Location and landscape
Seegebiet Mansfelder Land is a municipality in the eastern part of the Mansfeld-Südharz district, between Halle (Saale) and Lutherstadt Eisleben. It comprises part of the landscape of the Mansfelder Seen with the Süßer See, as well as the associated lake and valley landscapes.
Climate and geology
The area lies in the rain shadow of the Harz and has a continental climate with warm, dry late summers and autumns. The average annual temperature is about 9 °C; annual precipitation is in Aseleben below 450 millimetres and in the landscape by the Süßer See at around 428 millimetres. The large areas of water have a moderating effect on temperature; late frosts in late spring are considered rare at the Süßer See.
The lake basins were formed by the dissolution and displacement of Zechstein rock salt in the Mansfelder structural basin. In the vicinity of the Süßer See, among other things, you can find Lower and Middle Buntsandstein, high plateaus covered with loess, ice-age sands and glacial till, slope deposits, and calcareous lake sediments.
Viticulture at the Süßer See
The wine-growing areas around the Mansfelder Seen are located mostly on steep south and south-west-facing slopes. Viticulture at the Süßer See is documented as the northernmost contiguous wine-growing region in Germany and, according to the municipality, covers about 88 hectares. The landscape belongs to the Qualitätsweinbaugebiet Saale-Unstrut.
Viticulture at the Süßer See is documented for the first time in a deed from the year 1209. In the 16th century, slopes on the north bank of the Süßer See, the Salziger See and the Bindersee were terraced and planted with vines. For historical cultivation, measures included reclaiming fallow slopes, building terraces and erecting dry-stone walls, which are referred to regionally as stone benches.
Wine sites
In the official vineyard site directory, the following vineyard sites are listed for the area of the Mansfelder Seen: Himmelshöhe, Kreisberg and Pastorenstieg.
