthal and Rowland Flat. During the 1850s, Rosenthal (Rosedale), Schönborn, New Mecklenburg (Gomersal), Gnadenfrei (Marananga), Greenock and Nain were settled in the west. In the east the places Grünberg and Gnadenberg and in the Moculta area and also North Rhine (North Rhine, today Keyneton) were built. Nuriootpa, Ebenezer, Neukirch and Stockwell laid out in the north. Most of the settlers came from the Prussian provinces of Brandenburg, Silesia and Posen; others came from Mecklenburg, Holstein, Hanover and Saxony. The settlers from Saxony were Wends and Slavs who settled in Ebenezer and St. Kitts. The British settled in Lyndoch, Angaston, Truro and Barton.
In 1847 one of the numerous German immigrants, Johann Grampp from Aichig near Kulmbach, planted the first vines on Jacob's Creek and thus founded one of the most successful wineries in Australia. Joseph Seppelt , another immigrant of German descent, laid the foundation stone for another large winery in Seppeltsfield. Numerous other German winegrowers followed and made wine the most important cultivation product in the area. This wine was exported to England as early as 1890, which is the reason for the dominance of viticulture in the Barossa Valley today.
Places and population
About 20,000 people live in the Barossa Valley, many of them Lutherans . The larger towns with more than 1,000 inhabitants include Tanunda, Nuriootpa, Angaston and Lyndoch. All locations in the Barossa Valley are part of the Barossa Council . The closest major city is Gawler on the way to Adelaide.
Angaston
Location: 34 ° 30 ′ S , 139 ° 3 ′ E
In 1839 George Fife acquired Angus land, which he named Angaston . Around 1842/43 John Howard Angas came to Barossa to help his father manage the estate. He was followed by settlers of German and British descent who started a new beginning in the area. In 1844 a church - the Union Chapel - was built. There are now four churches in the village, plus a train station, a hospital, a library and two primary schools. About 1,870 people live in Angaston, who live mainly from viticulture, agriculture and fruit growing. Originally known as the German Pass , Angaston has been renamed in honor of its founder.
Bethany
Location : 34 ° 32 ′ S , 138 ° 58 ′ E
Bethany was a small village founded as Bethanien in 1842 . In the first year, 28 Lutheran families (a total of 117 people) of Prussian descent who had rented the land from George Fife Angus settled there. You can still see this background in the place today, as it was laid out in the form of a hoof village and the town center with its typical German architecture has largely been preserved. During the First World War, the place got its current name. Due to the proximity to Tanunda, Bethany was not particularly expanded. For shopping and the like, the residents drive to the larger neighboring town.
Eden Valley
Location : 34 ° 39 ′ S , 139 ° 6 ′ E
Eden Valley is a small town that was established in 1864 with a population of 200 and a Lutheran church. It is the starting point for the neighboring valley of the same name, in which viticulture also plays a major role.
Lyndoch
Location : 34 ° 36 ′ S , 138 ° 53 ′ E
Lyndoch is at the southern end of the Barossa Valley. The foundation goes back to Colonel Light, who gave the place its name in 1837. In the vicinity, migrants from Poznan founded the Lutheran settlement Hoffnungsthal , although they had been warned by indigenous people about regular flooding in winter. In 1854 the people finally gave up and mostly settled in Lyndoch. Today about 1,140 people live in Lyndoch. In addition to two elementary schools, a library and a bowling club, there are four churches, two of which are Lutheran.
Marananga
Location : 34 ° 29 ′ S , 138 ° 56 ′ E
Marananga is a tiny village in the Barossa Valley, which lies between Tanunda and Seppeltsfield. The place was previously called Gnadenfrei and was founded between 1845 and 1850. The place was renamed in 1917 during the First World War.
Moculta
Abraham Shannon acquired the land east of Nuriootpa in 1850, which is now Moculta. Originally it was because of the many wild ducks The Duck Ponds (dt. The duck ponds ) called. Moculta itself is the Aboriginal name for a large hill that is now known as Parrot Hill . The place was populated by farmers from Bethany. The two Lutheran churches Gruenberg and Gnadenberg were built around 1859 and 1860 respectively. Moculta has about 230 inhabitants.
Mount Pleasant
Location : 34 ° 46 ′ S , 139 ° 3 ′ E
Mount Pleasant - an amalgamation of Mount Pleasant, Hendryton and Totness - had 529 inhabitants at the 2001 census and was founded in 1854. Back then, the settlers mainly raised sheep and grew grain. Gold was also found around 1860, but since the deposits were low, the miners soon moved on. The police station, which together with the hospital characterizes the townscape, dates from this time. In addition to two churches and a primary school, there are also several sports facilities in Mount Pleasant, e. B. a golf club, a bowling club and several tennis courts.
