Location and landscape
Bad Rappenau is a town in the northern part of the Heilbronn district in Baden-Württemberg and belongs to the region Baden. The municipal area covers about 73.56 square kilometres and lies in the Kraichgau in a gently hilly landscape.
Altitude and geology
Altitudes range from about 143.7 metres above sea level on the Neckar near Heinsheim to slightly more than 300 metres in the Gärtnerswald. Near Heinsheim, the Neckar forms the north-eastern boundary of the town area. Gipskeuper predominates; along the Neckar valley and in the heights of Neckarbischofsheim, Muschelkalk and Lettenkeuper also occur. The surface is largely covered with loess.
Climate and winegrowing
The Kraichgau is considered a mild-climate region, with an average annual temperature of more than 9 °C. For the winegrowing region, around 1,300 hours of sunshine and about 750 to 850 millimetres of precipitation per year are given for the growing season. Winegrowing comprises small-scale, named sites on the slopes of the hills. Near Heinsheim, Burg Ehrenberg is designated as an individual site and assigned to the Badish winegrowing region.
Heinsheim and Burg Ehrenberg
The district of Heinsheim was incorporated into Bad Rappenau on 1 March 1972. There is Burg Ehrenberg, which was built in the 13th century and became the ancestral seat of the von Ehrenberg family; its line ended on 30 April 1647. Heinsheim and Burg Ehrenberg came to Baden in 1806. In the nature reserve Gäßnerklinge-Hohberg near Heinsheim, Muschelkalk areas, disused quarries and former vineyards have been preserved.
