Municipality and history
Steigra is a municipality in the Saalekreis district in Saxony-Anhalt and belongs to the Weida-Land administrative community. The municipal area covers around 29.65 square kilometres. Steigra was first mentioned in 880 in the Hersfeld tithe register. Viticulture is evidenced by a document from the year 1207, which concerns the consecration of a church and the vineyards of the Reinsdorf monastery.
Landscape on the edge of the Querfurt Plateau
To the west of Steigra lie the Hahnenberge. The Hohe Gräte forms a south-western and southern hillside system at the edge of the Querfurt Plateau. The local wine-growing landscape comprises steep slopes, in part with shallow soils, and slopes at risk of erosion.
Soils and viticultural climate
The protected slopes near Steigra feature xerothermic vegetation on shell limestone. For the Hahnenberge, shell limestone, red sandstone (Buntsandstein) and loess are described as soil-forming materials. On the Hohe Gräte, shell limestone, Keuper and red sandstone containing quartz are found. The viticultural climate is considered dry and warm; cultivation is focused on south- and south-west-facing slopes.
Vineyard sites
The officially recorded single vineyard site Steigraer Hahnenberge belongs to the Saale-Unstrut wine-growing region, the Schloss Neuenburg area and the Großlage Freyburger Schweigenberg. Its planted area was 51.3745 hectares on 31 December 2024. The Karsdorfer Hohe Gräte also belongs to the Saale-Unstrut wine-growing region and at this time comprised 20.0330 hectares; those involved are Steigra, Karsdorf and Wennungen. For this site, among others, Weißburgunder, Silvaner, Riesling, Grauburgunder and Traminer are listed. The wines are described as mineral, dense and structured.
