Location in the Eistal
Mertesheim is a municipality in the Leiningerland district of Bad Dürkheim in Rhineland-Palatinate. It lies on the Eisbach between Eisenberg and Grünstadt in the Eistal. About two kilometres to the east, the valley opens out into the rolling countryside of the German Wine Route and the Rhine plain.
History and shell limestone
In the Lorsch Codex, Mertesheim was mentioned for the first time in 771 under the name Meldrisheim. The entry documents a donation of several plots of land to Lorsch Abbey, including a vineyard. In the 1920s, a shell limestone quarry was operated commercially in the municipal area. A material cable railway connected the quarry to the station.
Vine cultivation
In the 1920s, local winegrowers relocated part of their economic activity from limestone trade to vine cultivation, as vine cultivation and wine sales were more profitable. The single vineyard site St. Martins-Kreuz is officially registered within the municipality of Mertesheim and is assigned to the Pfalz, the area Mittelhaardt/German Wine Route, and the Großlage Höllenpfad. The 2024 vineyard register lists for it vineyard site number 820415 and 3.7 hectares of planted vineyard area.
