Location on the Middle Rhine
Filsen is a municipality in the Rhein-Lahn district of Rhineland-Palatinate and belongs to the Loreley collective municipality. The town is located on the right bank of the Rhine in the Middle Rhine Valley between Rüdesheim and Koblenz. Within the largest meander of the Rhine, Filsen is surrounded by the river, orchards with standard trees and woodland, forming an almost island-like settlement.
Landscape and Climate
The Middle Rhine is among the warmest wine-growing regions in Germany. In the region’s vineyards, temperatures above 25 °C can occur on up to 50 days a year. The Upper Middle Rhine between Bingen and Koblenz is shaped regionally by geology rich in slate; in the further wine-growing area, greywacke, pumice and volcanic rock also occur.
Historic Winegrowing
Historically, Filsen was a cultural landscape of winegrowing with vineyards on the steep slopes of the Middle Rhine. Winegrowing has been documented for the town as early as 1230 and 1276. A survey from 1719 recorded for the named properties of the Filsen winegrowers 93,730 vines. Its importance declined as a result of war-related disruptions, levies, problems finding markets, competition and vine pests; according to the cited local history, winegrowing in the municipality area had completely disappeared by 1999. Filsen is assigned to the protected designation of origin Middle Rhine, whose region stands primarily for Riesling wines and also for Riesling sparkling wine.
