Location and landscape
Großkarlbach is a municipality with an area of 5.26 km² in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate and belongs to the Pfalz. The Eckbach flows through the centre of the town. The landscape is located in the Vorderpfälzer lowlands at the edge of the Upper Rhine Plain; vineyard paths run through the surrounding vineyards.
Soils and viticulture
On the cadastral territory, Pleistocene terrace sands and gravels, brown floodplain soils as well as fertile loess soils are found. The higher-lying areas are used for viticulture, while north-facing slopes at risk of frost and deeper hillside locations are predominantly used for arable farming or fruit growing. The municipality’s vineyard area covers about 220 hectares.
Vineyard sites
The Großkarlbach Burgweg site has loess loam over limestone and calcareous marl. The site is oriented to the south, lies at an elevation of 120 to 200 metres and has a slope of 5 to 15 percent. For the Burgweg, Riesling, Spätburgunder and Grauer Burgunder are listed; for the parcel Im großen Garten Spätburgunder and Riesling. In the 2024 vineyard sites directory, Burgweg and Osterberg are listed for Großkarlbach.
History
The place name Karlebach is first documented in 775 in a deed of donation from the Lorsch monastery. After the Pfalz became Bavarian in 1815, large vineyards were established outside the historic town centre.
