On Sunday 22nd of May, 2011 the last vine stocks of a total of 1320 were planted in the new vine labyrinth at the vineyard location “Am Geisberg” in Wiesenbronn (Franconia, Germany). The Sunday began with a solemn service in the Evangelical Lutheran village church, followed by a festive procession to the vine labyrinth on the Geisberg. Then the new labyrinth was inaugurated and blessed in an opening ceremony.
The labyrinth in the Holy Cross church of Wiesenbronn
The vine labyrinth was built within one week by voluntary helpers in cooperation of the municipality and the winegrowers’ association. The prime mover behind the project is Doris Paul, the lady mayor of Wiesenbronn. She also had the idea for the creation of the vine labyrinth. According to her words she was inspired above all from a labyrinth which decorates the altar of the village church since decades. It is a 5-circuit Roman labyrinth with an unusual arrangement of the pathways.
Altar in the church
On the Geisberg
Lady mayor Doris Paul
The last vine stock
The vine labyrinth
In the centre
The church labyrinth was not transacted one to one. Several trees of the existing meadow with scattered fruit trees are integrated into the labyrinth. The vine labyrinth has an overall diameter of more than 50 m. According to the statement of Mrs. Paul there are several variations regarding the pathways lengths: from 500 to 900 and 1500 metres.
At my first ascent of the vine labyrinth I felt a little bit like in a maze. I must probably more often visit it to explore it more exactly. Furthermore, it take several years for the vine stocks to grow up and the first grapes to ripe.
Thus we can be glad about a new and original, and maybe even the only vine labyrinth (world) wide.
Congratulations and prosperity to the Wiesenbronn vine labyrinth.
To it two articles of the newspaper Main-Post (in German)
- 18. Mai 2011: Sich zwischen Reben verlaufen
- 23. Mai 2011: Weinlabyrinth: Ein wunderbarer Traum wurde wahr
There is also a labyrinth with only one vine stock in the middle, in Bamberg as one of 12 stations on the creation way below the cloister Saint Michael.
To it an article of the newspaper Fränkischer Tag (in German)
