Location and landscape
Machtilshausen is a district of the municipality of Elfershausen in the district of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria. The village lies in a side valley of the Franconian Saale and in the northern Franconian wine country. Steep shell limestone slopes shape the surrounding area.
Historical development
Machtilshausen is documented for the year 824 under the name Mattholfeshusen and counts among the older settlements in the Saale district. A Würzburg source records in November 1234 a total of 32 Morgen of vineyards in Machtilshausen, which Bishop Hermann von Lobdeburg acquired.
Vineyard site Sommerleite
To the east of the settlement lies the Sommerleite, an amphitheatrical area with irregular terraces, open to the south. The former vineyard structures contain carefully worked shell limestone blocks; the oldest documented date of renewal is recorded as 1869. The valley on the north slope is considered an example of colluvial loess deposits.
Viticulture today
Traditional winegrowing has largely disappeared in Machtilshausen. Many vineyards are left fallow; only a small area is still cultivated. The Sommerleite is assigned to the major site Burg (Hammelburg) in the area of Frankens Saalestück.
