Lengfurt

Lengfurt is a district of Markt Triefenstein in Bavaria and the seat of the municipal administration. The place lies on the Main; the municipal area is divided by the river into a left- and a right-bank Main area. Lengfurt belongs to the region Franken.

The oldest documented connection to viticulture dates back to the year 1102. At the time, the initial endowment of the Triefenstein monastery included a vineyard in Lengfurt and one third of the Kallmuth. A register from the monastery dating from 1421 lists the vineyard sites Oberrot and Alter Berg. In 1694, around 118 hectares of vineyards were documented in Lengfurt; by 1990, only about two hectares were still cultivated. Oberrot was planted with vines again, while large parts of Alter Berg were lost due to cement production and limestone extraction over more than a century.

Kallmuth is a limestone formation rising above the Buntsandstein in the Triefenstein-Homburg area. On the west-, south-west- to south-east-facing slopes of the Princely Kallmuth, the steepest sections reach gradients of about 34 to 74 per cent. The soils, rich in skeletal material, contain Buntsandstein in deeper horizons and Muschelkalk in shallower areas. For the growing season, a sub-Mediterranean vineyard microclimate with around 280 to 350 millimetres of precipitation is described. On the slopes, Riesling and Silvaner are documented, and on the terraces, Rieslaner as well.

The terraces of Kallmuth are crossed by about twelve kilometres of dry-stone walls, which in places reach up to five metres in height. Viticulture on the steep slopes requires manual labour; from the Main river plain, up to the end of the rows of vines there are up to approximately 270 sandstone steps. The terraces were laid out with retaining walls in the late 18th century and were later extensively renewed with public support. Since 1981, Kallmuth has been under protection as a cultural heritage monument.