Location and constituent localities
Wethau is a municipality in the Burgenlandkreis district in Saxony-Anhalt and lies in the northern part of the Wethautal administrative community between Schönburg and Mertendorf. The municipal seat is located at around 123 metres above sea level, about four kilometres south-east of Naumburg (Saale). The municipality includes Gieckau, Pohlitz, Schmerdorf and Wethau; the Wethau stream runs along the edge of the municipal area.
Wine-growing history
Winegrowing in Wethau is documented for the first time for the year 1205. Together with Mertendorf and Punkewitz, the place belonged to the 62 winegrowing locations in the vicinity of the Cistercian monastery of Pforta. After an infestation with phylloxera, commercial winegrowing declined and came to a halt around the beginning of the 20th century.
Establishment of a new vineyard
Today, winegrowing is still carried out on a small scale on private land in Wethau, including by amateur winegrowers. The municipality began in 2021 with the re-establishment of a municipal-owned vineyard on about 1,000 square metres. The site is cultivated by the Wethau e.V. winegrowing association, founded in 2020; it is planted with Cabernet Blanc and received in 2021 a trellis wire frame system as well as a fencing enclosure.
Vineyard register
In the official vineyard locations register as of 31 December 2024, Wethau is listed as a municipality with planted area without assignment to a specified single-vineyard location.
