Location and landscape
Breisach am Rhein is located in Baden directly on the Upper Rhine. The international course of the border with France runs through the Altrhein. The municipal area extends as far as the Tuniberg and includes the wine-growing villages of Niederrimsingen and Oberrimsingen, about 7 to 10 kilometres from the town centre.
Relief, rock and climate
The historic upper town lies on the Münsterberg and reaches 226.3 metres at the Radbrunnenturm, while the Gutgesellentor in the lower town is at 191.7 metres. The settlement core is situated on a volcanic nephelinite tephrit formation; to the south of the lower town, the Eckartsberg limits the area. The Tuniberg rises as a flat ridge about 120 metres above the southern Upper Rhine Plain.
According to the municipal description, Breisach is one of the warmest regions in Germany. The climate is characterised by warm summers and mild winters. The figures given are 578 millimetres of annual precipitation, a mean annual temperature of 9.9 °C, 1,720 hours of sunshine and 140 to 150 clear days per year. The area contains fertile loess soils, the formation of which is attributed to deposits of dust from the Alpine foothills.
Winegrowing
The vineyard sites located within Breisach am Rhein include Eckartsberg and Augustinerberg. The Eckartsberg is a small hill covered with vines south of the historic town centre; vineyards lie on its slopes and on the hill itself. For the classified site Breisacher Eckartsberg, White Burgundy, Grey Burgundy and Pinot Noir are grown on 3.46 hectares.
A documented Pinot Noir from the Breisacher Eckartsberg is made dry and comes from vines on volcanic weathered rock. Production includes traditional whole-bunch pressing and subsequent maturation in barrique barrels. Parcels in the district of Niederrimsingen were assigned in 2023 to the single-vineyard Rotgrund and to the Großlage Attilafelsen.
History
Archaeological and historical evidence shows that the Münsterberg was already settled in the Neolithic period. Later, a Roman fort was built there. An edict by Emperor Valentinian I. dated 30 August 369 mentions Breisach for the first time in a written document as “brisiacus”. In 1273 the town, under King Rudolf of Habsburg, became a Free Imperial City and, among other things, received the right to fortify, to hold markets and to mint coins.
According to municipal information, at the end of the Second World War around 85 per cent of Breisach was destroyed by artillery bombardment. By 1954 the town had been largely rebuilt.
