Piesport | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Piesport within Bernkastel-Wittlich district  | |
  Piesport  Piesport | |
| Coordinates:49°52′40″N06°55′30″E / 49.87778°N 6.92500°E /49.87778; 6.92500 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| District | Bernkastel-Wittlich |
| Municipal assoc. | Bernkastel-Kues |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2019–24) | Stefan Schmitt[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 19.60 km2 (7.57 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 119 m (390 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 2,072 |
| • Density | 110/km2 (270/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 54498 |
| Dialling codes | 06507 |
| Vehicle registration | WIL |
| Website | www.piesport.de |
Piesport is anOrtsgemeinde – amunicipality belonging to aVerbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in theBernkastel-Wittlichdistrict inRhineland-Palatinate,Germany.
The municipality lies surrounded byvineyards, meadows and woods in theMoselle valley betweenBernkastel-Kues andTrier. It is the biggestwinegrowing centre in theMosel wine region. Piesport is found on the river’s right bank where the valley begins to broaden out into country marked by utterly flat riverbank slopes. On the other side of the river, steep slopes lead up to theEifel.
Piesport belongs to theVerbandsgemeinde of Bernkastel-Kues, whose seat is in thelike-named town.
Piesport’sOrtsteile are Piesport, Niederemmel (Emmel, Reinsport and Müstert) and Ferres.
Yearlyprecipitation in Piesport amounts to 737 mm, falling into the middle third of the precipitation chart for all Germany. At 49% of theGerman Weather Service’sweather stations, lower figures are recorded. The driest month is February. The most rainfall comes in June. In that month, precipitation is twice what it is in February. Precipitation varies only minimally and is extremely evenly spread throughout the year. At only 3% of the weather stations are lower seasonalswings recorded.
The region around Piesport was settled as early asRoman times by the Romans. “Like an amphitheatre’s rows”, wrote the poetAusonius, the vineyards framed the place. Between the centres of Alt-Piesport and Ferres, the biggest Romanwine pressing facility north of theAlps was unearthed in 1985, and partly reconstructed. It is the focus of the yearlyRömisches Kelterfest (“Roman Wine Press Festival”) held on the second weekend in October. Other Roman finds have led to the conclusion that the village was once an important port. It was dedicated toBigontius, a local deity, whence the namePorto Pigonto was derived, which eventually mutated into “Piesport”.[citation needed]
In theMiddle Ages and early modern times, Piesport belonged to theElectorate of Trier. Beginning in 1794, Piesport lay underFrench rule. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom ofPrussia at theCongress of Vienna. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly foundedstate ofRhineland-Palatinate.[citation needed]
Today’s municipality was newly formed on 7 June 1969 from the dissolved municipalities of (503 inhabitants) and Niederemmel (1,633 inhabitants).[3]
The municipal council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected byproportional representation at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:[4]
| Year | SPD | CDU | WGR | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 16 seats |
| 2004 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 16 seats |
Near Piesport lies theMoselloreley, a similar formation to theLoreley on theRhine. The craggy massif that rises steeply out of theMoselle allows no transport links downstream, nor is there even any room for a footpath. Nevertheless, here and there on its steep slopes are foundvineyards. For a decade in the 1930s, there was mining here. Above theMoselloreley runs a hiking trail.
Piesport is to a considerable extent characterized bywinegrowing, and with 413 ha of vineyard area under cultivation is by far the biggest winegrowing centre in theMosel wine region. Traditionally it is mainlyRiesling grapes that are grown here. The municipality is part of the wine area of Bernkastel. The vineyards are part of the winemaking appellation –Großlage – of Michelsberg. A distinction is made among the following ten vineyards:
|
|
Theo Haart from the Haart Wine Estate in Piesport was chosen in November 2006 by the magazineGault Millau as “Winemaker of the Year 2007”.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
