Boppard Hamm
The Bopparder Hamm is the largest loop in the Rhine , comparable to the Saar loop from Mettlach. The name Hamm is derived from the Latin word hamus , which means something like hook and alludes to the S shape of the Rhine loop. However, the name Bopparder Hamm is primarily associated with the Middle Rhine wine-growing region on the left bank of the Rhine .
geography
The Boppard Hamm is between Boppard and Spay in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley , the section of the Rhine, since 2002 to the World Heritage Site of UNESCO heard about twelve kilometers south of Koblenz . It covers roughly the Rhine kilometers 571.5 to 576.5. Below the slopes on the left bank of the Rhine, the village of Peternach existed until the Thirty Years' War , after its destruction it became permanently deserted .
climate
The bend in the river ensures that the vineyards are facing south on the slopes on the left bank of the Rhine, while the Hunsrück shields them from the damp west winds. The Rhine also serves as a heat store and the slate floor reflects the sun's rays. This dry and warm climate is particularly suitable for viticulture and provides flora and fauna that are unique in these latitudes .
use
The slopes on the left bank of the Rhine form the largest contiguous vineyard area in the Middle Rhine wine-growing region with around 75 hectares . The main grape varieties are Riesling , Rivaner and Pinot Noir . Due to the steepness of the vineyards and the climatic conditions (continuous southern exposure, ideal angle of inclination to the sun and the nearby water bodies of the Rhine as heat storage), wines of high quality grow here. The Bopparder Hamm is managed by winemakers from the neighboring communities of Boppard and Spay as well as from Osterspai on the opposite side of the Rhine . The winemaking families cultivate their own vineyards, process their grapes themselves into wine and market it independently. The wine growing on the steep slope ( slope up to 80%) is mostly done by hand. Pruning, foliage and harvesting are all done manually. There are currently 16 full-time winemakers in Bopparder Hamm, one of which is a member of the Association of German Predicate and Quality Wineries (VDP). The annual production is (strongly dependent on the weather) around 600,000 liters.
Vineyards within the Bopparder Hamm
The generic term for the wines produced here is Bopparder Hamm . The large location is called Gedeonseck. The individual layers serve as a narrower geographical name :
- Engelstein, 1.97 ha, large location according to VDP location classification
- On the Rabenlay, 1.5 ha, great location according to VDP
- Ohlenberg, 7.25 ha, first location according to VDP
- Feuerlay, 15.32 ha, first location according to VDP
- Mandelstein, 12.44 ha, first location according to VDP
- Wine pit
- Barrel lay
- Elfenlay
History of viticulture
Since the Roman fort Bodobrica was built in Boppard in the middle of the 4th century AD and wine was part of the troop catering there, it is assumed that wine was already being grown in Bopparder Hamm at that time. After the Romans withdrew, the Franks continued to grow wine in their royal palaces (including in Boppard). In 643, viticulture in Boppard is first mentioned in a document. At that time and until the late Middle Ages, the vineyards were owned by aristocrats, the large monasteries and monasteries ( Fulda , Hildesheim ) or belonged directly to the imperial estate and were first managed by unfree , later by free feudal men. The location name Fässerlay (derived from fess = treasury and lay = rock) still indicates the imperial property . Throughout the Middle Ages and up to modern times , wine was the main economic asset in Boppard.
From the late Middle Ages, viticulture in the Boppard Empire was mainly carried out by small family businesses. Almost every business person in Boppard also worked a small wingert as a sideline , but there were only a few full-time vintners . In addition to the inheritance , they also increasingly had their own property in Bopparder Hamm. After each harvest, the Boppard City Council set the prices for an annual autumn meal. Through inheritance, an increasing number of small and very small parcels developed that could hardly be worked on economically. The result was viticulture that was primarily geared towards quantity . The Elbling grape variety became very popular, the price fell noticeably, so that - triggered by poor reading and high rents and tithes - there were real famines in the 16th and 18th centuries .