Nuriootpa
Location : 34 ° 28 ′ S , 139 ° 0 ′ E
Nuriootpa is the trading center of the Barossa Valley and is located at the northern end near the Stuart Highway. The name of the city comes from the Aboriginal language and means something like "meeting place". Around 1850, the place was founded jointly by German and British settlers and officially named a city in 1856. Today around 3,490 people live in Nuriootpa, which is also home to some of the most famous wineries such as Penfolds , Kaesler Wines and Wolf Blass . In addition to two primary schools, the city also has a high school and a TAFE center. There are also seven churches.
Penrice
Location : 34 ° 29 ′ S , 139 ° 2 ′ E
Penrice is a small town north of Angaston, founded in 1850 and named by Captain Rodda after a town in Glamorgan , Wales . The company Penrice Soda Products builds here limestone and marble from.
Seppeltsfield
Location : 34 ° 30 ′ S , 138 ° 54 ′ E
Seppeltsfield is a small village founded in 1851 by Joseph Ernst Seppelt , where one of the largest wineries in Australia is located.
Tanunda
Location : 34 ° 32 ′ S , 138 ° 57 ′ E
Today's Tanunda was settled around 1843 by Prussians from the area of Klemzig with the name Langmeil. It was renamed Bilyara during the First World War and did not get its old name back until 1975. Tanunda developed from the union of Langmeil and several other small villages. The name comes from the Aboriginal language and means "water hole". Today around 3,500 people live in the city, which was founded in 1848. Due to previous disputes between the settlers, four of the seven churches in Tanunda are Lutheran. In addition to two primary schools, there is also a secondary school, a train station, a library, a gallery, a swimming pool and a hospital.
Williamstown
Location : 34 ° 40 ′ S , 138 ° 53 ′ E Williamstown was settled in 1839 under the name Victory Creek . In 1857 it was named a city. Today 1,160 people live here. In addition to three churches and a primary school, there is the Whispering Wall , a tourist attraction.
climate
The Barossa Valley has a typically Mediterranean climate with dry summers and mild winters. Most of the rain falls between April and October at an average of 550mm, with cool nights during this period. In summer from December to February temperatures of up to 35 ° C are common.
Attractions
In addition to the numerous wineries
- Barossa sculpture symposium : Park with 17 stone sculptures from 1988 and 2008, which were created in two sculpture symposia with national and international sculptors.
- Barossa Heritage Trail
- Old Union Chapel : Built on land by George Fife Angas in 1844, the church is the oldest public building in the Barossa Valley. Located on Penrice Road in Angaston, it can still be used for special occasions such as christenings and weddings.
- Hope valley
- Whispering Wall
- Herbig family tree
- Lyndoch Lavender Farm
The Barossa Museum is located in Tanunda at 47 Murray Street, which exhibits numerous relics of the German Barossa culture and artifacts.
economy
The Barossa Valley is owned by v. a. in its northern part to the hotter growing areas of the continent and is suitable for the production of very strong, alcohol-rich wines. There are around 60 wineries there, some of whose products are among the best in the world. The area includes the wine growing towns of Tanunda, Bethany, Lyndoch, Seppeltsfield, Nuriootpa and Penrice. They can all be found within 10 km of Tanunda, which is the center of the Barossa Valley. The actual Barossa Valley is combined with the neighboring Eden Valley to form a superordinate appellation , i. H. Wines from both areas may be marketed under the name "Barossa".
The most cultivated grape variety is Shiraz , the vines of which were planted as direct producers in some historic vineyards long before the phylloxera disaster of the 19th century and some are more than 130 years old. For Australian viticulture, Shiraz accounts for the highest proportion of all grape varieties grown at around 30% . Some of the oldest Shiraz vines are in the Adelaide area on Magill Estate on the vineyards around Kalimna , which is owned by the Penfolds winery and from where a large part of the vines for the vinification of the Australian wine "Grange" still come today.
The winery founded by Joseph Seppelt once belonged to the Foster's Group brewery , but was spun off into the independent company Treasury Wine Estates in 2011 . In addition to the most renowned Australian wineries such as Penfolds, Lindemans , Wolf Blass and Rosemount , the Californian Beringer winery is one of the company's best-known brands . Despite this affiliation to a large group, the wineries operate independently and are each run by a “chief winemaker” with his team of oenologists .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ smh.com.au : Nuriootpa. Destination: South Australia Australia. Theme: Wines Regions , February 8, 2004, in English, accessed December 1, 2011
- ↑ a b barossamuseum.com.au ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : Barossa Museum, History of Barossa , accessed November 30, 2011
- ↑ PlaceNames ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ tweglobal.com : Treasury Wine Estates demerger investors information , in English, accessed on October 19, 2014
Web links
- The Barossa Council (English)
- South Australia Barossa Tourism (English)