Due to the secularization in the Napoleonic period, the property situation improved, but the monasteries and the archbishopric were no more powerful buyers. Towards the end of the 19th century, the epidemic-like appearance of phylloxera led to almost complete loss of harvests. Only with the introduction of new grape varieties as rootstocks did viticulture slowly recover and more and more emphasis was placed on quality. Riesling was by far the most grown wine in Bopparder Hamm. However, the fragmentation and the almost non-existent pathways were still a problem. Leopold Grillo (1881–1927) energetically pushed ahead with the construction of vineyard paths in Bopparder Hamm. However, in 1946 there were still over 2000 small parcels in Mittelhamm alone. In the run-up to the land consolidation, a survey by the Bacharach Viticulture Office in 1967 showed that of 170 vineyard owners in Bopparder Hamm, only one company had an operation size of over five hectares, five operations were between one and five hectares. The total length of the route at that time was only 1.3 km (with a total length of the Bopparder Hamm of 6 km) and access was in many parts exclusively from the heavily trafficked federal road 9 over 35 crossings over the railway line secured by turnstiles.
In 1966, the first land consolidation in Mittelhamm helped. The number of parcels was reduced to 448 and over 17 km of paved and paved roads were built. The number of farms (especially part-time) decreased significantly to only 51 by 1972, but the farm area increased. In addition to the farm roads, around 8 km of retaining walls and 1.8 km of seams for water flow were laid. The total costs of this first land consolidation were around 8 million DM.
A second land consolidation also rearranged the Vorderhamm in 1985. The area under vines fell from well over 100 hectares in the post-war period to around 75 hectares today.
Since the early 1980s, red wine varieties that used to be atypical were also increasingly grown.
tourism
- An educational wine trail leads through the hillside of the Hamm. In the main season, local winegrowers regularly offer guided wine tours.
- At the upper edge of the slopes near Boppard is the Vierseenblick , the name has its origin in the fact that the Rhine Valley looks as if it consisted of four lakes when viewed from this point. In fact, this view is due to the fact that the Rhine flowing in a loop is covered by the surrounding landscape at certain points. On the other hand, from the nearby Gedeonseck you have a view of the entire loop of the Rhine as well as the vineyards and the city. Both viewpoints have a gastronomic offer and can be reached from Boppard with a chair lift .
- The Jakobsbergerhof Golf Hotel is also located above the Bopparder Hamm .
- The Sonneneck campsite is located on the left bank of the Rhine near Spay .
- The Bopparder Hamm near Rhein in Flammen is used on the second Saturday in August every year as a meeting point and installation area for the ship parade comprising over 70 ships, which goes to Koblenz as part of the event .
- Since 1997 the big event Mittelrheinischer Weinfrühling takes place in the vineyards on the last Sunday in April .
- In the summer of 2006, the Mittelrhein-Klettersteig Boppard was created in cooperation with the German Alpine Association . The via ferrata contains eleven climbing passages on steep rock faces, the total walking time is two and a half to three hours.
Flora and fauna
The world's only occurrence of the Iberis boppardensis , the Boppard candytuft , and one of the northernmost occurrences of the western green lizard in Central Europe is located in Bopparder Hamm .
Municipalities at the Bopparder Hamm
Web links
- Information about the vineyards of the Bopparder Hamm
- digital vineyard maps of the VDP
- Information from Boppard Tourism on the Boppard Hamm
Individual evidence
- ^ German Wine Institute: Der Bopparder Hamm , accessed on April 13, 2018.
- ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: "Leopold Grillo" information board ceremoniously unveiled ) Retrieved on March 24, 2012
- ↑ a b c d VVV Boppard (ed.): Weinbergs-Flurbereinigung in Bopparder Hamm . Boppard 1993.
- ↑ a b www.rhein-zeitung.de: Land consolidation in Bopparder Hamm was a blessing , accessed on April 13, 2018.
Coordinates: 50 ° 14 ′ 30 ″ N , 7 ° 34 ′ 45 ″ E